Drive around a neighborhood….any neighborhood and what will you see?
Lots and lots of FOR SALE signs….yes indeed, properties are FOR SALE and people are buying.
Undeniably, home prices are up…..but scratch just a bit deeper…the prices are higher in isolated areas and the overall increases are based on a small fraction of the “available” inventory. Available is in quotes because the real quantity of available homes are being artificially suppressed.
It’s easy to show increased prices when the overall volume of sales compared to the distressed numbers are compressed.
Adding further pressure on these downward trends is the undeniable fact that mortgage applications are at twenty year lows. The inflated prices that are being paid are more than 40% cash purchases. What happens when the investors leave the market (as they already are) because they realize that the returns on rental properties are not realistic. What happens when insurance costs skyrocket as a result of claims brought on absentee landlord property? What happens when insurors see the increased risk associated with properties that get abandoned at the first sign of trouble?
Already across this state, one of the biggest problems facing our communities is the blight caused by vacant and abandoned homes…that will only get worse…much, much worse. Already we’re blowing hundreds of millions in taxpayer dollars to take care of homes that are falling apart…that is only getting worse…much, much worse.
Soon, everyone will ask the question I’ve been asking for years….
WHY ARE WE SPENDING MILLIONS OF STATE DOLLARS TO THROW OUR NEIGHBORS OUT INTO THE STREET THROUGH FORECLOSURE?
WHY ARE WE NOT FOCUSED ON STABLIZING COMMUNITIES AND KEEPING FAMILIES IN THEIR HOMES?
WHY IS STATE GOVERNMENT FOCUSED ON REWARDING THE CRIMINAL BANKING AND FORECLOSURE ENTERPRISES WITH FASTER AND MORE FORECLOSURES?
More Here:
The survey findings track with real world indicators that support the conclusions by Fannie Mae: The housing market has serious cracks in the foundation – existing home sales have stalled out, pending home sales have plunged, price increases have slowed, and construction is slowing.
