For the price to reach $450K there should be no buyers in $500-550K price range. I think there are a couple of dozen such buyers on this board alone.
I originally said “closer to $150 than $200”, so once it gets to $174 I’m golden.
A year ago we weren’t talking about the collapse of the secondary market for mortgage paper or 30% price decreases in this county or $5/gallon gasoline, but it all happened anyway. We might be in the 5th inning of this game, but it’s a double header and we have a long ways to go yet.
Besides, I don’t think the regional pricing structure will decline to that point without mortgage interest rates going up. That means that people who are $600k buyers now may only be able to swing $400k purchases then. A $360,000 loan at 9% is almost $2,900/month, and that’s without taxes, insurance, maintenance, etc. Even now those homes aren’t renting for $3,000/month.
