What are your thoughts? Housing going UP or DOWN?

[Coronita]

[quote=walterwhite]in a way, isn’t an offer just an option to buy? put in your offer, hang out in escrow a while, if things look downwardly, drag the escrow out, drop out, if things look optimistic for you, negotiate in escrow and buy it then. it’s not like getting married, right?[/quote]

Scaredy, I’ve given up on you..
If the prices really do fall too the bottom again, you’re going to be wondering if it will fall further. If prices are going stay put, you’re going to wonder when is the next leg down…And then when prices start to rise, you’re going to be venting that you didn’t buy at the low….You’re hopeless 🙂

Just kidding. To answer your question. I don’t think folks would agree to letting you hold onto escrow that long.

[scaredyclassic]

i dont know. i lost out on a place about 4 months ago that is still screwing about in escrow. 4-6 months doesnt seem outrageous does it? it must have some economic value. if hyperinflation were to kick in… i don’t know.

[scaredyclassic]

i dont know. i lost out on a place about 4 months ago that is still screwing about in escrow. 4-6 months doesnt seem outrageous does it? it must have some economic value. if hyperinflation were to kick in… i don’t know.

[scaredyclassic]

i dont know. i lost out on a place about 4 months ago that is still screwing about in escrow. 4-6 months doesnt seem outrageous does it? it must have some economic value. if hyperinflation were to kick in… i don’t know.

[scaredyclassic]

i dont know. i lost out on a place about 4 months ago that is still screwing about in escrow. 4-6 months doesnt seem outrageous does it? it must have some economic value. if hyperinflation were to kick in… i don’t know.

[scaredyclassic]

i dont know. i lost out on a place about 4 months ago that is still screwing about in escrow. 4-6 months doesnt seem outrageous does it? it must have some economic value. if hyperinflation were to kick in… i don’t know.

[cyphire]

DOWN DOWN DOWN!!!!

I am subscribing to the theory that most markets are driven by mass psychology which in turn impacts the amplitude of economic issues in society. Every time there has been a bubble (or major crash) in the financial world, everyone saw it coming, everyone saw the signs, but most folks never put their money where their mouths were, and rode it most of the way (or all of the way) down.

We are in an unprecedented slide, I truly believe this and am not a conspiracy guy, a gold bug, a end-of-the-world person, etc. We have HUGE problems in our financial markets, an economy which has had trillions of dollars thrown at it, which has not only not stopped the slide, but has happened in a basically deflationary pattern (the net effect of deflation is that prices stay flat or go down which we are seeing).

Housing is a vast supertanker of economic issues, which are not easily corrected nor can be turned on a dime. Companies correcting their P/E ratios by not hiring (and in fact firing employees), and financial markets with huge volatility in the face of bad economic news are harbingers of a stock market collapse, and an even more rapidly descending housing market.

I’ve been talking to people (regular working folks) who are laid off, cut back, and in many cases being offered new jobs by their same employers but at up to 1/2 off their previous salary – and that doesn’t show up in the statistics.

There have been and are continuing credit cutting, as well as assets starting to be repriced at what they are worth (but not really as all the banking and accounting rules have been altered to not give the real picture!), and this trend will continue taking the consumer and then the economy with it.

Could we have some slight price increases in CA??? Absolutely. But I believe that we will see dramatic price deflation across all assets, especially housing. The buyers (in general) are scared and are not getting the signals about their economic safety from their bosses. What kind of recovery can you have when the majority of the population sees lower income and higher expenses ahead?

A broken medical system, a financial system which is more fraud than investment grade, and pundits who always claim that the recovery is around the corner, but can’t see the big picture because it is too scary…

ANYWAY – the only mortgages which are available are ones backed by Fannie and Freddie. Do you think banks are giving 90% loans out which are non-conforming and which aren’t guaranteed, and lets remember that both those institutions are broke and will have to be rescued.

I think that there is too much danger of a snowball effect. After all we spent like crazy for 15 years, and the next 15 (which we started 3 years ago) should be a dozy! And pretty damn bad.

I hope this isn’t true, but I’m generally shorting the markets modestly and long term, I sold ALL my muni bond funds for cash, and in a future of massive deflation, cash will be king, not bonds and not even treasury bonds.

[cyphire]

DOWN DOWN DOWN!!!!

I am subscribing to the theory that most markets are driven by mass psychology which in turn impacts the amplitude of economic issues in society. Every time there has been a bubble (or major crash) in the financial world, everyone saw it coming, everyone saw the signs, but most folks never put their money where their mouths were, and rode it most of the way (or all of the way) down.

We are in an unprecedented slide, I truly believe this and am not a conspiracy guy, a gold bug, a end-of-the-world person, etc. We have HUGE problems in our financial markets, an economy which has had trillions of dollars thrown at it, which has not only not stopped the slide, but has happened in a basically deflationary pattern (the net effect of deflation is that prices stay flat or go down which we are seeing).

Housing is a vast supertanker of economic issues, which are not easily corrected nor can be turned on a dime. Companies correcting their P/E ratios by not hiring (and in fact firing employees), and financial markets with huge volatility in the face of bad economic news are harbingers of a stock market collapse, and an even more rapidly descending housing market.

I’ve been talking to people (regular working folks) who are laid off, cut back, and in many cases being offered new jobs by their same employers but at up to 1/2 off their previous salary – and that doesn’t show up in the statistics.

There have been and are continuing credit cutting, as well as assets starting to be repriced at what they are worth (but not really as all the banking and accounting rules have been altered to not give the real picture!), and this trend will continue taking the consumer and then the economy with it.

Could we have some slight price increases in CA??? Absolutely. But I believe that we will see dramatic price deflation across all assets, especially housing. The buyers (in general) are scared and are not getting the signals about their economic safety from their bosses. What kind of recovery can you have when the majority of the population sees lower income and higher expenses ahead?

A broken medical system, a financial system which is more fraud than investment grade, and pundits who always claim that the recovery is around the corner, but can’t see the big picture because it is too scary…

ANYWAY – the only mortgages which are available are ones backed by Fannie and Freddie. Do you think banks are giving 90% loans out which are non-conforming and which aren’t guaranteed, and lets remember that both those institutions are broke and will have to be rescued.

I think that there is too much danger of a snowball effect. After all we spent like crazy for 15 years, and the next 15 (which we started 3 years ago) should be a dozy! And pretty damn bad.

I hope this isn’t true, but I’m generally shorting the markets modestly and long term, I sold ALL my muni bond funds for cash, and in a future of massive deflation, cash will be king, not bonds and not even treasury bonds.

[cyphire]

DOWN DOWN DOWN!!!!

I am subscribing to the theory that most markets are driven by mass psychology which in turn impacts the amplitude of economic issues in society. Every time there has been a bubble (or major crash) in the financial world, everyone saw it coming, everyone saw the signs, but most folks never put their money where their mouths were, and rode it most of the way (or all of the way) down.

We are in an unprecedented slide, I truly believe this and am not a conspiracy guy, a gold bug, a end-of-the-world person, etc. We have HUGE problems in our financial markets, an economy which has had trillions of dollars thrown at it, which has not only not stopped the slide, but has happened in a basically deflationary pattern (the net effect of deflation is that prices stay flat or go down which we are seeing).

Housing is a vast supertanker of economic issues, which are not easily corrected nor can be turned on a dime. Companies correcting their P/E ratios by not hiring (and in fact firing employees), and financial markets with huge volatility in the face of bad economic news are harbingers of a stock market collapse, and an even more rapidly descending housing market.

I’ve been talking to people (regular working folks) who are laid off, cut back, and in many cases being offered new jobs by their same employers but at up to 1/2 off their previous salary – and that doesn’t show up in the statistics.

There have been and are continuing credit cutting, as well as assets starting to be repriced at what they are worth (but not really as all the banking and accounting rules have been altered to not give the real picture!), and this trend will continue taking the consumer and then the economy with it.

Could we have some slight price increases in CA??? Absolutely. But I believe that we will see dramatic price deflation across all assets, especially housing. The buyers (in general) are scared and are not getting the signals about their economic safety from their bosses. What kind of recovery can you have when the majority of the population sees lower income and higher expenses ahead?

A broken medical system, a financial system which is more fraud than investment grade, and pundits who always claim that the recovery is around the corner, but can’t see the big picture because it is too scary…

ANYWAY – the only mortgages which are available are ones backed by Fannie and Freddie. Do you think banks are giving 90% loans out which are non-conforming and which aren’t guaranteed, and lets remember that both those institutions are broke and will have to be rescued.

I think that there is too much danger of a snowball effect. After all we spent like crazy for 15 years, and the next 15 (which we started 3 years ago) should be a dozy! And pretty damn bad.

I hope this isn’t true, but I’m generally shorting the markets modestly and long term, I sold ALL my muni bond funds for cash, and in a future of massive deflation, cash will be king, not bonds and not even treasury bonds.

[cyphire]

DOWN DOWN DOWN!!!!

I am subscribing to the theory that most markets are driven by mass psychology which in turn impacts the amplitude of economic issues in society. Every time there has been a bubble (or major crash) in the financial world, everyone saw it coming, everyone saw the signs, but most folks never put their money where their mouths were, and rode it most of the way (or all of the way) down.

We are in an unprecedented slide, I truly believe this and am not a conspiracy guy, a gold bug, a end-of-the-world person, etc. We have HUGE problems in our financial markets, an economy which has had trillions of dollars thrown at it, which has not only not stopped the slide, but has happened in a basically deflationary pattern (the net effect of deflation is that prices stay flat or go down which we are seeing).

Housing is a vast supertanker of economic issues, which are not easily corrected nor can be turned on a dime. Companies correcting their P/E ratios by not hiring (and in fact firing employees), and financial markets with huge volatility in the face of bad economic news are harbingers of a stock market collapse, and an even more rapidly descending housing market.

I’ve been talking to people (regular working folks) who are laid off, cut back, and in many cases being offered new jobs by their same employers but at up to 1/2 off their previous salary – and that doesn’t show up in the statistics.

There have been and are continuing credit cutting, as well as assets starting to be repriced at what they are worth (but not really as all the banking and accounting rules have been altered to not give the real picture!), and this trend will continue taking the consumer and then the economy with it.

Could we have some slight price increases in CA??? Absolutely. But I believe that we will see dramatic price deflation across all assets, especially housing. The buyers (in general) are scared and are not getting the signals about their economic safety from their bosses. What kind of recovery can you have when the majority of the population sees lower income and higher expenses ahead?

A broken medical system, a financial system which is more fraud than investment grade, and pundits who always claim that the recovery is around the corner, but can’t see the big picture because it is too scary…

ANYWAY – the only mortgages which are available are ones backed by Fannie and Freddie. Do you think banks are giving 90% loans out which are non-conforming and which aren’t guaranteed, and lets remember that both those institutions are broke and will have to be rescued.

I think that there is too much danger of a snowball effect. After all we spent like crazy for 15 years, and the next 15 (which we started 3 years ago) should be a dozy! And pretty damn bad.

I hope this isn’t true, but I’m generally shorting the markets modestly and long term, I sold ALL my muni bond funds for cash, and in a future of massive deflation, cash will be king, not bonds and not even treasury bonds.

[cyphire]

DOWN DOWN DOWN!!!!

I am subscribing to the theory that most markets are driven by mass psychology which in turn impacts the amplitude of economic issues in society. Every time there has been a bubble (or major crash) in the financial world, everyone saw it coming, everyone saw the signs, but most folks never put their money where their mouths were, and rode it most of the way (or all of the way) down.

We are in an unprecedented slide, I truly believe this and am not a conspiracy guy, a gold bug, a end-of-the-world person, etc. We have HUGE problems in our financial markets, an economy which has had trillions of dollars thrown at it, which has not only not stopped the slide, but has happened in a basically deflationary pattern (the net effect of deflation is that prices stay flat or go down which we are seeing).

Housing is a vast supertanker of economic issues, which are not easily corrected nor can be turned on a dime. Companies correcting their P/E ratios by not hiring (and in fact firing employees), and financial markets with huge volatility in the face of bad economic news are harbingers of a stock market collapse, and an even more rapidly descending housing market.

I’ve been talking to people (regular working folks) who are laid off, cut back, and in many cases being offered new jobs by their same employers but at up to 1/2 off their previous salary – and that doesn’t show up in the statistics.

There have been and are continuing credit cutting, as well as assets starting to be repriced at what they are worth (but not really as all the banking and accounting rules have been altered to not give the real picture!), and this trend will continue taking the consumer and then the economy with it.

Could we have some slight price increases in CA??? Absolutely. But I believe that we will see dramatic price deflation across all assets, especially housing. The buyers (in general) are scared and are not getting the signals about their economic safety from their bosses. What kind of recovery can you have when the majority of the population sees lower income and higher expenses ahead?

A broken medical system, a financial system which is more fraud than investment grade, and pundits who always claim that the recovery is around the corner, but can’t see the big picture because it is too scary…

ANYWAY – the only mortgages which are available are ones backed by Fannie and Freddie. Do you think banks are giving 90% loans out which are non-conforming and which aren’t guaranteed, and lets remember that both those institutions are broke and will have to be rescued.

I think that there is too much danger of a snowball effect. After all we spent like crazy for 15 years, and the next 15 (which we started 3 years ago) should be a dozy! And pretty damn bad.

I hope this isn’t true, but I’m generally shorting the markets modestly and long term, I sold ALL my muni bond funds for cash, and in a future of massive deflation, cash will be king, not bonds and not even treasury bonds.

[bearishgurl]

[quote=CA renter]BG,

We’re looking mostly in North County Coastal (apparently, one of the “bullet-proof” areas, as would be our luck) . . . [/quote]

CAR, no area is “bulletproof.” Do not believe this. Older coastal properties typically have a LOT of issues that sellers are reluctant to fix, which beg negotiation (i.e. dry rot, termite damage, concrete half basements that need patching/sealing (Ocean Beach/Coronado), etc. Location is important, but a semi-fixer or fixer is problematic to sell for top dollar, no matter where it is.

Have you bid on any cosmetic or moderate fixers?

[quote=capeman]Don’t fret on that CAR. A lot of these properties are falling out of escrow constantly. The property we are buying is one of these ranch types and we had it fall into our laps after falling out of escrow 3 times for what we would call trivial reasons. The house we bid on before as a low ball had “multiple offers” but magically they all fell through.

It also seems that a lot of realtors are playing games saying there are multiple offers coming in but they never materialize. We would just tell them “Sorry, we don’t want to get into bidding wars.” then hear back not even a week later saying there were none and to submit ours. There’s a lot of gaming going on but a lot of good properties popping up daily.[/quote](emphasis added)

THANK YOU, capeman, I’ve been trying to say this on a couple of other threads but was chastised as having an “unsuitable attitude” for real estate sales. KUDOS to you for calling their bluff and walking and not engaging in the games.

I maintain that “realtors” who turn their listings into fake “blind auctions,” stating to buyers’ agents, “I have several more offers coming in,” esp. if the listing was only posted this morning and you just put in the first offer, are lying, lying, lying.

A buyer should make offers with an explicit 72 or 96 hr. (if submitted on a weekend) clause for acceptance/counter or rejection. If they hear nothing, or worse, a gaming story, WALK!!! As you said, there will always be another property available.

I admire your patience and perseverence. Good luck with your escrow :=)

[bearishgurl]

[quote=CA renter]BG,

We’re looking mostly in North County Coastal (apparently, one of the “bullet-proof” areas, as would be our luck) . . . [/quote]

CAR, no area is “bulletproof.” Do not believe this. Older coastal properties typically have a LOT of issues that sellers are reluctant to fix, which beg negotiation (i.e. dry rot, termite damage, concrete half basements that need patching/sealing (Ocean Beach/Coronado), etc. Location is important, but a semi-fixer or fixer is problematic to sell for top dollar, no matter where it is.

Have you bid on any cosmetic or moderate fixers?

[quote=capeman]Don’t fret on that CAR. A lot of these properties are falling out of escrow constantly. The property we are buying is one of these ranch types and we had it fall into our laps after falling out of escrow 3 times for what we would call trivial reasons. The house we bid on before as a low ball had “multiple offers” but magically they all fell through.

It also seems that a lot of realtors are playing games saying there are multiple offers coming in but they never materialize. We would just tell them “Sorry, we don’t want to get into bidding wars.” then hear back not even a week later saying there were none and to submit ours. There’s a lot of gaming going on but a lot of good properties popping up daily.[/quote](emphasis added)

THANK YOU, capeman, I’ve been trying to say this on a couple of other threads but was chastised as having an “unsuitable attitude” for real estate sales. KUDOS to you for calling their bluff and walking and not engaging in the games.

I maintain that “realtors” who turn their listings into fake “blind auctions,” stating to buyers’ agents, “I have several more offers coming in,” esp. if the listing was only posted this morning and you just put in the first offer, are lying, lying, lying.

A buyer should make offers with an explicit 72 or 96 hr. (if submitted on a weekend) clause for acceptance/counter or rejection. If they hear nothing, or worse, a gaming story, WALK!!! As you said, there will always be another property available.

I admire your patience and perseverence. Good luck with your escrow :=)

[bearishgurl]

[quote=CA renter]BG,

We’re looking mostly in North County Coastal (apparently, one of the “bullet-proof” areas, as would be our luck) . . . [/quote]

CAR, no area is “bulletproof.” Do not believe this. Older coastal properties typically have a LOT of issues that sellers are reluctant to fix, which beg negotiation (i.e. dry rot, termite damage, concrete half basements that need patching/sealing (Ocean Beach/Coronado), etc. Location is important, but a semi-fixer or fixer is problematic to sell for top dollar, no matter where it is.

Have you bid on any cosmetic or moderate fixers?

[quote=capeman]Don’t fret on that CAR. A lot of these properties are falling out of escrow constantly. The property we are buying is one of these ranch types and we had it fall into our laps after falling out of escrow 3 times for what we would call trivial reasons. The house we bid on before as a low ball had “multiple offers” but magically they all fell through.

It also seems that a lot of realtors are playing games saying there are multiple offers coming in but they never materialize. We would just tell them “Sorry, we don’t want to get into bidding wars.” then hear back not even a week later saying there were none and to submit ours. There’s a lot of gaming going on but a lot of good properties popping up daily.[/quote](emphasis added)

THANK YOU, capeman, I’ve been trying to say this on a couple of other threads but was chastised as having an “unsuitable attitude” for real estate sales. KUDOS to you for calling their bluff and walking and not engaging in the games.

I maintain that “realtors” who turn their listings into fake “blind auctions,” stating to buyers’ agents, “I have several more offers coming in,” esp. if the listing was only posted this morning and you just put in the first offer, are lying, lying, lying.

A buyer should make offers with an explicit 72 or 96 hr. (if submitted on a weekend) clause for acceptance/counter or rejection. If they hear nothing, or worse, a gaming story, WALK!!! As you said, there will always be another property available.

I admire your patience and perseverence. Good luck with your escrow :=)

[bearishgurl]

[quote=CA renter]BG,

We’re looking mostly in North County Coastal (apparently, one of the “bullet-proof” areas, as would be our luck) . . . [/quote]

CAR, no area is “bulletproof.” Do not believe this. Older coastal properties typically have a LOT of issues that sellers are reluctant to fix, which beg negotiation (i.e. dry rot, termite damage, concrete half basements that need patching/sealing (Ocean Beach/Coronado), etc. Location is important, but a semi-fixer or fixer is problematic to sell for top dollar, no matter where it is.

Have you bid on any cosmetic or moderate fixers?

[quote=capeman]Don’t fret on that CAR. A lot of these properties are falling out of escrow constantly. The property we are buying is one of these ranch types and we had it fall into our laps after falling out of escrow 3 times for what we would call trivial reasons. The house we bid on before as a low ball had “multiple offers” but magically they all fell through.

It also seems that a lot of realtors are playing games saying there are multiple offers coming in but they never materialize. We would just tell them “Sorry, we don’t want to get into bidding wars.” then hear back not even a week later saying there were none and to submit ours. There’s a lot of gaming going on but a lot of good properties popping up daily.[/quote](emphasis added)

THANK YOU, capeman, I’ve been trying to say this on a couple of other threads but was chastised as having an “unsuitable attitude” for real estate sales. KUDOS to you for calling their bluff and walking and not engaging in the games.

I maintain that “realtors” who turn their listings into fake “blind auctions,” stating to buyers’ agents, “I have several more offers coming in,” esp. if the listing was only posted this morning and you just put in the first offer, are lying, lying, lying.

A buyer should make offers with an explicit 72 or 96 hr. (if submitted on a weekend) clause for acceptance/counter or rejection. If they hear nothing, or worse, a gaming story, WALK!!! As you said, there will always be another property available.

I admire your patience and perseverence. Good luck with your escrow :=)

[Author]

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