http://beforeitsnews.com/story/388/169/Housing_Armageddon:_12_Facts_Which_Show_That_We_Are_In_The_Midst_Of_The_Worst_Housing_Collapse_In_U.S._History.html

Any truth to what they are reporting about 11% of homes in the U.S. are standing empty?

Sure looks like it to me around here.  Probably more than 11%.

The town that I just left, it's probably closer to 20%.  Good thing I was renting.

 

Gainesville, FL is a wonderful city that has a very nice home I would sell to you for a fraction of its worth...Mom had to go into assisted living last year and well––- I am managing her now.  The home is on a golf course and is one of about a thousand in the area that are listed THIRTY THOUSAND UNDER (200 to 170) as of today.

Yes sir.  I would concur that the housing situation sucks.

... only for the sellers.

got one on the beach cheap?

Man, sorry to hear this. I pray it works out for you and your mother.

They are building four subdivisions within 2 miles of us here.  Churches / Schools of all grades / A couple Kroger grocery stores / etc

we have been thinking of moving and started looking at homes.

we have looked at 8 on the market in our range. 6 were empty.

I know that around here it is pretty high. Where my friend and his GF live in a newer sub division in N. LV it is practically a ghost town. Kinda scary pulling up to his house and the whole neighborhood is dark maybe about 20 homes are being occupied the rest are for sale or have a for rent sign in front. Pretty sad, I think Vegas has been hit pretty hard. There are newer developments that look like they have been abandoned, these were nice houses in the 350K range.


Peaks and valleys hopefully we're on our way to start the climb back up.

Probably true.  And it's probably a good thing.

Look at how many people were buying McMansions on any sort of loan that they could possibly eek out.  In 10 years, we went from people being semi-sensical to people thinking that they HAD TO HAVE, and were ENTITLED TO, a 5,000 square foot house right out of the gate.  People did stupid things, paid the price for it, and now things are getting back to reasonable levels.

It's ugly, but it's not everywhere.

I guess I really am a contrarian, when everyone was insisting RE would never lose value I was screaming about the bubble about to pop, and nowwhen people are terrified it'll get much worse I see a buying opportunity.

There are no empty houses in my neighborhood, I know this is just anecdotal but the builder in this development has raised prices twice in the last six months, and last week they reduced standard features for the same price, and the houses are still selling.

Building materials and construction labor are dirt cheap, new construction is dirt cheap, interest rates are extremely low, housing in desirable neighborhoods has already come down to where it's way cheaper to own than rent. My conventional 30/fixed on a 3400ft house costs me less than $1000/mo including insurance and taxes.

What's really getting hit hard now is undesirable places to live, the bubble hit hardest in desirable areas first but with demand down it's the older, less desirable housing units that are really going into the toilet.

The places where whole neighborhoods are in default are where it will get worse, major changes in the nature of an economy can create ghost towns, suburbs can turn into ghettos. If you're living someplace where things are still deteriorating get out, it isn't going to get better.

My fiance and I are in the huntin/buying process. Sucks? NOPE

Some people should have never been allowed to own a home in the first place.

now's the time to begin my housing empire!
I hope to buy another one within a years time...
This is a great opportunity to get some assets for when the market goes back up.

What makes you think it's going to go up?



Wages are stagnating at best, atrophying at worst, there are millions of properties empty and for sale, plus over one million in foreclosure (or some insane number) and banks won't be rushing out a lax credit policy for at least a decade.



Landlords need to buy based on cashflow & occupancy (as they always should have done), not on "possible" capital appreciation.



 

I just bought a house for nearly $45k under what it hit the market for.  The thing had only been on the market since October too!

Right now is a great time to buy a house but I'd hate like hell to be selling.

It will eventually. I have no problems with waiting 10 years or however long it takes.
The house I own now is in the Fayetteville/Fort Bragg area, the market has fared a little better here than other places, plus another 30k+ troops will be stationed here shortly.
When I leave I will buy another one where I decide to live..
It seems good to me from this end.

Freddie & Fannie caused a big huge run-up in housing prices, and now that they are bankrupt and shadow of it's former self, the market will truly be reflected. The banks are sitting on a bunch of underwater houses that people have just plain stop paying for, but the banks don't want to foreclose because it would now be considered a liability.

Freddie & Fannie gave people the impression that homes are an investment, and not a place to live in. Sure some people made out like a bandit, but many literally lost their shirts. And that will affect the economy for years to come. Even the news media keeps on reporting that there is car buying surge, or retail buying surge. The losses in housing amounts to trillions of dollars. How many cars and shirts do you have to buy to get get trillions of dollars. I can truthfully say it would be a lot.

And of course the news media hasn't played up the angle that the USA taxpayer is on the hook for all those "mistakes" at Freddie & Fannie.

Not in the DC area...

Of course not.  Federal jobs aren't hurting.

A condo next to mine went for $38,600.00 at auction...



This same condo sold for $174.000.00 a few years back.



Phoenix is getting SMASHED with price corrections...



or whatever you want to call it.

For those buying, you'd better hope you can get the loan.

I have no doubt, that number is right. I see new houses built every day and new ones just sitting there. Sad thing is those houses are not worth the money they are asking. How do I know, cause I build. I am not a contractor, I'm a carpenter. Wages and quality have gone way down the tube and the price of a house has gone up. Materials aren't that much more expensive. If you were to cut out the middle men, those houses would be a third to half the cost. If the savings were to be passed on to the customer, instead of going into someone else pocket, I don't think we would be in near the shape we are now.
If people only realised how much money they could save by being they're own contractor, it wouldn't cost near as much to build a house.
Me and the 2 guys I work with, just went and looked at a house for a lady. Her house is about to fall in. One builder, told her, $100,000.00 to build her a house. We told her $60,000.00. That's turnkey on a 1100 sq ft. house. Nothing fancy, metal roof and siding. Laminate wood floors, sheetrock walls, all the trim and fixins for that. Modesty has alot to do with it. You don't need a big fancy house to be comfortable, but if that's what you want, those prices can still be cut to pieces.
 We get nickled and dimed to death all the time. I can't make a decent living being a carpenter anymore, cause someone else wants me to lower my price, so they can pocket more money. We are one of the last " white crews" that have mangaged to hang in there, but that coming to a fast halt. If it weren't for customers who like good quality, we'd be screwed! Quality does not mean expensive. The middle man means expensive! Greed is what has gotten us in the situation, and I don't see that changing. It's a neverending downward spiral. Time for the "big boys" to learn not to bite the hand that feeds you!
I wish for one day, that every AMERICAN working class person, would tell everyone to kiss their ass! We ain't doing your shit for nothing anymore! If you don't like it take a flying, fucking leap off the first cliff you come too,and then point them in the right direction! Look at them and say" would you do this for this amount of money?" When they say no, tell em " have a nice Fucking day!" Get off your lazy fat ass and do something for your money! I speak for at least 2 other guys, just like me, that work their asses off for everything they have. I hope I speak for alot more than just us 3! Just my 2 bits.

Not all of em are sitting empty, somebody is living in them.

Now how many are paying the mortgage, that is the real story.

I don't know how old you are but, this kind of sounds like a few people I know. Illegals have absolutely destroyed a generation of tradesmen. Wages for these jobs (when you can find one) are so low that in the DC area that you cant make it. They stack 10-15 to a house and get gov. assistance and free health care.
Then customers ask me why I cant compete with pricing that they get from mexicans. Combine that with construction being primarily a two season profession and it's almost impossible to survive anymore.

Yep, you guys are getting smashed.

We have some friends who moved here from Scottsdale...interesting stories they have.

Roger that in Tulsa.

I'm 35. I feel your pain man. I remember when I was a kid, being a carpenter was a good, well looked upon profession. You worked hard and made a decent living. Nothing over the top, just a decent living. The whole illegal thing is just rediculous. I hate it when I hear " they're just doing jobs no one else wants". I want my job mother@#$@#$! If you think that's all they want, you better hang on. They're gonna go all the way to the top, if we let them.
I'm not harping on all contractors or anyting like that, there is just way to many people getting paid to do nothing. I know, well used to know, alot of contractors that put their bags on and went to work every day. I have a ton or respect for those guys and girls! I believe that you eventually earn the right to kick back a little and run your business. It's when they get in a "bind" and start chewing on our ass, and we are doing everything we are supposed to do, that I get pissed. If your in that bad of a bind or we are behind, because we are short on hands, put your friggin tools on and go to work. Don't just stand there and bitch at me, I'm making your living. I go to work and do my job, pretty dam good at it too.
 I have made a lot of poeple, a lot of money. Nine times out of ten all we get is a " good job" or the ol pat on the back. It only takes one "oh shit" to override all those "attaboys". Hmmmmmmm ain't that funny.

I am a Builder/GC who is also a very capable carpenter.  Thank God I am a capable carpenter because that is what is keeping me working these days.  I would have to take exception to the comment of "middle man" in the case of a GC here.  Managing time frame, material flow, quality of subcontractors, finances, etc takes a little more than most people realize.  I've seen people who have tried to GC their own projects and they did not come out all that great.  There are many things that the average person just does not know and does not account for.  There are also plenty of things that can be done wrong and would not be caught by the inexperienced.  

Of course there are plenty of regional differences when it comes to construction.  I may be biased, but New England craftsmanship is not found in all 50 states.  When I travel and see textured walls, 2" baseboard and drywall returns in place of casings it makes me .  I am used to delivering a certain standard of product whether I do all the work or I GC the majority of it out.  At the end of the day I am not the "middle man" I am the guy who makes things happen correctly.  The product has my name on it, no one else's.

Well around here, you would be one of the few exceptions to the rule. Most of the GC's here have no clue how to build a house, on any level. All they know is what looks good. Most of them have never worked as a carpenter. I'm sorry but I can do everything they are doing and more for a lot less money.  I know everyone they know and can build a house from the ground up.  I didn't say I was faster at it, but I can do it, and it will be done right. We do it all sometimes, but would prefer to just stick with wood working.
Your right about not having the same quality you guys have. You all still build "old style". With wood not sheet rock. We used to build quiet a few cabins and houses that way. Not any more, it's hurry up and go. Make it look good, who cares what's underneath, no one will ever know. Seems like we always get stuck fixing someone else's screw ups, or doing someone else's work. Hell we can't even get a roofing crew to put tar paper on anymore.
 I used to not let it bother me, but the longer it goes on the more BS it is. People we have built for in the past, call me and the 2 guys I work with, quite often, wanting to know things, or come fix something, or look at something to build. They don't call the guy I was working for, who is a liscensed GC, they call us. They know who did the work. I think it should be mandatory, that if your going to be a GC you have to have at least 2-5 years experience in the field. Here all you have to do is pass a test, which has very little to do with the actual building, and have a lot of money in the bank and 3 references. The guy I'm working for now, had to have $20,000.00 in the bank to get his. Hell Bill Gates can do that,doesn't mean he knows jack doodly about building a house, but with this genuine certified peice of paper, it says he can.

A couple of empty ones sitting on the market for a long time in my neighborhood, but by and large its business as usual.

I am getting ready to build a house.  Looks fine to me!

Fits what I see around here - seems every week I notice at least one newly vacant home on the dog walking route. Some get new owners, some are falling to pieces. Most are less than 10 years old. Seems pretty eff'd up.

Fits what I see around here - seems every week I notice at least one newly vacant home on the dog walking route. Some get new owners, some are falling to pieces. Most are less than 10 years old. Seems pretty eff'd up.

We have been looking to buy but I'm gonna wait another year or so....prices are still falling drastically....my Realtor sends me a weekly email with all his company's listings and I watch them religiously....

there are many, and I mean MANY that have been on the market for 2 years or more....I have been watching for about that long and I remember some of them from the first time I watched the weekly email listings...

Many started out as homes above 200K and 300K's....now some of those 200K  homes are listing for 150K....some of the 300K homes are listing for between 200 and 225K......Call BS if you want but if you watch it week
to week you will soon see it....I was gonna buy now thinking I could get a great deal and hurry up and do so before the market rebounds but my Realtor insist it is gonna be a buyers market for quite some time to come....

I am much the same, been a small contractor and subcontractor for 20 years. I quit..sold whatever I could, scrounged up what cash I could and paid cash for a couple of cheap fixer uppers. Both me and the wife, who always worked with me, are going to school for 2 years starting this summer while we work on flipping the houses and hopefully starting new careers right after.

The illegals, the guys that want to work them, and the cheap homeowners can have it..for me there is just no future in the trades. I just don't see things getting much better for working people... it was either get used to crappy pay and providing our own benefits or trying something else.

Got approved 2 hours ago.

I bought a house a few months ago in Atlanta, I paid 125K for it. Its 3100SqFt on over an acre and built in 2002, all the houses in the neighborhood are 350K-550K homes. I got a steal, gotta love HUD owned properties.

The lady who owns the place I'm renting wants to put it up for sale and not renew my lease. I'm so sick of moving that I'm probably going to buy a place this year even though I believe values will drop more. I don't  care if I lose 10% value ... it's worth it to avoid the pita of finding another rental and moving in and then out again once I'm really ready to buy.



I don't plan on moving again unless forced to because I lose my job and can't find anything else in the area or unless I get so old I have to be trucked into a nursing home.
 

My wife and I offered on a house that's been on the market for 261 days now.

Original listing price was $194k , then $185k , then $175k .

We offered $160k and they cover up to $3500 closing costs netting them $156,500.

We're waiting for a call any minute now.

I heard from the builder we talked to not 2 months ago the exact opposite. In fact he lost $165K sale over it.

They're still building new spec homes on my block...

material costs have been rising for about 6 months now.

My fear is while housing prices fall, sooner or later the interest rates HAVE to rise and they already are. When i got pre-approved 3 months ago, it was close to 4.375%. Now we're looking at 4.5-4.75%. Over the course of a mortgage, that's a shitload of money.

I'm not smart enough to catch it in the center of the valley. Today's rates/prices seem good enough for me.

I wonder if they are counting the ones they have bulldozed in Ca and Fl.

Higher rates will drive prices lower.



 

Not where I live. Not many houses at all are empty. No more than usual. Actually, they are still building homes.

Your right. Between the illegals and every asshole who can swing a hammer calling themselves a carpenter the trade of carpentry has taken a big hit as well as the overall quality of construction.

I've got 2 houses. I'm about ready to dump my old house for cheap so I can stop thinking about it.