Posted on 12/13/2006 4:40:07 AM PST by GodGunsGuts
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Falling prices trap new homebuyers
Neighbors in a new Garden Grove tract say a developer's plan to slash prices by about $140,000 has left them owing more for their homes than they're now worth.
By JEFF COLLINS
The Orange County Register
(Excerpt) Read more at ocregister.com ...
I like the OFHEO numbers because they track the SAME houses period to period, so there should be little price distortion related to the changing MIX of houses sold, month to month.
Nevertheless, as an "agreeable person", I'll certainly consider any index that you recommend.
I doubt that you know any words that rhyme with OFHEO, anyway...
THIS NAR report:
http://www.realtor.org/press_room/news_releases/2006/ehs_oct06_existing_home_sales_stabilizing.html
shows a median existing home price of $221,000 and an existing median existing condo price of $214,300, each at the end of October, 2006.
If you accept those prices as the "starting points" to be compared with analogous prices at the end of March 2007, we have a "deal".
I'm sorry, but I overlooked this condition of yours:
"...Also, we have to agree that we will publish said limerick every time whichever report we choose comes out for the next two years..."
I don't like this condition because:
(1) I prefer "quality" to "quantity"
(2) A commitment to do 24 discrete tasks over a 24-month period doesn't sound like "fun" to me.
Of course, in the unlikely event that I have to compose a limerick for you, you are free to post that limerick as many times as you like, wherever you like.
Just to get "the little grey cells working" this afternoon, I'm trying to think of a word that rhymes with your name but which does not start with "P".
Hmmm....
I say we look at the quarterly report for US metro prices put out by the NAR. There is one for SFH and one for Condos/coops. If they are both negative, I win. If they are both positive you win. If it is mixed, it's a draw. What do you say???
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Toll Brothers became the latest builder to cut guidance as its founder said he sees no end of the deep slump in home building.
"We continue to look for signs that a recovery is imminent but can't yet say that one is in sight," said a statement from company Chairman and CEO Robert Toll. "We see some signs of pent-up demand when we have special sales events or new community openings. And in some markets, good weeks are interspersed amongst weaker ones."
The builder of luxury homes reported preliminary results that showed revenue in the quarter ending Oct. 31 fell 10 percent to $1.81 billion, slightly below the $1.87 billion forecast of analysts surveyed by earnings tracker First Call.
The company also warned it will deliver 6,300 and 7,300 homes in the fiscal year that began last week. This compares to its previous guidance of 7,000 to 8,000 deliveries.
A big part of the weaker-than-expected results for the nation's No. 6 home builder was a jump in canceled orders.
OH YA. I've seen them do it here in AZ and I can take you right smack dab to some of those houses.
We were asked to put a bid on a job where we had to prep three lots (1.5 acres each) and build a speck road. So we went out, did all the leg work such as shooting the grades, estimating the materials and machinery time. We submitted the bid and we found out later that we lost because the As%^&le developer added another 100% onto the bid. I went down there and G' Dammed near tore his greedy head off asking him why he added that on the top.
His answer? "Well I need to make some money on this too!"
The greedy bastard already was making over three hundred grand on the three houses he had planned to build on those sites.
I say we get our prices here. It contains links for SFHs and Condos. Like I said, if they are both up, you win. If they are both down, I win. If they are mixed, it's a draw. Are you game? Here's the link:
http://www.realtor.org/Research.nsf/Pages/MetroPrice
Me and 95% of Californians stopped reading right there, senor.
With the exception of Whittier and Pasadena, I remember when no one would have even considered living in the other areas.
That's about the size of it. Kelo vs. New London established the purpose of private property in the United States is to generate revenue for the government.
So... prices in affluent areas are tending to drop, while prices in 'less-desirable' areas are rising. Sounds like a bit of migration to more 'affordable' areas of living from people who got in too deep in the pricier ZIP codes.
A year ago, I betcha there wasn't an affluent ZIP code with dropping median prices (in SoCal).
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