Insight: Falling home prices drag new buyers under water...(Circling the drain?)

Reuters ^ | 04/27/12 | Tim Reid

[familyop]

House prices are still insanely high for the market (or lack of). Could be that many of them are listed so high, because the borrowers have mortgaged them to the gills. There won’t be an upside, until all of them are foreclosed and resold cheap. Maybe not even then (see decades of us Baby Boomers croaking).

[Thorliveshere]

In Minnesota.

[Sarajevo]

As soon as hyper inflation kicks in, you'll be able to pay off your house for the price of a cup of coffee.

Yeah, but then property taxes will eat you alive.

[bigredkitty1]

Nuts! I am fortunate as mine is a fixed rate and I only have approximately 2 1/2 years until mine is paid off in November,2014.

[Oatka]

These people bought their houses in the last two years and didn't know the real estate market had crashed and was still dropping? BS.

It wasn't too long ago some people on these boards were saying that "now is the time to buy" and disregarded warnings about trying to catch a falling knife.

[tacticalogic]

Aren’t there a lot of foreclosed houses being dumped on the market right now, since the “robo-signing” deal got settled? That’s got to drive the values down for everybody else.

[oh8eleven]

It wasn't too long ago some people on these boards were saying that "now is the time to buy"
I think you have to know your own (local) market. Here in western NY it's fairly stable.
My two sons have both purchased houses in the last year. Their mortgage rates combined don't equal the one I had in 1977 - 7%.
Of course, a few years later and President Jimma' chased the rate up to 14% and higher.

[Oatka]

I think you have to know your own (local) market.

Agreed, but there were many people here sounding like things could only go up from 2009 and were making blanket statements.

Things in Nevada, outside of Las Vegas as well, are still drifting downward in a stagnant market - even among the under $200,000 range. In my desert area, lots that were $15-20K shot up to $40K - and people bought in - are now at $8.5K are starting to sell - from people around the Salt Lake City area.

[oh8eleven]

there were many people here sounding like things could only go up from 2009 and were making blanket statements.
I know exactly what you mean. I retired in late '07 and started looking for a winter place in Florida.
Before I got close to making a decision, real estate tanked. Within six months I started getting realtors' messages like, "Market has bottomed - good time to buy."
In fact, I never did buy and have decided to rent instead.

[RegulatorCountry]

It’s very localized as others have pointed out. There are decent brick three bedroom, two bath ranchers with basement on an acre here for $115,000. Combine that with the low interest rates and people are starting to buy again. Unemployment is still historically high and wages are stagnant to declining overall, but for those properties that actually are in some way desirable and are priced within reach and within the historical guidelines of 2.5 to 3 times household income, they’re selling, finally. More “sold” signs than new “for sale” signs popping up around here.

[Oatka]

"Market has bottomed - good time to buy."

They're STILL saying that around here. Reminds me of the guy who jumped off the Empire State building, and as he passed the 50th floor, was heard to say "So far, so good". :-)