Dr.Boost

You're ------- hi. With house prices down, interest rates down, and the market FLOODED with MOTIVATED sellers, it's absolutey the BEST time to buy. Ask anybody who knows real estate. You buy at times like this when the market is ---- and sellers are willing to drops prices tens of thousands of dollars just to sell their house. I'm not talking about buying a house to relocate to another state.

If you wait until the market is steady, prices will go up and then you pay more. Why the ---- would you want to buy when the market ISN'T shakey? A flooded, shakey market=good deals and sellers willing to bend over backwards to seal a deal.
__________________
Best Car Insurance | Auto Protection Today | FREE Trade-In Quote

BigBird

Actually China has a gigantic middle class that is starting to spend a lot more on recreation and travel. The trouble has more to do with the subprime mortgages being issued to deadbeats with no credit or money mangement skills. Then bam the interest rates go up and they are already to their eyeballs in debt and can't pay ----. So they default, go bankrupt and the investment firms and pension funds are left holding the bag. That is why Bear Stearns and Citi Financial are in so much trouble. This goes much farther than the construction industry. Something is going to have to change with the US governments spending, the debt is inconceivable and they just keep racking up more. Eventually it will crash around their ears.

BigBird

There is a lot of real estate to be purchased at bargain prices right now from the banks. I don't see the issue with buying some if you can afford to hold it.

BigD

Agree. Buy while prices are lower and hold onto it. If I ever get money to invest it will probably go in gold until I get enough to start investing in land.

China will suffer if we go into a recession. Who do you think buys 99% of their garbage.

miss-piggy

Um, that isn't how it works. Sounds like you've been speaking to too many people selling real estate. The fact of the matter is, housing prices were grossly over valued and the rate they were going up became ridiculous due to sub prime mortgages. Now that the bubble has burst, housing values are dropping, but are no where near what they should actually be valued at. The reason why sellers are motivated is simple, they know in 6 months their house will most likely depreciate in value. So they can sell it now and take a 3% hit or wait and most likely take a much larger hit.

If you are looking to buy and sell in less than 3 months, this doesn't apply, but if you are looking to buy and hold, prices are no where near where they will bottom out. Wait a year and I bet houses selling right now will be valued dramatically lower. You aren't supposed to buy on a downward drop with no end in sight. You are supposed to buy right at the lowest point or when you can see the lowest point. Buying a house for $300k when it will drop to $200k in 2 years and then take 10 years to get back up to $300k is a bad investment. This is the real estate environment right now.

Obviously I'm just talking about investing in real estate and not buying a home. Buying a home, you do your best to follow the same rules, but people still need a place to live and if you have to move, you hope that things will even out sooner than later. Right now, most people are in the position where if they are selling, they want to sell now and move hopefully into an area with less price fluctuation. If people just kind of want to move, but are worried about the stability of prices in their area(this applies to a large portion of the US), they are holding onto their home and waiting things out. Again, it is stupid to pay a mortgage on a $300k home when it is appraised at $200k. Fantastic way to throw away a large sum of money.

MikeJ-2009

Every last one of the problems we're facing was and is created by the government. End of story.

miss-piggy

No. Sub prime mortgages was a free market idea that failed and ended up ------- people. The ripple effect from it is and will be felt from it for a while. There are issues caused by the government, but not everything.

Dr.Boost

Haha, report back to me in a few years and I'll post an appraisal fro my home that is about 25% higher than what I bought it for. You, I, Joe, Jack, Jill, none of us can say for sure what the market is going to do, but if history is ANY indication, it WILL go back up and house prices WILL sky rocket once again. They always do and they aren't about to stop doing that. It's a BUYERS market. They don't call it that for no reason. Watch and learn.
__________________
Best Car Insurance | Auto Protection Today | FREE Trade-In Quote

miss-piggy

There are exceptions to every rule but this is the general feel of the housing market. Because your house increases 25% while the rest of the housing market is 7% down doesn't mean you were the rule, rather you were the exception.

Dr.Boost

Research the history of the housing market, or even the economy in general. From the beginning of time, it has always done this. It has it's ups and downs. Buy low, sell high. People with money buy low while the people without money sell low. It's what makes the world go round.
__________________
Best Car Insurance | Auto Protection Today | FREE Trade-In Quote