Russell, what looks like optimism is merely observations from my life, your results may vary. I’ve spent probably more than half of my scheduled time on the planet and what I’ve learned makes me understand that balance will find me, I don;t need to seek it. When things look like they are great and will only get better, they won’t, conversely when things look like they can only get worse, they wont. Pendulums swing and they always swing back, if there are too many rabbits, soon there will be coyotes, balance is the most reliable thing in our world. The study of nature and business has amazing similarities. This country has all the needed elements, it just needs to organize them. It is also a healthy thing to go through something like this current crisis every decade or two.
Ca renter-micro markets are different, peaks are different in those markets. My observations in my market put 1991 as a peak, about 1995 as the bottom and 1998 as the end of the flat part, 1999-2003 was the upswing and 2003-2006 or 2007 as the artificial phase. You can plus or minus a year or two for different markets for different reasons. The exhurbs tend to rise later and fall sooner, so you will have to research your own micro market to get your numbers and target prices.
paramount, that place is overpriced but it isn’t a short or a repo, it won’t sell until the competition changes. It’s still nuts up here, I was working on the yard today and a repo had an open house down the street. I could have a few bucks selling parking spaces, I was a little disapointed, I had hoped all the cars meant perhaps a brothel had opened.
Peter, we agree that if your mort is the same as rent, stay put, but also suggest people stay put who can afford it. I would not walk from a place that may not have turned out to be the investment I thought it was as long as I had no difficulty making the payment. I bought a high horse because I like sitting on it, if you can, honor thy debts. If you lose your job or cannot make your payment, that is one thing, but to stop paying when you have the ability to, as a strategy, bad karma.
