The real story continues with foreclosure and short sales giving spin doctors a headfake that the recession is nearing the end.
Residential Sales
Real Estate sales for the past seven day period showed a slight increase. Residential sales for the county were 21 and residential sales on the Island were 6. Of course the spin doctors for the government would consider this a solid sign that the recession is over.
But in reality we are still a long way from a healthy real estate market. As values continue to drop, the For Sale supply side continues to swell.
I was talking with a friend just yesterday, who told me of a home in his neighborhood that has been on the market for over four years. In spite of substantial price reductions the owners have not been able to attract a buyer. It just confirms to me that we still have a long way to go in this market and economy. We are seeing more and more layoffs in the small business sector and more and more homeowners going into default.
What greatly amazes me is the number of people who still don’t understand the workings of the real estate business and why their home and property values are continuing to fall. They don’t seem to grasp that every short sale and foreclosure you see in a community is driving values down. As you see more and more foreclosures and short sales in your area, the chances for your home to sink underwater increases substantially. With official un-employment nationwide up to 9.8% in September and expected to grow into 2010, we don’t see a return to equity levels for a long time. The sooner Washington figures this out and puts incentives where they work, the sooner we may start digging ourselves out of this recession hole.
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Yes things might still be bad where you are and while forclosures etc do bring down prices this might not always be the case. Have you seen some forclosed or short sale homes I wouldn't buy them regardless, often ripped up inside, neglected etc it would take a lot of work to bring them back to par or even liveable! People everywhere are looking for a deal but also quality maybe things will never ever be the same as they used to be in which case we all need to get a new attitude about things and maybe stop comparing what might never be. Let's get on with living and learning to deal with the world we are now living in.