DesideriScuri
Posts: 12225
Joined: 1/18/2012 Status: offline
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quote:
ORIGINAL: tj444 FR- Its still hard for many people to get mortgages.. and real unemployment is still high.. (& its gonna be a while before interest rates start creeping up.. the govt would have to pay more then for their huge debt too, dont forget) I think part is that some of the foreclosures have been sold to groups that are renting them out so those arent being put on the market (maybe in 4 or 5 years when prices are way up, then they will cash out).. I know of one such group of investors (they buy at auctions mostly, so those properties dont hit the retail market/MLS).. they give a choice.. rent or rent with option to buy (so a built-in buyer in a few years).. & I know of a builder in CA that gives 3 choices- rent, buy, or rent with option to buy.. Just cuz there is a building permit adding to the building starts doesnt mean they are all being sold.. some builders have been building but renting some units out just to hang on to their workers while they wait for things to get better.. and the banks are pricing their foreclosures much higher now so buyers are doing the math and figuring out that rather than buy a wreck of a foreclosure and pay the cost of renovating, many more better reasons to buy a new house that is more of what you want, better layout & design, in a better area, etc etc for not that much more.. so more/increasing demand for new homes vs older homes/junkers.. it depends on the city and area too.. silicon valley is a hot market & has been for quite a while now whereas Florida not so much.. for now at least.. And a building permit doesn't necessarily mean a house will be built. I learned a lot talking to a couple builders several years back. A new development opened next to the one I was living in at the time. Lots were 1 acre each and $75k for the lot. Minimum sq. ft. for the house was 3500. All but 2 lots (I think there were around 40 total) were sold by the developer. There are 3 houses built. There are no houses being built currently. There are lots of lots for sale. The first house that went up was 3600 sq. ft. and the second house was over 5000. Lots o' money in that neighborhood. A builder I knew had a contract to build on a lot just a couple lots down from that development. It's been 4 years since he was contracted, and pulled the permits. Ground was never broken. Where there were once shitloads of foreclosures in my general vicinity, there are almost zero. I am willing to bet that within Toledo City Limits, there were over 100 foreclosed properties under $20k last year April (which is when I started looking for a house). Now? Zero. To be honest, I was shocked when I saw that. I looked it up online for a friend, figuring I could find something for her. Nope. So, maybe there isn't much existing home inventory, which would make housing starts being up a very nice thing. I wonder what is going to happen if the Fed keeps rates low (I think they're already committed to not raising them into 2014).
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What I support: - A Conservative interpretation of the US Constitution
- Personal Responsibility
- Help for the truly needy
- Limited Government
- Consumption Tax (non-profit charities and food exempt)
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