Prices will continue to skid downward. Foreclosures will increase even though Countrywide and other lenders may adjust the rates because most of the owners in CA bought their home and hoped to make money from the continued appreciation. Now that the cat is out of the bag, how many do you think will keep making their payments and the cost of keeping up a home? If this site is still up and running in late 2011, people will still be posting questions like, “when will we hit the bottom”? Then, a couple of years after that, people will be posting the question, “when do you think that prices will start rising again”?

This is a long-term “down cycle” to the bottom and it’s going to be a long, long, time before prices start climbing again. (In bubble markets) I now live in Greenville, SC (left SD in the spring of 2005) which has a good economy but never had the run-up in prices like CA and other bubble markets so we’re not feeling hardly any drops in value with real estate. We are like the majority of the country. So, when you read these proclamations from the NAR, they may apply (somewhat) to many markets such as the one I live in but they aren’t going to apply to CA for a long time.

Prices will continue to skid downward. Foreclosures will increase even though Countrywide and other lenders may adjust the rates because most of the owners in CA bought their home and hoped to make money from the continued appreciation. Now that the cat is out of the bag, how many do you think will keep making their payments and the cost of keeping up a home? If this site is still up and running in late 2011, people will still be posting questions like, “when will we hit the bottom”? Then, a couple of years after that, people will be posting the question, “when do you think that prices will start rising again”?

This is a long-term “down cycle” to the bottom and it’s going to be a long, long, time before prices start climbing again. (In bubble markets) I now live in Greenville, SC (left SD in the spring of 2005) which has a good economy but never had the run-up in prices like CA and other bubble markets so we’re not feeling hardly any drops in value with real estate. We are like the majority of the country. So, when you read these proclamations from the NAR, they may apply (somewhat) to many markets such as the one I live in but they aren’t going to apply to CA for a long time.

I guess this is a sign of how desperate people have been the past few months and how much financial stress has been weighing on many minds. I recognize this could be seen as an attempt to find the “silver lining” but it comes off kind of strange. In good taste this question probably shouldn’t be asked before the danger is past. I’m not referring to OC Scam or anyone else who responds, but the writer of the article.

Now the answer to the question:

“Standard Piggington response”.

As much as these disasters may be a temporary “brake” on price declines, it will be even more of a negative impact on sales.

Values can decline with or without sales, and I don’t see how these fires can be anything but bad news for an already troubled market.

I think the author just wants to think he was the first one to point out how this will affect the housing crash. He’s not saying anything worthwhile.

I would think that with so many people permanently displaced this will change the supply and demand for rental units. WIth more people needing to rent I would thiunk this would allow for an increase in rental prices.

If the rental prices reach a new ground it changes the rent buy equilibrium.

On the jobs front constuction and builders are going to have business up to their eyeballs.

Additionally with government intervention and encouragement to lending institution to assist with the mortgage mess you may housing decline could easily decelerate and plateau earlier than people think.