Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Is the Housing Market being Manipulated by our Government?
SELF | 08 June 2010 | David Osborne

Posted on 06/08/2010 8:12:20 AM PDT by davidosborne

I recently sold my home and I am currently looking to buy a new home here in Tallahassee, Florida. So my only source on this is MYSELF.. for now.. and I am looking for FReeper input on my question.

Like every other town in America our housing market is in crisis.. that is NOT breaking news.. what I am finding out here in Tallahassee, and likely in other cities across america is that there seems to be an INTENTIONAL manipulation of the market going on that I can't put my finger on.

When I find a home in short sale/foreclosure, which there are MANY there always seems to be a mysterious/Annonymous/Unnamed "investor" involved in the process of negotiating a fair price for the house.. the houses end up sitting indefinately UNSOLD because this annonymous "investor" gets to decide if an offer is "fair" and the owner, presumably the bank, and the buyer do not have any say in the matter.

I hate to use the term "conspiricy" here, but it sure hints of it...

MY QUESTION: Is our goverment local/state/federal the "investor" that is trying to prevent houses from selling for less than what the market demands because they are trying to prevent SALES..to keep the home "values" UP artificially? Fair question?

I look forward to reading FReeper responses


TOPICS: Miscellaneous; Your Opinion/Questions
KEYWORDS: chat; homesales; housingmarket; spartansixdelta; vanity
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-6061 next last
My 2 cents worth.. gut feeling is that the so-called "investor" is really fannie mae/freddie mac "reps" who have marching orders on how much a house can sell for.. but what ends up happening is that the house either goes UNSOLD.. which in the end WE THE PEOPLE are paying the tab .. or the house sells for more than what it is really worth..

What Say you?

1 posted on 06/08/2010 8:12:21 AM PDT by davidosborne
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: davidosborne

Given that the FED controls interest rates and Fannie/Freddie are buying a good chunk of all mortgages now, I would say YES - the housing market is not just manipulated by Gov’t, its outright controlled.


2 posted on 06/08/2010 8:14:33 AM PDT by PGR88
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: TallyFlPatriot; politicallyincarrect; /\XABN584; 3D-JOY; 5Madman; <1/1,000,000th%; 11B3; ...

Not sure if this will make the “Breaking News” cut.. but I think this is a HUGE issue and I am just starting to scratch the surface of it..


3 posted on 06/08/2010 8:14:49 AM PDT by davidosborne (DavidOsborneDotZurvitaDotBiz)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: PGR88

and we agree this is a BAD thing?... a VERY bad thing?


4 posted on 06/08/2010 8:15:54 AM PDT by davidosborne (DavidOsborneDotZurvitaDotBiz)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: davidosborne

If I remember correctly ( I can ask my broker when he gets back in the office) the investor is the group of people who bought the bundled mortgages from the bank. For example: Walkalloverya bank loans money to 100 people to buy a home. They then resell the mortgages on the secondary market to investors looking for a good return on a safe investment. These are the investors that you are dealing with. Walkalloverya bank may still do the servicing of the loand but they really do not own it any longer.

At least, I think that’s how it works.


5 posted on 06/08/2010 8:16:56 AM PDT by stefanbatory (Weed out the RINOs! Sign the pledge. conservativepledge.org)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: stefanbatory

So if that is the case.. who is on the hook WHEN the house sits.. UNSOLD, UNOCCUPIED, DETERIORATING INTO OBLIVIAN?


6 posted on 06/08/2010 8:20:15 AM PDT by davidosborne (DavidOsborneDotZurvitaDotBiz)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: davidosborne

We’re thinking about selling a rental house but the marketplace is so fickle on pricing and stagnant on sales so we sit, bite our nails and watch.

The thing that disturbs me is the huge fluctuations on a house value week to week on sites such as zillow,com.
Realtors use that site for listings and for checking comps, it has reflected past sales of homes values. It’s been a crazy rollercoaster at that site with huge dips and peaks....

Whether Fannie/Freddie are pulling the strings? Don’t know but it’s crazy.


7 posted on 06/08/2010 8:20:21 AM PDT by libertarian27 (Ingsoc: Department of Life, Department of Liberty, Department of Happiness)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: davidosborne

Not really on topic but whatever you buy be sure and check on Homeowner’s insurance. That’s been the wrench in the works for lots of sales. It can be astronomical.

Also risk of floods. Be sure also to check out the homeowners asso; some are ok and are helpful, and some are little tyrants.


8 posted on 06/08/2010 8:23:03 AM PDT by I still care (I believe in the universality of freedom -George Bush, asked if he regrets going to war.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: libertarian27

I agree the chart is crazy out of control... that is why I think the market is being manipulated by the GOVERNMENT... when a house goes UNSOLD -— someone has to “eat it” ... if it is the TAXPAYERS than we have a VERY serious problem.. if it is a PRIVATE INVESTOR than so be it.. I can live with that..


9 posted on 06/08/2010 8:23:21 AM PDT by davidosborne (DavidOsborneDotZurvitaDotBiz)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: I still care

:) no worries and very much “on topic”


10 posted on 06/08/2010 8:24:20 AM PDT by davidosborne (DavidOsborneDotZurvitaDotBiz)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: davidosborne

the investor...

fyi, Fannie and Freddie are some of the biggest players on the secondary mtg market. A lot of pension funds buy them as well.

It is done this way so that banks can free up more money to lend on more mortgages. Not all do it, though. Some lend it and just hold the mortgages and make the money back that way.

I had bought a house a number of years ago that had the mortgage sold before I even made the first payment on it. The original lender now had their money back so that they could originate a new mortgage plus all the money they had made on the various fees. The investor or the note purchaser got a supposedly sound investment that paid 7% interest or whatever rate I was paying back then.


11 posted on 06/08/2010 8:26:17 AM PDT by stefanbatory (Weed out the RINOs! Sign the pledge. conservativepledge.org)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: davidosborne; stephenjohnbanker

I don’t know much about housing myself, David, but any details you can add would be helpful. Perhaps if it’s sensitive info, you could private message Stephen. I suspect you might be holding details from public posting, which is wise.

I’ve been catching vague buzz that China might be gaming real estate purchase coups. [Can’t really offer specifics, just ran into blogger posts from search engine browsing. Very thin stab in the dark really.]


12 posted on 06/08/2010 8:28:49 AM PDT by Arthur Wildfire! March (Kagan ENDED Constitutional Law in Harvard: freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2523089/posts)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: stefanbatory

stefanbatory,

I understand how that works.. my question is really WHO eats it when a house gets foreclosed on.. and the OWNER (ie. tha bank) is not ALLOWED to sell the house for what the market demands.. Looks like it is WE THE PEOPLE who end up eating it.. is that fair? I say no way !


13 posted on 06/08/2010 8:28:55 AM PDT by davidosborne (DavidOsborneDotZurvitaDotBiz)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]

To: davidosborne

I’ve been trying to do the exact same thing. Can never get an answer and the properties sit, empty and deteriorating.
The other side is that sellers are still in denial about the value of their properties.
It is worth what someone will pay. That’s it.

The market will clear. It is a matter of time, pain and money lost, but it will clear. Then I will come back in to buy.


14 posted on 06/08/2010 8:28:57 AM PDT by Macoozie (Go Sarah! Palin/Bolton 2012)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: davidosborne
Recently moved from Northern Va to Co. We sold our townhome in Va for a profit, thank goodness, and put a bid in on a short sale in Co. We did not have an “investor” holding up the deal, but there was an “investor” also bidding on the place and seemed to be trying to drive the price up a bit.
In the end our bid was approved by the bank but we canceled the sale after the home inspection found $40,000 worth of foundation damage.
Make sure a company/person you TRUST is running the title search. A lot of short sales have multiple liens and that really complicates the procedure.
15 posted on 06/08/2010 8:30:15 AM PDT by brothers4thID (http://scarlettsays.blogspot.com/)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Arthur Wildfire! March

I am open to dicussing this PUBLICLY.. I think we have a right to know if we are being put on the hook for an EXTREME ammount of money.. and there is nothing WE THE PEOPLE can do to stop it.. or can we?


16 posted on 06/08/2010 8:30:57 AM PDT by davidosborne (DavidOsborneDotZurvitaDotBiz)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]

To: davidosborne

and we agree this is a BAD thing?... a VERY bad thing?


If you agree that the end result: Trillion dollar bail-outs of Gov’t run financial companies, political and special-interest-inspired policy, corrupted politicians, Wall Street gaming a rigged system, and a string of property bubbles and crashes are bad - then YES, it is a bad thing.


17 posted on 06/08/2010 8:31:35 AM PDT by PGR88
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: brothers4thID

I am finding this EXACT scenario.. over and over.. thanks for your input.. did you ever find out who the “investor” was..


18 posted on 06/08/2010 8:32:07 AM PDT by davidosborne (DavidOsborneDotZurvitaDotBiz)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 15 | View Replies]

To: davidosborne; stephenjohnbanker

There is also an ACORN game going on according to some unnamaed caller on talk radio. They have worked out some way to allow people to rent ‘vacant homes’ as I understand it [vague memory alert]. So ACORN people make sure the homes remain vacant [through a recent law as I understand it] until one of their buddies needs to rent some place cheap. I’m not sure how much rent the home owner-turned-land lord gets, if any.


19 posted on 06/08/2010 8:32:13 AM PDT by Arthur Wildfire! March (Kagan ENDED Constitutional Law in Harvard: freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2523089/posts)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: PGR88

ugh.. thats exactly what I was thinking.. what can or should WE THE PEOPLE do about it?


20 posted on 06/08/2010 8:33:05 AM PDT by davidosborne (DavidOsborneDotZurvitaDotBiz)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 17 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-6061 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson