Bugs: I don’t know how to put this, since it amounts to pure speculation on my part, but I have the sense that things here (Fallbrook, Bonsall, etc) are more desperate than the numbers would indicate.
I coach football here, and I think that kids are always a good barometer of what is going on at home. More and more, I have been hearing about vacations put off, purchases not made and “toys” (RVs, boats, etc) for sale. In the grocery store, I watch more and more people buying groceries with credit cards. Like I said, this is probably nothing more than idle speculation, but I get the definite sense that the buoyant mood of a few years past is gone.
You see a lot more short sales, a lot more “Reduced Price” sign toppers and a lot more “For Sale” signs sitting on the market for a lot longer.
While things are definitely worse in Temecula/Murrieta/Menifee, it looks like the pain is spreading here too. I don’t think the problem is “contained” solely to sub-prime or even Alt-A borrowers. I think it is pointing to an appetite for debt across all income classes and I think the party is about to come to an end.
