Notice the appropriate red light above each condo sign.
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Bubble Meter is a national housing bubble blog dedicated to tracking the continuing decline of the housing bubble throughout the USA. It is a long and slow decline. Housing prices were simply unsustainable. National housing bubble coverage. Please join in the discussion.
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The best way to get the housing market thriving again is to drop prices to the point where supply equals demand. Home sellers might not like it, but it's good for buyers and it's great for Realtors.
For Realtors, the best way to make more money is to sell houses quickly, and the best way to sell houses quickly is to convince the seller to drop the price.
For Realtors, the best way to make more money is to sell houses quickly, and the best way to sell houses quickly is to convince the seller to drop the price.
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2006
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December
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- Signs For Condos
- BubbleSphere Roundup
- This Blog is Not About Me, It Is About the Housing...
- David Lereah Watch Mentioned in The Wall Street Jo...
- Monitoring The Realtor Bubble
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- To Buy or Not To Buy That is The Question
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December
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Message to DC area home sellers:
ReplyDeletesubstantially lower prices will get far more attention than red lights, sign twirlers, or free cars.
JUST LOWER THE PRICE!!!
I don't expect home sellers to face reality soon, though. In the meantime, I have to say that this "creativity" (with apologies to genuinely creative people) is absolutely hilarious to watch. As the desperation increases, no doubt this silliness will as well.
Also, I wonder if the cost of those silly lighted signs gets passed along to those already "owning" in the forms of higher HOA fees.
A Redskins fan
'Skins Lover,
ReplyDeleteThose are actual traffic lights.
Am I the only one to get David's allusion to "red lights" and his favorite "Realtwhore" references? Redskins, it looks like you missed it ... just like you're missing the dip in prices out there now.
ReplyDeleteLOL. Yeah, o.k., I didn't look too closely- at the lights.
ReplyDeleteAs for missing this dip, you're right. I'm not buying this dip. I expect bigger real ones in the future.
A Redskins fan
"just like you're missing the dip in prices out there now"
ReplyDeleteGood point lance, he is probably priced out forever. Now he will die a pauper along with everyone else who didn't buy at the peak like you did.
Garden Style Condos Don't Have Penthouses. I know it sounds good, but the top floor of a three level walk up condo is not a penthouse. Nice try jackass, I am sure there is a gf out there that will buy into your idea.
ReplyDeletehttp://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/rfs/254137087.html
if that doesn't work, then they should put a flashing blue light over it like they do at K-mart
ReplyDeleteThat picture is a piece of art suitable for framing.
ReplyDeleteLance - I'm not sure the red lights refer to the red light district and realtwhores as much as they are telling buyers to STOP before they get crushed by the oncoming Mack truck of falling home prices.
I live way up in Frederick and have been waiting to buy a house forever, but house prices here have been way out of reach. I have saved up enough money (~70K) to cover a 20% down payment, but only make 80K a year. The thing is I see houses for sale (all around where I live) that have been on the market for over 6 months, but prices have either not moved or have moved down only very marginally. Either I will need to make a lot more or current prices have to come down a lot more. It is very frustrating to read all over comments about an increase in supply as the main reason why the real estate industry is not doing so well as if affordability has nothing to do with it.
ReplyDeleteFrustrated
"Lance - I'm not sure the red lights refer to the red light district and realtwhores as much as they are telling buyers to STOP before they get crushed by the oncoming Mack truck of falling home prices. "
ReplyDeleteThat's a pretty good analogy. I'd bet my life that the light turned green within a few seconds of the picture being snapped.
anon 12:46
ReplyDelete"It is very frustrating to read all over comments about an increase in supply as the main reason why the real estate industry is not doing so well as if affordability has nothing to do with it."
You hit the nail straight on the head. The supply is OVERPRICED! Don't listen to the Bagdad Bob's of the world, like Lance.
Frustrated,
ReplyDeleteI am in a similar situation (about the same cash and salary) and live in Germantown. I do not follow SFH but I have seen town homes that were listing for about 420,000 a year ago now listing for 380,000 in my area. If the spring bounce does not materialize I think we could see another 10 to 20 percent decrease in prices at which point I will being looking to buy.
The affordability issue is the main reason I have not bought. I save too much money renting vs owning right now. When it becomes right for me I will buy.
RiG
Anon 12:46, go see a lender, you are more than qualified for an average home in your area. I wish I was in as good a position when I first bought!
ReplyDeleteHow many new condo units are coming online in DC this year? How many condos sold last year?
ReplyDeleteIt seems really hard to find information on the state of the DC market (ziprealty is pretty quiet on DC). Any recommendations on finding the facts?
Real estate downturn last a minimum of 30 months. Usually they last about twice that. Since the peak appears to be in late 2005... we have a ways to go.
I won't buy in 2007. People should have asked what happens when too many people get priced out. Look at what happend to ownit, pinacle, seabring, and now MLN. Their collapse is only the start of the credit tightening.
Taunting us to buy won't work. Give stats. The #1 stat will be
inventory/sales (oh... not looking good)
Price/median income (oh... ugly too)
Price/rent (barf)
Anyone else waiting for United van line's anual migration survey?
Neil
skytrekker said:
ReplyDelete"All the condo's I looked at here are;
overpriced, small, offer little privacy, and are souped up crap with mid to late 2000-2006 trendy BS.
When the shit hits the fans- they will be worth half of what their selling for now."
Small, overpiced and littled privacy yes. Trendy? That's not the issue, though all are called "lofts".
Radius: Crap; Alta, Crap. PNHoffmans in Adams Morgan, trendy, nice, but overpriced now. Metropolis, trendy, but overpriced, if sale prices were about 20% lower they would make sense. 555 Mass Ave, definitely not trendy but small, overpriced and boring. Solo Piazza, nice, a little trendy but not that much, though an outstanding building, but overpriced at resale.
The real problem is price. I am willing to pay $550,000 for a well-designed, hip space, with only 1 1/2 bedrooms with entertaiment space. Unfortunately the prices currently hover around $850,000 for anything really interesting.
John Fontain said...
ReplyDeleteThat picture is a piece of art suitable for framing.
Lance - I'm not sure the red lights refer to the red light district and realtwhores as much as they are telling buyers to STOP before they get crushed by the oncoming Mack truck of falling home prices.
Actually, there are a lot of hookers in that neighborhood.
"It is very frustrating to read all over comments about an increase in supply as the main reason why the real estate industry is not doing so well as if affordability has nothing to do with it."
ReplyDeleteYou hit the nail straight on the head. The supply is OVERPRICED! Don't listen to the Bagdad Bob's of the world, like Lance.
I'm in a similar situation as well as far as salary goes. Not as much saved though, I've only been out of college 3 years. I'm single, and I don't have any ties to DC or any real reason to stay, besides my job. House prices are coming down somewhat, but still have a ways to go.
I came here right out of college, and it's been a great start for my career, but I've decided that this area really doesn't mean enough to me to wait this housing funk out. My company has offices all over the country. I've just applied for positions elsewhere that pay the same or more than I'm getting now, in areas where median home prices are still below 200k. I plan to get out as soon as I can.
So, that's just an idea. Unless you REALLY like DC, or can't get out as easily as myself, you may just consider leaving if you can.
Lance said...
ReplyDeleteAnon 12:46, go see a lender, you are more than qualified for an average home in your area. I wish I was in as good a position when I first bought!
Exactly. There's all kinds of creative financing out there for first time home buyers like yourself. Afterall, real estate only goes up, and you don't want to be priced out forever.
Anon 10:43 said:
ReplyDelete"Exactly. There's all kinds of creative financing out there for first time home buyers like yourself. Afterall, real estate only goes up, and you don't want to be priced out forever."
I know you weren't being serious when you made your reference to prices going up and "being priced out", however a constant theme we hear from the BHs is that they have been "priced out" because of prices going up. So, perhaps there is some truth in your irony. All one needs do is look around them and see that for the most part, the prices of any particular property have indeed gone up over the years, decades, and centuries ... and the smartest thing anyone can do is lock themselves into an affordable payment on a property they want to call home. Note, that I have emphasized the word "affordable" ... meaning "affordable to them." One should never commit themselves to making payments that they will not be able to make ... and that includes future payments that they won't reasonably be able to afford in the future. And yes, the sad truth is that that means some people cannot afford to buy now. Just like when I was 24 and couldn't afford to buy, people like David at 24 can't all afford to buy either. Actually, my group home experiences back then were a learning experience and looking back, I wouldn't have bought even if I could have. But, like financing and prices, it all comes down to everyone having different needs and capabilities at different times in their lives. Blanket statements don't take this into account.
"you may just consider leaving if you can."
ReplyDeleteI, too, am looking to get the F out of here and move to more reasonably priced locale. Just moved here a year and a half ago and between myself and significant other- make about 160K. We cannot afford anything and I refuse to be shackled by an overpriced home. In another locales we can get much more bang for our buck and have a much better quality of life- F DC.
"a constant theme we hear from the BHs is that they have been "priced out" because of prices going up. So, perhaps there is some truth in your irony. All one needs do is look around them and see that for the most part, the prices of any particular property have indeed gone up over the years, decades, and centuries ... "
ReplyDeleteLance... I really hope your level of understanding isn't actually that low.
RE, over the "years, decades and centuries," has appreciated SLOWLY. That is the whole point!
RE doesn't generally appreciate at a rate that prices potential owners out, because if it held that pace for more than a few years there wouldn't be any more potential owners.
I mean HONESTLY. Are you that out of it?
What do you think the graduating class of 2007 is going to do for a house? How about 2008 or 2009? A chimp with finger paint could figure out that prices are not going to keep going up like they have been forever and that there is no real risk to being "priced out forever."
dang...
Your continual cheerleading and "buy now!" BS is more than a little worn out. The market has already turned. Prices are dropping, and here you are trying to talk people into using creative financing to buy an overpriced POS.
www.midatlanticpropertylaw.blogpost.com
ReplyDeleteGreat site! I have searched several other related sites and found yours "interesting" enough to actually read in comparison.
I would like to add your link to my newly created site; let me know if that is ok.
griveros@cooverbarr.com
I thought I was the only one with the opinion that the housing market will fall! I am a ready buyer but refuse to sign anything until I know I'm getting the lowest price for the property. Experts keep predicting a spring bounce but we the buyers determine such. I don't care what their statisticians say. I have the power. ALL BUYERS WAIT! We'll show them.
ReplyDelete