I can't really "see" it, either, but my husband does real estate on the side, and that market is really slow right now. Just a year ago, we sold our house in 12 days. I don't know if we'd be that lucky now--but we would have a decent inventory of homes to choose from. The spending in my area looks pretty good, though.
I know some folks trying to sell a house in Baton Rouge and the market is slow. Two years ago the same people sold their home in about 2 weeks, same price range and neighborhood, and it's been for sale now for 5 months. I'd say that's a slowdown.
could be, it's in the same Highland road neighborhood that they sold a house a couple of years ago, for about the same price per sq. ft. BTW, It's right down from Saban's old mansion. That's been empty for quite awhile, no for sale sign though
BR is like Houston, energy town. With oil at $100, it won't get too bad, and neither will Houston. We are counter cyclical with the rest of the nation. Real estate in overbuilt overpriced areas is the main problem, and bankers that used to lend to anyone without credit checks or down payments. That game seems pretty much over with. I've heard of mexican immigrants that are illegal going back to Mexico. No construction work here.
I firmly believe that many of the "affluent" people who live around me are racking up purchases on credit. That, of course, is a dangerous cycle. These days, if we can't pay for something in cash, we don't buy it. That goes for things as small as clothes or as large as furniture or home improvement. There was a time when I was fresh out of college that I didn't have enough money to really live on and had to charge even gas and groceries. Ouch!
There was an article on MSN Money last week about the housing slump. It basically said that if you factor out the 10 worst markets foreclosures are hardly up at all. The 10 worst markets also had appreciation rates of more than double the national average the past several years. I agree with what you said 100% and so do the statistics. Link With the rate of depreciation in real estate I am strongly considering investing a portion of my IRA in paid for real estate.
The ridiculous appreciation of some real estate markets is almost unbelieveable. The DFW market hasn't suffered very much because the appreciation is very gradual. We owned our first house for seven years and made around $23K (when all was said and done) on the sale of that home. Now, I know that's not like the $230 K (or more) appreciation that some folks see on the East and West Coasts, but we're also far less likely to get caught on the wrong end of home values as a result. That being said, there is still a big foreclosure problem, primarily in neighborhoods that "specialize" in houses priced in the low 100's. The foreclosure rates are more modest in neighborhoods where the houses are priced from the $250's to the $400's. Then, there is a spike again in higher price ranges.
