Buying & Selling: Signs Of The Times

A few days ago, the Washington Post's Kirstin Downey outlined the new consumer warning against exotic mortgage products. While it's a clear case of closing the barn door after the tornado has hit, there are still many, many homebuyers out there who don't realize the danger of signing on to an option ARM until it's too late:

In 2000, fewer than 2 percent of people in the Washington area had them. In the past two years, more than 40 percent of people buying or refinancing homes here used them.

You can find versions of the pamphlet at the FDIC Web site, among other places.

ConsumerAffairs.Com has a roundup of what happens to buyers who are facing foreclosure, and why it happens. There's probably nothing here readers don't already know, but it's well-written and absolutely necessary for anyone who's in over their head with the home payment.

And to give you more of a look at what the future of the home market will hold, today's Boston Globe discusses the
24 percent drop in single-family-home-sales in Beantown. There is some evidence of buying upticks, which indicates to me that sellers are more willing to meet buyers in the middle and keep the housing downturn from becoming a true flameout. But still...$220,000 for a one-bedroom? I've lived in Boston, and it's a beautiful city, but let's be real. :)

Speaking of being real, here's the money quote from the Globe article:

Real estate specialists said the market can't fully rebound until the excess supply of homes is reduced, a process that could take months or years. The association's data, which are pulled from real estate agents' central databases around the state, said nearly 64,000 houses and condos were on the Massachusetts market in September, 14 percent more than a year ago.

Absolutely. As long as there's a glut of "ghost homes" clogging up the market, people will be gunshy. Prices will have to drop further to get buyers out of their caves again.

Posted at October 24, 2006 12:01 PM

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A few days ago, the Washington Post's Kirstin Downey outlined the new consumer warning against exotic mortgage products. While it's a clear case of closing the barn door after the tornado has hit, there are still many, many homebuyers out there who don't realize the danger of signing on to an option ARM until it's too late: In 2000, fewer than 2 percent of people in the Washington area had them. In the past two years, more than 40 percent of people buying or refinancing homes here used them. You can find versions of the pamphlet at the FDIC Web site, among other places. ConsumerAffairs.Com has a roundup of what happens to buyers who are facing foreclosure, and why it happens. There's probably nothing here readers don't already know, but it's well-written and absolutely necessary for anyone who's in over their head with the home payment. And to give you more of a look at what the future of the home market will hold, today's Boston Globe discusses the 24 percent drop in single-family-home-sales in Beantown. There is some evidence of buying upticks, which indicates to me that sellers are more willing to meet buyers in the middle and keep the housing downturn from becoming a true flameout. But still...$220,000 for a one-bedroom? I've lived in Boston, and it's a beautiful city, but let's be real. :) Speaking of being real, here's the money quote from the Globe article: Real estate specialists said the market can't fully rebound until the excess supply of homes is reduced, a process that could take months or years. The association's data, which are pulled from real estate agents' central databases around the state, said nearly 64,000 houses and condos were on the Massachusetts market in September, 14 percent more than a year ago. Absolutely. As long as there's a glut of "ghost homes" clogging up the market, people will be gunshy. Prices will have to drop further to get buyers out of their caves again.