Nickname: jackson smith

Review: Well CMD, you may be right. But US families were producing children above the replacement rate clear up to 1972--it did not end in 1964, as some would have you believe. Currently, Mexican aliens in the US produce children at about the replacement rate. That fact, along with momentum and an annual population growth of 1.6 million/year, tends to indicate that housing demand will remain strong in the long run. The only thing that would seem to kill it would be a war or severe recession, but then I suppose anything like that is unpredictable.

Date reviewed: Oct 1, 2006 2:27 AM

Nickname: Joe Fool

Review: I may not be the sharpest tool in the shed but do people really believe that prices cannot fall? The fact that most people can only afford homes with exotic mortgages and that they are betting on price appreciation or wage appreciation to meet the monthly payments is scary. Am I the only one that see the consumer stretched so thin that they are embarrassed to disclose it. Not to mention the myth that they are not building any more land, who cares? Do you honestly care where you live, or do you live near where you work. Chances are if you drive 50 miles from where you are right now there is plenty of land. Now imagine your employer just moved his location there, would you be able to sell you house and buy something there for half the price.

Date reviewed: Sep 12, 2006 7:07 PM

Nickname: cincy guy

Review: I've only seen a slight change in inventory in my market (Cincinnati). This never was a "spec" market...we've always had to make our money when we buy.

Date reviewed: Sep 12, 2006 9:03 AM

Nickname: joe

Review: Hello vinr, I bought the property with zero down.( 80/20 financing, duh)! Also I already figured the sales commission to arrive at 58000. (Please do the homework before challenging my numbers). I also figured all the costs collectively called carrying costs (all loan expenses and mandatory costs less the pricipal - ITI+ etc) to arrive at the negative cash flow. Builder warranty covers major problems. Now, my question to you guys was is there any better investment? What do you suggest as an alternative, vinr?

Date reviewed: Sep 11, 2006 1:30 AM

Nickname: cmd

Review: I believe slowly that the Baby Boomer 1946-1964 will revive the real estate market where there will not be any more bargains on housing as you are seeing now. Almost every paper you open classified RE reduced & reduced again. I've seen more housing signs for sale that are lasting a lot longer than the present. Something has got to give. I think this is a great time for younger folks to find some bargains in housing. I really don't think this housing bubble will last.

Date reviewed: Sep 10, 2006 11:19 PM

Nickname: vinr

Review: Joe, In seven years you would have paid $20,000 in property taxes and $20,000 in lost interest on your $40,000 down payment, $18,000 in sales commission on your $300,000 sale. Then you have to consider maintenance, lost rent between tenants and lost interest on your principal payments. Even if you consider all the tax breaks you might be getting, I think you will be at a loss if you end up selling the home for $300,000 in seven years. You are dreaming if you think the rent is going to go up by $500 in the next seven years. My rent went up by $100 in the last four years. I hope the average real estate investor is doing more homework than you.

Date reviewed: Sep 10, 2006 5:08 PM

Nickname: vinr

Review: Adam, I think it is not 1/3 of all US jobs but 1/3 of recent job growth came from housing. Lizziebeth, they weren't making more land in Japan either. Most of the population growth in the US is coming from immigrants doing low end jobs. I doubt they can afford million-dollar homes. If you are a real estate investor and don't have positive cash flow from rents, now is the time to sell.

Date reviewed: Sep 10, 2006 3:40 PM

Nickname: joe

Review: Hello everyone. Why is real estate still the best investment? I recently bought a $210,000 home from the builder who was selling it for $260,000 last year. I did a 80/20 financing and the builder paid all my closing cost. The home is currently rented but there is negative cash flow of about $500 per month. Now the current fair price is about $225,000. I expect that to grow to $300,000 in about six to seven years. (Less than the historical average). The rent will gradually grow to break even in about four years. So my net cash out flow will be under $20,000. And if I sell in 6-7 years I will walk away with $58,000 profit. The longer I keep it the better (with positive cash flow + appreciation). Now can any one of you suggest a better investment? After all: Nobody lends you money to buy shares. Or at least the 4-bed, 2-bath is not an Enron that disappears. What I learned is long-term investors never panick. Bad market is the best market to buy. Thanks guys

Date reviewed: Sep 10, 2006 3:05 PM

Nickname: adam

Review: Didn't people learn from the tech bubble? How about the great depression? The housing market leans more towards the depression than the tech bust because 1/3 of jobs in the US are housing based. If you purchased your house at $500,000 for profit with an ARM, can't sell, and it's now worth $300,000 that means you will have three choices: 1) be stuck with it and payments up the wazoo, 2) foreclose, 3) sell it at $300,000 and owe the bank the remaining $200,000, maybe go bankrupt. Great choices, huh? A house is only worth as much as someone will pay for it. In history, a house went up 0% due to inflation. I don't know how the cheerleaders could say that a house is the best investment.

Date reviewed: Sep 10, 2006 2:24 PM

Nickname: wayoutinva

Review: As a potential buyer the downturn is exacetly what is needed so that more people can get back into the market. In my area (Richmond VA), the average house price is $250,000, which might be great if interest rates were 3%-4%. But I don't want my mortgage payments to consume 35%+ of my disposable income. I understand the supply/demand side of things, but that is thrown out of whack by all of the speculative buyers tryng to make a quick profit. Are you really going to tell me that a home that was priced at $130,000 a few years ago is now really worth over $250,000? I have a house and even if I sold it for what it is supposedly worth, I could not buy another house at the going market rate and afford the mortgage payments.

Date reviewed: Sep 10, 2006 1:21 PM