The Rest of the Story-Housing Woes
Well I guess my "sit back and watch the circus" attitude has to go. The signs of digging out are starting to show as the Florida and National real estate markets begin to show some signs of improvement. I'm sure we'll still see peaks and valleys but it appears we are seeing the bottom. I expect we will see this phase for the next year as we diminish the supply.
Many people are beginning to shop and buy right now. Surprisingly, they are mostly end-user buyers. There has been a pinned up demand for sometime and for those lucky enough to have the cash and/or good credit, they are taking advantage since the selection is probably the best it will get. The FHA programs that offer financing with a bit less than perfect credit are making loans as well. Some of these buyers are getting substantial loans with a high 600s credit score.
There are those that felt the Bail-Out, sorry I mean "Rescue" was not needed, however the world market had to be stabilized. Of course we know that it was Bush's fault just like the bad weather and the Twin Tower attack and the news media made it all worse. Sorry for the cynical attitude but somewhere out there, there must be some reasonable thinkers that are tired of this never-ending election campaign and people that question the truthfulness of politicians.
In the meantime, the rest of us live our lives and try to make the best of this time on earth for ourselves and families. Speaking of time; if we wait long enough the market will be perfect and then it will all be over. (Our lives that is) I suggest we go back to the pursuit of happiness. By that I mean, let's get our priorities straight. I don't know about you but a piece of paper called a share and the proposed dollar value is not as tangible as a home and real estate. A home is a place to hang your hat, to enjoy, have holiday diners and where memories are made. Real estate has always been more of a long-term investment unlike the day-traders that got in, in 2004-2006. many got caught with their pants down. I am not happy about that however it didn't take a genius to see that the supply was building up far too fast and the end users were not filling the void. I saw it coming in early 2004. (I'm speaking of the South Florida Market)
Now for the rest of the story; there were and are far too many good people that were hurt by the unraveling of the real estate market. By that I mean you always here about the irresponsible folks that took out loans that they never should have taken and that caused the melt-down. To a degree that is true but you never hear about the good, honest, hard working people that had a good job, worked every day, paid their bills and were merely pursuing the American Dream of a home for their family. As the investors and greedy builders (This is a cycle and history repeats itself.) made prices sore, people had to buy at higher prices. Even the rental markets were high or non-existent in some cases such as hurricane struck areas where housing was nearly impossible to obtain for a while unless you were willing to pay the price. Most Had to Pay the Price. Then came the crash. Those good honest, hard-working citizens either lost their jobs, had a reduction in pay or took another job to try and make ends meet. These were/are good hard-working Americans. I'm tired of hearing the blame on people that took out irresponsible loans they could not afford. Some did take on loans they should not have but very many of them could afford it at the time. I guess they counted on the Gate-Keeper (Lenders) and the market to stay relatively stable. I guess they should have been able to predict the future or be sophisticated financial analysts. (I'm not speaking about the investors that drove up the prices and then walked away when it was all over only to leave a never-lived-in home behind.) Many homeowners were/are up-side-down in the homes, their insurance rates went up and the counties killed them with higher taxes. Many of these good citizens were rebuilding or fortifying the homes to higher building codes.
I don't hear anyone talking about that side of the story. This side needs to be said. If we can bail out the fat-cats, why can't we help out the end-user, homeowners that are well intended; you know, the American worker I was talking about? This would help out the supply problem and stabilize the market to some extent. Get it; Supply & Demand? Economics 101?
Now of course these people would need to be employed, show signs they could make payments and be willing to even pay back some sort of fee for the aid, but this would help slow the foreclosure rates. As a side note; they are not telling you that the primary reason banks are not dealing with homeowners in good faith and as a matter of just plain good business sense is because the loans are bundled and sold as securities to stock holders. As some, not all of these stock holders collect dividends, they somehow have determined that the stock holders or directors have to give permission on a case by case basis to break them back apart to restructure a loan. Am I making sense yet? Not really because they have also determined in some cases that the stock holders lose more money by restructuring a loan than to go through with a foreclosure process. I'll save you the time of explaining what happens to a family during a foreclosure process and some of the end results and effects to the market. I guess the fat-cats win again.
So now for the better news; the sales for September not only rose in Florida but also nationally. The prices have adjusted and are extremely attractive!
Here's my recommendation; do your homework now and if your plan was to make a move to anywhere or perhaps South Florida, now's the time to get a bargain. If you can somehow afford it, make your purchase within the next 3-12 months. The selection is awesome right now and there will never be a better time. Don't let me say I told you so. (No risk, no reward. This is Real Property we're talking about, not a piece of paper and smooth-talking stockbroker that should have warned you months ago when to get out. That too will bounce back but we will come out of the financial downturn with Real Estate leading the way. If you would like to see the reports on the sales in and around the nation's cities, e-mail me and ask for the area of choice. bill@accordingtohoyle.com Be sure to include the area and state you wish to review.
I promise I'll be more positive and up-beat next time, as that is my nature ordinarily. Your Thoughts?