By A desperate seller

June 23, 2006 06:40 PM | Link to this

I have had my house on the market now since January. I have had 4 showings. My realtor had an open house and not one person showed….I have offered to pay closing costs to the buyer, I have lowered my price to where I bought the home 2 years ago and NOTHING. This is a dead market and I do not see it turning around anytime soon even if you display art work in your home or offer cooking classes in your kitchen (now thats an idea!!). They will just come and eat your food and then snub the asking price as “overpriced”, thanks to all the greedy developers, realtors and investors who have created this mess!!!

By

June 23, 2006 07:12 PM | Link to this

Desparate Seller, that really is unfortunate.

And still there are those who say prices will continue to go up. I believe they will in the (very) long run, but not before a sizable correction.

On Tuesday, the existing home sales report comes out. May 2005 had a median price in PBC of $390,900 and April 2006 had a median price of $386,500. Unless prices rebound by $4,400 from April to May, May 2006 as the first month in years that the Year Over Year Prices have gone down.

I realize the drop in price is not substantial from May 05, however, it’s been dropping since it hit $421,800 in Nov 05.

It’s all psychological and once the media jumps on this, I think a great deal of people will become even more anxious to sell in fear of lower prices.

We’ll have to check back on Tuesday….

By Sideline Money

June 23, 2006 09:43 PM | Link to this

Desperate seller, I hope you know that open houses aren’t really great for selling homes, they’re designed for agents to network with more buyers. Are you agressively marketing your place? I can’t believe people think your place is so overpriced if you’re asking what you paid 2 years ago. May I ask where it is and why you’re selling so soon?

By Desperate Seller

June 23, 2006 09:52 PM | Link to this

There is a glut of homes in my neighborhood for sale. I live a new development where mostly investors have purchased. Now, everyone wants to rent or sell. I am leaving this county to return back to Virginia - 2 years is long enough. The education here is horrible for my kids, the taxes are outrageous, we were dropped from our homeowners insurance, the guy we hired to repair the damage from the hurricane ripped us off (something I am finding to be the norm down here). The crime is horrible and people are very materialistic and rude. So, I leave this “paradise” for those who apparently do cannot appreciate a quality of life. It sure as hell is not here!!! Good luck and wish me the best in getting rid of my 680k home (My taxes are almost 14k)!

By rca

June 23, 2006 09:53 PM | Link to this

its call the law of averages. every time interest rates go up, you lose buyers. there is not enough good paying jobs to fill the need of sellers. insurance is kicking peoples butt, and the market is completely flooded. after i went to the heat parade i went to miramar and sawgrass mills. oh my god! it is new condo world. i see and found out that at lest 10,000 condos in miramar and 25,000 in sawgrass. miramar may not be attractive, but sawgrass is. you have the stadium, the mall and it is all in walking distance of the new development (with an umbrella in the summer). the media has nothing to do with the amount of housing in south florida. and as a young rich person, i rather live in one of the new towers on biscayne than in palm beach county. i know where the action and parties are at. i can walk to the heat game, go to the new mall and party on south beach. bye, bye condo market in palm beach county

By PBC OWNER

June 24, 2006 12:12 AM | Link to this

To Desperate Seller - Your name says it all. Buyers, realtors and others will feed off of your situation.

First thing, “Open Houses” is not the way to go. You probaley had some of these “dreamers” who came and ate your food and made discouraging remarks to you. These are the ones who brag how much money they have (which they don’t). Forget about them, they will NEVER buy here. Only 1% of “Open Houses” sell. It is only a magnet for the realtor for collecting names for buyers as someone earlier said.

Second - the price, I don’t know the area or how much you put into the house. You need to figure out what you want to clear. Are you on a short term mortgage or long term ? Can you make the payments and rent out the house if you want to move soon ? These are some of the questions you have to ask yourself.

Third - Drop the Realtor and go FSBO for the “bottom line” for your house. Why give that extra money to the realtor. Show that your house is the best one in the area. If realtor has a 5% commision on it or less, other realtors will not show up with buyers. They all want 6% or more these days.

Fourth - Have HOPE, because the prices will rise, buyers will be down here and “Scripps” will increase price values. I didn’t even mention the “Baby Boomers” who are about to spend their money very soon. The banking institutions up north have an increase of intrest in property application loans on their agenda from buyers.

Houses and Condos are apples and oranges. Let me say this, every condo from Dade to Palm Beach County will be sold by 2010. Do you think these developers would not build all these condos and not be sold ? They also know who their buyers are. Many people from other countries are buying in here. Your buyer for the house is not a local, but out of the area. The locals here don’t have the money. Your house will sell and you will be happy. Try FSBO and go with a price you will be happy with.

Be positive with your house and what it has to offer. The ones who like to party and spend the money at nightclubs, cannot sacrifice to have a nice house for their family. They end up renting and having regrets later on.

Good Luck !

By Sideline Money

June 24, 2006 12:53 AM | Link to this

RCA, Miami is a pit now. Have you been to South Beach lately? Maybe I’m getting too old but it’s a total ghetto convention every night of the week. The people who do go to most of the clubs (not loitering in the streets showing off chrome rims and gold teeth) are total grease balls straight out of Night at the Roxbury. Miami also seems to have a sanitation problem. The beaches are dirty. There’s a fair amount of dangerous looking homeless druggies sleeping on the beaches at night in various spots.

I’m also not into the rude residents, horrible driving, parking space stealing contests and tacky dressers/bad plastic surgery. Though with all fairness, Palm Beach has pretty bad plastic surgery too.

I don’t know…it just feels ‘cleaner’ in PB.

By rca

June 24, 2006 08:54 AM | Link to this

have you been to pbc. every other day it is a shooting or killing. the rudeness and disrespect of pbc! please dont escape the fact that palm beach county is a swamp. a million drainage canals with puddles of waters for mosqitos to multiply. you just hate miami because you cant handle the heat. you are probably one of them ex-dade broward residents that left because he couldnt live in a diverse community. go one block past city place or clematis. lol. pbc is a sad place

By Trudy

June 24, 2006 09:54 AM | Link to this

We sold our home in Jupiter in 2005 and moved to NC. It was the best move we ever made. Why anyone would want to live in PBC is beyond me. We lived there for over 20 years and finally had our fill of it. We are TICKLED PINK to get out of there and live a normal life with beautiful scenery that beats Florida’s to pieces and friendly people. Love the change of seasons in NC, too! If we won the lottery tomorrow, we’d never even visit Florida, must less live there. YUCK!

By Boca Bob

June 24, 2006 10:27 AM | Link to this

Miami is a pit. If your young and just looking to get drunk and “hook-up” (you know what i mean) sure head to south beach and pack some hi-dose pennicillin. Unfortunately, too many of the dirtbags in Dade are fleeing (to get away from the dirtier-dirtbags) to PBC. This migration to the north is spearding the rude phonney balonney. When the partying stops, when the money runs out they will head north for relief, but find none, cause paradise is lost.

The EAGLEs had a great song, one of the lines goes like this: “call something paradise, kiss it good-bye”. Sums up South Fla.

Asphalt, concrete shoe-boxes (homes) all with the same freaking S-tile roof, rude, stupid people, rising insurance, traffic, lack of culture. Jeez why would anyone want to stay, warm weather ? Not a good enough reason.

cant wait to get the hell out.

By Irwin

June 24, 2006 11:09 AM | Link to this

Trudy: I am happy you found a new home you prefer in NC, but I am confused as to why you are still reading and blogging the Palm Beach Post! Does your new “normal life” not include a decent daily newspaper?

Desperate Seller: The only comment I can make is that your house is in a higher price bracket then the “norm”, so make sure your realtor knows who your target buyer is. I would suggest a realtor with a strong relocation pipeline of buyers.

By Lucky 1

June 24, 2006 11:14 AM | Link to this

I’m one of the luck ones! I put my 5 year old Tamarac FL townhouse on the market with 4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, and 1 car garage, with upgrades throughout(it was the model). It sold to the first customer in two days, more than doubling what I paid for it. I close this Wednesday. (Oh…I had to kick back 2% for closing costs). The laws of economics are certainly at work in this market. The problem, however, is that high oil prices will keep homebuilder’s prices up, while interest rates continue to climb. It has been said that global warming is responsible for the increase in hurricane activity. What ever the cause, increased hurricane activity leads to increased homeowner’s insurance, or a lack thereof. Good luck to all experiencing trouble in paradise. I’m outta here.

The lucky 1.

By Oscar De Low Renta

June 24, 2006 11:36 AM | Link to this

“South Florida,’’ he said, ‘’is working off of a totally new economic model than any of us have ever experienced in the past” according to a realtor who predicted that a land shortage will support higher prices indefinitely.” - New York Times, Trading Places: Real Estate Instead of Dot-Coms, 3/25/05

By steven

June 24, 2006 12:09 PM | Link to this

I have a lot in psl 85’x125’ for sale since march. The next 3 lots same size were bought by a builder for $200,000 each 1 year ago. I am getting no responce at $99,000. I can understand a price decline but 50% in a year! Why am I getting no calls? i offer to pay closing as well..

By andiron

June 24, 2006 03:53 PM | Link to this

and pray why would a sensible buyer buy now. you could rationally afford 3-4 times household income. Prices have a long way to fall. Many so called realtors will lose their wherewithal..many small builders bankrupt..flippers upside down and will foreclose..banks w/ ~60% of their portfolio will go belly up..and the first time buyers in 2003-2005 will be in a world od hurt.. Well real estate always goes up? no!

By rca

June 24, 2006 03:58 PM | Link to this

big willie said it best; MIAMI, I LOVE THIS TOWN! no song about palm beach county.

By Adam Gula

June 24, 2006 04:02 PM | Link to this

Location, location,location. You can ask whatever you want but everyones idea of the right location will vary. Most of you selling your homes have to realize that you are competition with not only all the resales but all of the new construction sales as well.

No lie, this market is terrible if you want to sell your home today, right now. The glut of the past 4 or 5 years has a price and its time to pay the piper.

In another 5 or so years this will be but a small speed bump. Florida will always be in demand and for every person priced out of the market there are many more that retire down here that don’t care.

With property tax rolls swelling we should also expect a reduction in taxes or our commissioners can expect to find new jobs.

By steve

June 24, 2006 04:17 PM | Link to this

Adam’s right, in 5 years or so this will have been a small speed bump. The baby boomers haven’t even reached their stride. The largest transfer of wealth from one American generation to another is just beginning to start. It will not peak out for another 8 years and will still be strong for 5-6 years after that. People with money in their pocket will spend it. Florida will always be in demand and there are alot of people who will be able to afford it.

By rca

June 24, 2006 04:36 PM | Link to this

retired people are moving to north georgia, tennessee and the carolinas. why move to expensive florida when you can vacation here in the winter and drive to their former northern homes in the summer. do you think baby boomers want to pay a half a million dollars in a condo that a cat 1 can blow the windows out of the building. my parents have 5 acres in kentucky and are building two homes on the lot in a few years. they paid under 100,000 and can sale these homes for 100,000 each. and they can visit me anytime they want. they are buying a condo in chicago after the bubble and a summer retreat in the bahamas. you have to build quality building in the bahamas or you wont survive. every time they have a hurricane, you dont hear about 100’s of people dying. these crackerbox homes will fall like tooth picks. none of them have a safe room like in miami dade. because a cat 4 or 5 will blow your house down, no matter what. the insurance companies need to protect themselves so they can afford to have your home rebuilt. today, no one saves money and what wealth will they have when gas prices are 5 dollars a gallon. people are like dunken sailors. dont know who they are sleeping with. conuty commissioners already said that this will be the last of the great tax surplus in south florida.
oh, we are out of land. other joke. look at the building in northwest pbc. all kind of land where scripps was going to go. west of the turnpike has plenty of land. and now there is southwest pbc. broward county wants it and develop it too. the govt. want to take out the sugar plants and build homes from the glades to lox. it is over! the bubble has burst!!!

By Oscar De Low Renta

June 24, 2006 04:47 PM | Link to this

Ahhh.. The rich baby boomers and the wealthy foriegn investors. I hope they get here soon!

By MARTIN COUNTY LOVER

June 24, 2006 06:15 PM | Link to this

I think the majority of people do not understand that a LOT of potential PBC buyers and instead buying in Martin county. We are an example of such.

We purchased a 4000 square foot home, new CBS construction (cement), 4 bedrooms and 3 baths, on a large lot for $450K, and it’s about 5 minutes to the I-95 but best of all, we are only 15 minutes away from Palm Beach Gardens, which is where the work office is. Our taxes are going to run about $3K a year. A similar home that we looked at in Palm Beach Country Estates was $750K! We would be stupid to buy in PBC when Martin county has some of the loveliest wide open spaces, grade A schools, 5 to 10-minute access to beautiful beaches, lower taxes, and the people are nice. Best of all, the politics of Martin county seem to be cleaner.

We, too, made the rounds of various homes for sale in North PBC, Abacoa, Country Estates, and Jupiter Farms and people are moaning and complaining about how they don’t have any offers on their homes - yet they are asking 600K, 700K, and 800K for their homes and are not willing to budge on price!

We would look at a home and come back home and access the public records available online and see what so-and-so had as far as a mortgage/deed on file with the Palm Beach county tax assessors office and time and time again, it appears that people that were complaining the most were the same ones who bought their home for $250 to $350K yet were now asking double that price.

Again, it just comes down to an analogy: Grocery store #1 sells a loaf of bread for $1 and just a mile down the road grocery store #2 sells a loaf of bread for $2. Same bread. What store are you going to shop at?

The truth is that in our new neighborhood, 4 out of 8 families moved from Palm Beach county for the same reasons: Better affordability.

Martin county is a gem in the rough and the prices are wonderful right now for home buyers.

When you can drive only 10 to 15 minutes north and save 50% on your home plus another 50% on property taxes, why would you buy in Palm Beach county?

I do hope that the people desperate to sell their homes do sell their homes and this perspective of mine/ours is not meant to dishearten you, but it is a perspective that we thought was worthwhile sharing.

The buyers are still here, but we’re looking at more affordable options for purchasing homes (not condos and not townhomes) and right now Martin county is the place to buy for a lot of us, not Palm Beach county.

By zzzzz

June 24, 2006 07:23 PM | Link to this

MC lover, your Martin sell job is going over like a ton of bricks. if your selling martin county as a bedroom community to pbc remember, pbc residents are broward and dade workers in great part. psl has done a much better job at attracting the pbc workers. martin is forgotten b/c of the ridiculous growth mgmt laws and is not much less than pbc. there is nothing of note in martin except good fishing. palm beach county has the only real downtown in all of south florida. why live in martin when the housing stock is primarily new/near new construction or old crackerboxes..no in between

By PBC class

June 24, 2006 08:13 PM | Link to this

MC lover,

Your taxes will not be 3K on a 450K investment. You will be in the 8-9K range next year! You can move to the boondocks to save money but you will spend it in time, travel expenses to get back to your job in PBC. Good luck on resale in Martin unless you bought in Jupiter Island!

By PBC OWNER

June 24, 2006 09:10 PM | Link to this

I laugh when i read RCA comments on this blog and past blogs, that guy is buying, selling, renting or waiting on property. He is in so many areas, by now he has invested half of the southeastern of USA !

MC Lover, you are in trouble with taxes and everything else in that county. But you know that already….Any bids on your house yet ? But that is good of how you try to market the area. Your area is far from what Palm Beach or Broward counties have to offer. Within 10 to 20 years, you will be there.

The real buyers are from the north and south with baby boomers and south americans coming into the area. Try to target those buyers.

The top three areas of growth are Florida, Nevada, and Arizona. We have the buyers arriving and you all have the houses for them. This “panic” of not selling is a small bump, it will all change by early fall.

Home sellers, stick with your prices and let the “dreamers” go on dreaming. You will regret later on if you sold below price. Here is your chance to make a nice profit.

By Kris

June 24, 2006 09:16 PM | Link to this

Florida is such a joke. These homes that people have for sale are way overpriced. Remember everyone this is Florida.. not New York or Boston. Most people that live here don’t have well enough paying jobs to support this kind of market. Up north you can ask more for a house because people make more money.Everyone keeps bringing up “Scripps”.. Big deal.. they are supposed to bring 500 jobs to PBC by 2015..9 years away and 500 lousy jobs..what a joke

By get me outta here

June 24, 2006 09:37 PM | Link to this

MARTIN COUNTY LOVER…You obviously did not research Martin County very well..Your taxes will be just short of 2% on the value of your house…450k means you pay 9k in taxes, NOT 3k. Martin County does not have the jobs and quite frankly, their homes are WAY overpriced!!! There is less supply because of Martin County’s anti growth so you are much better in PBC if you are going to be in the area. Commuting to W.P.B. does not equate to quality of life for me…I guess you are in a dream land with your 3k taxes!! LOL

By MARTIN COUNTY LOVER

June 24, 2006 10:09 PM | Link to this

Actually, you’re WRONG. I’m looking at what my tax bill is going to be and guess what? It’s $3283. Where do you get your facts and figures? The truth is that you’re probably one of the sorry wannabe home sellers who can’t move their home in PBC. I love Martin county and the truth is that I’m 10 minutes to Palm Beach Gardens so I’m close to the malls and our work offices. If you love Palm Beach county so much then great. Personally, I think that PBC politics are ridiculous, the Scripps issue made a laughingstock of PBC with their back and forth and back and forth and it’s still not 100% settled. The fact that Addie Green’s vote was bought via a bribe is a perfect example of what is wrong. Scripps wanted to be in Boca. Jeb Bush supported Boca. But Addie Green decided that Scripps should be in North County because someone bribed her into voting to put it there. There are a lot of people that are fed up with PBC and it’s not just because of the asking price of homes…it has to do with politics and the crooked politicians who really don’t care about the small person, the average person, the WORKING CLASS person. It’s all lip service because where IS the affordable housing for working class people?

Speaking of which, the fact is that pretty soon PBC will have nobody to work in it. There is no affordable housing for teachers, nurses, and all of the good people who are needed to provide business support. You are losing teachers to other counties simply because of the cost of living. There is something wrong with a county when it cannot provide adequate AFFORDABLE housing for the people that keep people educated, safe, and healthy. Palm Beach county should be ashamed of the fact that there is a huge margin between the haves and the have nots.

Your school superintendent, Art Johnson, just got a huge raise, yet your school board decides not to give teachers a salary that will support them? That is just plain shameful.

Like I said, there is a lot about Palm Beach county that is just not right at the political level and it isn’t going to change anytime soon.

It’s all the more reason why people, the GOOD people, are leaving in droves.

By MARTIN COUNTY LOVER

June 24, 2006 10:38 PM | Link to this

Okay, this is an addendum regarding our taxes in Martin county versus PBC - want to be perfectly fair. The reason our tax bill this year is hovering around $3300 is because we’re paying property tax only on the land for the first year. Next year we’ll pay on the land and the house and our tax bill next year will be $6183 with a homestead provision to leave it permanently stable. I’ll take a $6183 tax bill over $10K to $12K for a similar home in PBC anytime. I’m sure a lot of others would also.

The fact is that homes in PBC are simply not affordable for working class people, including middle class people, and PBC is losing talented and educated people because of it, unfortunately.

It will be interesting, also, to see what the foreclosure rate in PBC is at in another year, also.

By MARTIN COUNTY LOVER

June 24, 2006 10:41 PM | Link to this

PBC Owner:

You asked if “we have any bids on our house yet?”

No, because it’s not for sale, remember? We live there. We bought the home in Martin county to live there, not to resell.

Not everyone is trying to sell a home - some of us are content to just own a home to live in.

:-)

By Wayne

June 24, 2006 10:50 PM | Link to this

One important fact all across America today is that we no longer have any leaders. All we have are maggots, liars, theives and just plain dirtbags who pretend to be on the side of the hardworking taxpayers. Most of them, all the way to Washington should be cleaning toilettes and picking up trash along our roadway. Until the next American revolution comes, the working class will have no say in our Government. That’s because elections are no longer viable for the common person who would do the right thing if elected. You cannot compete with the dirty money of the campaign trail or the crooked influence peddlers along the way. When was the last time that politicians truly said NO to runaway spending? If you ran your business like the political theives run our Government,someone comes to arrest you. So why do they have the power to steal from us over and over again? America today is for the Corporations and crooked politicians who have a 50 year record of failure to the taxpayer. Now, I’m done.

By rca

June 24, 2006 10:56 PM | Link to this

pbc lova lover. i make money and you dont. open up the print version of the post and stop lying to yourself. you dont read, you dont come up with facts and you just think you are special. i see 100,000+ upgrades and price cuts of 20% all in the paper today. i am an investor, a realist and not too dumb. i make money off of people like you, because you buy property that can handle a cat 1. you wasnt here when andrew came through. i pray you are not around for an andrew in palm beach county. it has happen before and it will happen again. buy based on quality, not quantity. and write down some facts, fiction writer.

By realisticseller

June 24, 2006 11:00 PM | Link to this

Hi everyone,I have been reading all the posts here and I havent seen one that reflects so many homeowners in pbc and other counties.The family homeowners with small children or growing children, looking for affordable, family friendly neighborhoods. I think we all have to be realistic when it comes to setting our home prices, seriously do we really have to profit 125-150k on a property after 2 years?? I am selling my home, it has been on the market for 2 weeks, I am fsbo, and have had offers that I refused because buyers are experiencing the same false ego that sellers were less than 1 year ago. Now, they are way low balling offers that frankly are offensive, my home fyi is decently priced at 285k, which I purchased for 157k with 35k into it in remodels. I dont foresee my house languishing, however I am still willing to work with the right buyer. Also, the whole pbc/broward/dade debate , we are all in this together guys, I have buyers coming from broward, and dade saying pbc is more family oriented and friendly, Remember it only takes 1 buyer and theres a deal! Good luck all

By MARTIN COUNTY LOVER

June 24, 2006 11:19 PM | Link to this

One more thing? When it comes to buying a home, there is the property insurance to worry about. When we started looking for property insurance for our new home (Martin county) all the agents asked us three questions:

1. Is 2002 or newer construction?

2. Is it within 3 miles of the ocean?

3. Does it have wood frame construction?

Well, our home is brand new and has concrete or CBS construction with a roof that is anchored into the foundation for hurricane protection so we passed on #1.

On question #2 we didn’t pass because we are only 1.8 miles from the ocean, but because we are in an elevated area they said that it was acceptable due to the fact that the house has hurricane shutters (professional).

Now, question #3 was the wood frame construction which is no - we have concrete construction.

We looked at one home that we loved, built in 2003, but it had wood frame construction. That was the first home we made an offer on and they accepted. But, when we tried to get insurance for the home no one would insure unless we paid an astronomical amount ($14K!) So the sale could not proceed.

My point is that some of the homes out there might be priced decently, but because of home insurance companies and their criteria for insuring a home there are some people that are not going to be able to buy because of an inability to find or pay for home insurance.

realisticseller, you sound like a decent person. I’m sure your home will sell quickly and your price is phenomenal for PBC. Good luck.

By Ms.PALM BEACH

June 25, 2006 12:26 AM | Link to this

I have been reading these blogs and other blogs and realize that there are more uneducated and unrealistic people in south Florida than any other location in the country.

Ladies, can you see the losers out there? These guys can’t afford to buy property in PBC because they are out of work and writing blogs instead of earning a living. They are “cry babies” waiting for their parents to die and leave them money so they can buy property someday in PBC. I got news for you guys - don’t wait for your inheritance to buy property in PBC. Your parents can either outlive you, use the money up on their own medical expenses, or donate it to a charity. Get off the computer and go out and get a JOB - and work for the money.

It is not what you make - it is what you save. You phoney high rollars - and you know who they are too in these blogs, need a reality check. You show your true colors - especially when you “attack” educated bloggers sharing useful information with you to help you. I think PBC OWNER has you number guys and tells it like it is.

People with money - don’t flaunt it. They don’t have to impress anyone with how much money they have. People with real money never brag how much they have. But LOSERS lie and brag because they HAVE NOTHING.

PB County is not the only area in country where there is money. Years ago, Palm Beach was known for “old money”. I can see that the “old money” has been replaced by the “dirty money” coming in and buying up the properties. Don’t worry about house values dropping. There is enough “dirty money” out there to buy alot of these homes here and keep driving the prices up.

Realtors are selling less properties. As a result, they want higher commissions now and are only showing properties over 5%. They can have 3 identical homes in same area with same price and the one that gets shown to the buyer is the one with the highest commission. Again, PBC OWNER was correct in earlier blogs regarding realtor showing only higher commission homes.

SELLERS - BE PATIENT - plenty of out of state money, South American money. and European money will be flowing in here. Don’t lower your selling prices just because some of these buyers don’t work for the money or can’t save a dime. Your home is your best investment - protect it!

By Yeah, RIGHT

June 25, 2006 12:42 AM | Link to this

Ms. Palm Beach: Your name says it all. You honestly sound like a nut.

The truth is that Martin county had “old money” and still has “old money” such as Sewell’s Point, Jupiter Island, and yes, Stuart. In fact, Jupiter Island has more wealth than ANY other area in the country, not Palm Beach.

You’re talking about “South American investors?” What the heck good does that do anyone even IF they exist? That made me laugh.

PBC Lover is a looney, just like you are.

Ms Palm Beach, get a checkup and have your doctor up your medication so that you can tell when your “South American buyers” get here.

LOL.

By shopper

June 25, 2006 06:03 AM | Link to this

hi, i am kust a normal japanese guy from japan. first of all, i have to apologize about my spelling an dgrammar, if i do not perfect in english. but i took a time to write these blog beacause i’ ve been shopped around to purchase a home (vacation) in the u.s. and south fl. is one of my choice. therefore, i decided to search online and happened to run into the topic. here is some of my opions and some are facts: i’ve been to s. fl many times, due to business trips(not wish to disguss)and i found that majority of people in fl. are greedy and not as friendly as advertise. that is some fact, because i’ve visit many other city in the u.s. also. the price of the homes, i could effort as many other from out of towners or forieners may agree with me. it is a fact, because my home in japan, 2000 sq.ft. is about 2 mil. u.s. dollar. but, i have to ask myself if the mid. price of the houses in s. fl. is almost $400k and after i did a research on how much are waiters, police officer, nurses and most of all, teachers are making? i now have much less interest to purchase any home in s. fl. because, i think i need those good people in everyday life. i am now pursueing in other city in the u.s. and no offend to any seelers, investor or builders there. but if you all only think about selling it to the so call baby boomers, out of towners who could effort it. think again, because not all of us are dumb. i refuse to live and raise my kid in the city where all of the good teachers are relocating out of town, beacause they can’t effort to live there. and onother, i don’t see paradise in s. fl.? it’s a fact because i see many part of the world, dues to my business. so, i have one last thing to say to those who’s waiting for the out of towners or foreiners to dumb there money there. don’t keep up too much hope, because we do research too. and yes, people that hae money don’t just dumb there money. we invest also. so, ask yourself, would you buy your own home at the price you’re selling, abse on all the facts, not fictions? you’d be supprise of how intelligent or not you are. until next business trip to s. fl. good luck all.

By Oscar De Low Renta

June 25, 2006 06:42 AM | Link to this

now that we are done playing pass the hot potato with houses and condos what will we move on to next? How about bringing back the beanie baby stands?

By MARTIN COUNTY LOVER

June 25, 2006 07:15 AM | Link to this

Shopper:

Welcome to you! I have visited Japan many times and the people and food and culture are wonderful. And, yes, the people ARE polite and nice there even on the very full trains!

Good luck finding a home where the people are nice. We have another home, on the west coast of Florida in Sarasota, and the people there seem to be far nicer than the people here. I think it is because a lot of them are from the midwest.

We have come across very nice people in Stuart also. The people there tend to be long-time residents and are nicer.

There are a lot of nice people in the area, actually.

Good luck with your home search!

By Love Florida

June 25, 2006 07:49 AM | Link to this

We moved to Florida in 1975 & yes it was a much nicer place then as far as not being over crowded, etc. After a layoff in 1994, we had to move to Tennessee to get comparable work. Not only was the cost of living as much as down here at that time, the quality wasn’t there in the homes. So much for Southern hospitality also. Most of the people there were rude to those of us who were ‘not from around here’. I’ve had people look at me with distain and say, “You’re “defferent”. Thank you. And I’m originally from the Ozarks. Most of the cars you’d see at night had only one headlight and most of the people only had a couple teeth. As far as the education system, forget about it! I went to a university there and couldn’t believe how ignorant many of the people there were of the rest of the world. Many had not even been 100 miles from their home. For 4 years, we worked day and night to get back home to Florida and believe you me, “The grass only seems to be greener”. A friend of mine moved to a remote part of GA and says she loves it but she is always extremely happy when there is something like Lowes or Walmart or any other convenience she has left here, is being built.
I have found people that I meet here to be friendly and polite. I live in Wellington and was sitting on a bench in the mall while waiting for my husband to park the car. This nice woman and I struck up a conversation and her complaint was that people here were not that friendly. But yet, there we were sitting having a nice conversation. Just remember how you feel about ‘outsiders’ moving into Florida. Well, when you move to those other states, people feel the same way about you because now you’re the outsider. Just a word of caution. We didn’t know what we had until we nearly lost it. Glad to be home.

By Relaxed

June 25, 2006 07:57 AM | Link to this

Wow…lots of grumpy people here. Why not grab a cup of coffee and stroll down to the beach and watch a sunrise instead of arguing back and forth here? You all have that option you know….this is Florida.

By MARTIN COUNTY LOVER

June 25, 2006 08:00 AM | Link to this

Well, welcome back, Love Florida. You seem like a nice person.

Speaking of the topic, The Post’s competition The Sun Sentinel in Fort Lauderdale has a great article as the headline piece in today’s Sunday paper:

“SINGLE FAMILY HOMES ARE OUT OF REACH FOR MOST”

“Say you earn $58,100 a year, the median income in Broward County. How realistic is it to expect to be able to buy a new single-family house here? The answer: Dream on.

That’s because in Broward, a new 1,800-square-foot house without luxury upgrades costs almost $600,000 to build, those in the industry say. Typically, that would require an income of about $133,000 a year to afford, experts say, assuming a 20 percent down payment and a 30-year fixed rate mortgage at 6.5 percent.

LocalLinks

“The [new] detached single-family home in Broward County is unattainable” for most South Florida workers, said Joe Kocy, the former assistant to the county administrator for housing. “It’s become the American fantasy.”

Blame soaring costs for land ($120,000 per standard lot), building materials and labor ($150,000) and site development ($30,000). Then there are government fees and permits, costs for architects, engineers and marketing plus the financing of bank loans, which add $190,000 to the cost. Factor in 20 percent profit for the builder and that house costs $588,000.”

And as I mentioned in another post, it mentions that critically important people, like teachers, are leaving:

“Gregg Halkuff, a 29-year-old Sawgrass Springs middle school teacher who grew up in Coral Springs, was determined to buy a single-family home. And he did.

But the new $190,000 four-bedroom house he purchased with his fiancé, teacher Jamie Hymore, is near Raleigh-Durham, N.C.

“I wish I didn’t have to leave but I don’t want my first house to be a condo and I don’t want to raise my kids in a condo,” Halkuff said. “I want to have what my parents had and I don’t feel like I can do that here.”

Even resales of single-family homes are out of reach for three-quarters of Broward’s households. With a median price of $360,600, they’d typically need to make $90,000 a year to buy such a home. Median means half cost more, half less.”

This article exemplifies why people are moving further north and out of South Florida.

Martin county may not be as tony in some parts as PBC, but at least we were able to afford a single family home there - like other working class and middle class folks. We’re very grateful, in fact.

By Native

June 25, 2006 08:30 AM | Link to this

As a native Floridian, I can attest to the fact that most of us are incredibly nice people. Same with friends who have come from other parts of the U.S. (OK, we do get an occasional tacky New Yorker but it’s OK, we think you’re full of great character!) I have been surrounded by wonderful neighbors in several neighborhoods my entire life. People who love their community and look out for each other are everywhere here. I can’t imagine living anywhere else. I have traveled across the U.S. quite a bit and there are beautiful places but I can’t wait to get home. I live in the north end of the county and think it’s amazing how pristine this part of the country is, how close I am to gorgeous Juno Beach, great shopping and dining, nature preserves, etc. I love the strict zoning, no trashy pawn shops or neon signs on PGA, Donald Ross. It’s beautiful here. The market is going through a much-needed slow down but people who “get it” and want to live in a beautiful part of the country will always invest, live and play here.

By Michael Corbett

June 25, 2006 08:46 AM | Link to this

Why do some people think their choice is either South Florida or another state? I recently left PBC after 31 years for many of the reasons people give here, but I saw no reason to leave Florida with its tax benefits and climate. I moved to Jacksonville, with what I consider to be the best climate in the state and the most stable real estate market. I live in a new brick home on a lovely golf course, 4 bedrooms, two baths, and I paid $210,000 last year. Try that anywhere in South Florida. Jax is growing, lots of new neighborhoods, lower taxes, great medical institutions, no problem with homeowners insurance, surprisingly clean and cosmopolitan and nothing like I thought it would be prior to moving here. I used to knock Jax. I was wrong. I now think it’s the best choice there is for Florida living.

By Take it Easy

June 25, 2006 09:06 AM | Link to this

Wow, lots of negative comments on this board.

I would like to point out that all of you who hate Florida and Palm Beach County have the option of leaving. If would mean more parking and less traffic for the rest of us who like it here. I’m sure you have your reasons for not liking it, and that’s fine, but why not go somewhere you are happy!

By MARTIN COUNTY LOVER

June 25, 2006 09:14 AM | Link to this

I don’t think it’s a matter of people hating South Florida. I think the majority of people like (or love) it here, including us.

The discussion is that a lot of people simply cannot afford to live in Miami-Dade, Broward, or Palm Beach counties, that’s all. More ominous is the fact that the people that support our social infrastructure such as teachers, law enforcement, and health care professionals cannot afford to live in the community that are working in, thus it forces them to eventually move away for a better quality of life.

What is happening is that the margin of haves and have nots is widening - and the have nots are the people that are formerly known as “middle class.” The thinking used to be that if you worked hard and steadily you could own a home. Not anymore - at least in South Florida.

Eventually the pool of talented professionals such a teachers and health care professionals will diminish more and more and quality of life for the “haves” (people who can afford $600K for a home) will also suffer because the social infrastructure will collapse when, for instance, all of the good teachers and health care professionals leave.

By duh

June 25, 2006 09:17 AM | Link to this

jax????????// murder capital of all florida……. arent u smart!

By MARTIN COUNTY LOVER

June 25, 2006 09:45 AM | Link to this

Actually, I just looked up the crime statistics for Florida at FDLE and saw that Miami is #1 for murder by far in Florida.

By Wanttocomeback

June 25, 2006 10:05 AM | Link to this

Hi, I bought a house in PBG in PBC 2 years ago and had to move back to Tennessee. I want to come back, I think about it every day and miss the you know what out of it. No, the hurricanes didn’t send me back, that’s what everyone here keeps asking me. We have tornadoes here without a moment’s notice. In FL, you have time to prepare. Yes, there were rude people there, crazy neighbors. You don’t think they don’t have that here, too? There is nothing like the winters there in So FL, hopefully the county officials will see that everyone is on to them now with the tax surplus and return it to the homeowners. I’d like to think they are under a microscope now. I’d like to come back and hope the tax increases don’t keep me from doing that. I miss you SO FL!

By jack

June 25, 2006 10:31 AM | Link to this

MARTIN COUNTY LOVER…face it dude..you should be MARTIN COUNTY LOSER….Anyone who does not know what their taxes will be and starts getting on here and saying their taxes are 1/4 of what they are is a dope!!! How credible do you think you are when we catch you in a downright lie? If it was a mistake, then how credible do you think you are in our eyes… You should change your blog name and start over!! Ms. PALM BEACH…you are probably the wife of MARTIN COUNTY LOSER…it is because of people like you why we are all moving out of here…you probably drive a kia.

By MARTIN COUNTY LOVER

June 25, 2006 10:40 AM | Link to this

Hey, Jack, has anyone ever told you that you have an anger management problem? Well, you do. Get some help - fast - including medication and counseling. Maybe even jail time with a guy named Bubba.

LOL.

By sold mine

June 25, 2006 10:47 AM | Link to this

mc lover, GOOD FOR YOU! we sold ours and left for just the same reasons you give. we are still in florida but in a better part of it.

By Former R.E. Broker

June 25, 2006 11:53 AM | Link to this

Dear Desperate Seller:

Face the reality that you have been taken in one of the largest frauds perpetrated on the American people. Americans (and your) failure to understand markets have set you up for a fall. The prime fraudster is Easy Al Greenspan who traded one bubble (stock) for another (real estate) with artificially low rates and ridiculously easy credit terms. All under the guidance and approval of the current political party in control. I’d be willing to bet that you have little or no equity in the property. Your flipper neighbors will start handing the keys to the mortgage company and walk very shortly. I don’t live you your area, but follow real estate closely and I can tell you this bloodbath is stacking up to make the S&L days of 1990 look very tame in comparison. If you wnat more info on the state of R.E. in the country, check the blog that led me here http://www.housebubble.com/index.html I wish I had better news for you, it is what it is…..

By JPV

June 25, 2006 01:58 PM | Link to this

What you’ve got to realise is that this real estate market is sinking and there are only are only so many seats on the lifeboat. How do you get onto the lifeboat? LOWER YOUR PRICE! These people that say the market will pick up are going against logic. With interest rates going up and monthly mortgage payments increasing why would the housing market improve? Are people going to be anymore willing to buy a house six months from now when, in real terms, ( ie monthly payments) it’s more expensive? Of course not. Only if prices adjust downward will the market improve. Also bear in mind that very soon now the governments going issue new guidelines affecting lending standards effectively eliminating alot those folks who really shouldn’t have been going into homeownership in the first place (ie the arm/IO crowd) My advice to you is slash your price and undercut your competitors. If you can’t do that then I wish you the best of luck, maybe some mug will walk through the door tomorrow and get you out of the situation you’re in. But, like I said, there are only so many seats on the lifeboat and if you don’t get on it soon I afraid you going to find yourself living in that hell you describe for a long time to come.
Good luck.

By realisticseller

June 25, 2006 02:12 PM | Link to this

Good Sunday everyone, i recently had a realtor preview my home and said that realtors right now are more desparate than sellers and are willing to sell a house for under 5% but no lower than 3%, she said buyers arent resorting to realtors because so many sellers are going fsbo and are willing to negotiate (me), I honestly think between the realtors, the inflated prices, and the climbing interest rates, we sellers have to re”negotiate” our strategies here.As far as open houses I might do one but I think Ill end up with nosy neighbors. My opinion on Florida (okay I am feeding into your debate lol) is…I have lived for most of my life and actually love it, however I am selling and moving to metro ATlanta for a 3900 sq ft house for my kids on over 1/2 acre, not because I hate it here, but because my kids deserve a better bigger home with a real backyard. If I was 70 years old driving my mercedes, I might opt for a relocation back. Until then I will visit my parents which is good enough for me. By the way for the record I love all of Florida, from the rolling hills of north and central down to beautiful Miami, so there lol.

By jack

June 25, 2006 02:14 PM | Link to this

What is interesting is that many people, including our very infamous MARTIN COUNTY LOSER, bought homes over the past few years and did not even realize the amount of taxes they would pay until the taxes were adjuster following the sale. Now, with increased taxes and their interest only loans going through the roof, they are struggling. Before now, their logic was that their exit strategy was to put the house on the market and dump it. Guess what? Everyone is trying to exercise their exit strategy and no houses are selling. So, people are trying to rent them, trying to re-finance them, trying to sell them..they are doing everything to loose it all. The people who suffer are those who just want to sell their homes to relocate. Damn those real estate agents and investors who have caused this!!

By

June 25, 2006 02:43 PM | Link to this

this is really entertaining. ty post.

By susie seller

June 25, 2006 04:26 PM | Link to this

So many of you have brought up the idea of selling your house “by owner.” Well, I tried that starting in Feb….I had one person look at the house in 6 weeks, despite having advertised on MLS and the newspaper. I figured that this is the type of market that requires professional marketing by a realtor. My realtor would not do it for less than the traditional 6%. She advertises, does open houses, does email/web advertising and has shown it only a few times. She said with the school year ending that people from the North would be coming down. Yet, now she admits that the buyers are just not out there and now says that maybe after hurricane season. Quite frankly, I am getting the feeling like she might be taking on another job to make ends meet and not working the real estate as much. Until then, I sit and wait and keep my house clean in case the phone rings. I, too, am moving to North Carolina..Charlotte, where life seems simpler.

By mark ellis

June 25, 2006 04:38 PM | Link to this

With 25,000 new homes getting approved to be built in Loxahatcheee last week and an over supply of houses for sale in South Florida. The BUST is here.

By John Dollar

June 25, 2006 04:44 PM | Link to this

If your a seller and you cant get anyone to buy your house, dont think your might get burned. Its a guarentee.The amount of houses for sale in South Florida is suppost to double this summer.

By MARTIN COUNTY LOVER

June 25, 2006 05:12 PM | Link to this

Great comments here including the ones that point out that the way to sell a home is to lower the price in order to allow the buyers be able to not only buy a home, but pay for the insurance.

Jack, just to clue you in, my husband is the one who is “in the know” when it comes to the taxes. No, I wasn’t aware of them because, frankly, he is the person who said he had a handle on those matters. On our appraisal, however, it shows that our taxes will be about $6,000 after the first year.

Say what you will, but if we’d paid $700K for a comparable new home in Abacoa or Country Estates, our taxes would be substantially higher - and that’s on top of more money for a similar home. Why would we buy a home for $200K to $250K more in PBC when a 10 minute drive north saves us so much? No matter, it wasn’t the amount of the taxes (or lack thereof) that influenced us, it was the savings in the home prices and the taxes corresponded, that’s all.

One thing to remember is that on top of the price of a home (and taxes) is how much someone is going to have to pay for homeowner’s insurance. That, to us, was what pushed us into buying a new home instead of an older home, because the insurance for a home older than 2002 was prohibitively expensive.

To everyone out there selling a home, there ARE buyers out there, but the rising interest rates and insurance costs make people have to be extra careful, that’s all.

By jack

June 25, 2006 06:19 PM | Link to this

MARTIN COUNTY LOVER…the taxes in Palm Beach County are approximately 2% of the value and the taxes in Martin County are approxamately 1.8%…The difference will go into the gas you have to use to get to a decent place to eat. Martin County is for people who are BORING. So, again Martin County Lover…your facts are wrong.

By realisticseller

June 25, 2006 06:25 PM | Link to this

As far as selling FSBO, I have to say that it all comes down to the price of your home whether you are with a realtor or not. I have had at least 10 viewings in about 4 weeks, which 2 of the weeks I was not even on the mls. As far as realtors and their comissions, it is a`two fold situation in my opinion. Firstly if you set your comission properly which I have at 3% most realtors will show the house, because thats what they end up with anyway. I think with the surplus of homes they are trying to move what they have and are also entertaining fsbo listings. I personally as I said have had realtors showing my home. Secondly, buyers may seem to think they have a upper hand but educated buyers know the deal. They know sellers are waiting for a good buyer/offer, they know the realtor comissions are factored in to the sale price and there is only so much a seller will negotiate when realtors are involved.So it is a wise move to find fsbo homes and negotiate a happy medium, because we all know the days of full price offers are indeed gone. Bottom line be realistic about your prices, if you come out with 85k instead of 100k profit the world will not end and I would say you made a good sale.I dont think I could have a better ad campaign for my home than fsbo, they list you all over the place. Good Luck fellow sellers.

By MARTIN COUNTY LOVER

June 25, 2006 07:25 PM | Link to this

Hey, Jack, I would hardly say that the people who live on Jupiter Island are “boring.” Remember, Jupiter Island is part of Martin county?

Celine Dion bought a home in Martin County on Jupiter Island after selling her Admiral’s Cover home. Tiger Woods owns a home on Jupiter Island, as does golfer Greg Norman. And Tori Amos (the singer) owns a home in Stuart, Florida.

As far as restaurants go, we didn’t move 10 minutes north into Martin county because of the restaurants, but Stuart has a wonderful selectrion of waterfront restaurants with some of the freshest seafood in the United States. Sewall’s Point Grill, The Shrimper, Arthur’s Dockside are all wonderful for seafood and then there is Benihana Japanese Steakhouse and Peter’s Steakhouse for sushi and beef and are some of the best restaurants in the area. There are many more little waterside restaurants sprinkled throughout the Stuart area.

So, although YOU don’t like Martin county, Jack, it’s a rather nice place to live and a lot of other people think so, also. To be honest, I’m glad that you don’t like Martin county…that way there is no danger of having someone like you moving in near us.

:-)

By

June 25, 2006 07:55 PM | Link to this

martin co. is the black hole of R.E. along with st. lucie.

By

June 25, 2006 08:28 PM | Link to this

Wake up! This is not an insignificant event in the history of our nation!http://biblestudysite.com/tyranny.htm

By MARTIN COUNTY LOVER

June 25, 2006 08:49 PM | Link to this

Judging by the amount of sales that are not happening in Miami Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties, I’d hardly say that Martin County is a “black hole.” Especially since it has more “A” schools than Palm Beach county this year. But, to each his own opinion. I’ll be happy if people stay out of Martin county.

By Mike

June 25, 2006 08:54 PM | Link to this

For those of you waiting for the baby boomers to rescue your housing prices, the July edition of Money references a survey that 57% of workers age 45 to 54 have saved less than $50,000. Sounds like quite a few boomers will not be retiring anytime soon, much less buying investment or secondary homes in Florida. With house prices rising drastically in FL the last few years, insurance costs up, and taxes escalating, the monetary incentive of moving to FL has also been diminished. Years ago you could sell your house in the North, buy a nice house in FL for $150-$200k, then pocket the differential additional retirement capital. No more.

By

June 25, 2006 09:15 PM | Link to this

people just need to get out of the denial phase..this market is toast. enjoy the roller coaster ride to the bottom.

By Hyme

June 26, 2006 10:17 AM | Link to this

Realtors are lower then lawyers on my scale of scum. Thanks to tech they should be updating their resumes today. The self service industry from pumping your own gas, to Home Depot weekend projects is the future for thr RE biz. And I cant wait till every dirtbag theiving realtor is homeless or packing my groceries at Publix. 6% for WHAT? NOTHING, getting the office secratery to add your home to the MLS. THEIVES. Its a monopoly which needs to be destroyed. The MLS should be open to “free trade”. ZILLOW is the future. HAIL TO ZILLOW!!!

flat fee, $300 listings and comps on ZILLOW will throw all these soccer mom-lexus-driven-morons into unemployment line. Just think of all the great deals we will have on pre-owned Lexus and BMW’s!!! yahooooo!!!!!!!!!!

Burn in HELL Realtor scum!!!!

By PBC OWNER

June 26, 2006 11:28 AM | Link to this

This blog was about ways of selling a house. What we are getting are blogs from people who do not have money and with unbalance emotions, and have negative statements to sellers. You can tell who they are of what they say. Those are non buyers, or as i said earlier the “HAVE NOTS”. What they need is help from a Therapist for their emotions. And help from a Lender to help secure a loan for a home.

FSBO is a good way to go these days. I know many realtors who are working second jobs these days. There are over 12,000 realtors in Palm Beach County, and only 860 single family house sales in April…..do the math. Yes, sales are lower than a year ago, but the median price is higher. It all pertains to mortgage loans, not the selling price. You either have the money or don’t to buy into the area. Money talks….and you know what walks.

And it does not matter how much you make, but how much you can SAVE. There are five bloggers (i know one has three blog names and is a STALKER) who down grade sellers and hoping for a major crash in South Florida. Believe me, they will never buy and the slow part of selling in this market is over. The true buyers will buy and the negative bloggers will go on without property.

How can you sell quicker? I think the first step would be if the Palm Beach Post lower their rates on the ads to sell a house. If they advertise that they help their community, let them begin by lowering their price on advertising a house for sale for FSBO.

Second - Curb Appeal, is your house have a fresh coat of paint, landscape groomed, house in order and what it has in upgrades? This matters in selling a house.

Third - FSBO or Realtor, buyers might have more room to give a better offer if you went as FSBO. Everyone knows there is a commission price with real estate. Stick with your price or remind the buyer that prices will be higher in the Fall. If they want your house, they will have to pay your price. Being negative and not buying will not get them anywhere in life.

Zillow is one gauge to see the area house prices, but not realible for true prices. The best way for house values is recent home sales in the neighborhood and what it has in upgrades.

As time goes by, we will know that the property here in the area will go up in price, the sellers will sell, the buyers will buy and the dreamers will only still be dreaming. And yes, the dreamers will be adding more negative statements to blogs sites. Sellers, stay positive ! To the buyers, as we talk, the prices are going up.

By bubba

June 26, 2006 12:08 PM | Link to this

I’ve been looking for a home for the past several months, and I think that you can avoid using a realtor. A standard Far/bar “as is” contract is farily easy to fill in the blanks, and the title company will do all the work after the contract. Also, if you go without a realtor, there is a LOT more flexibility for pricing.

And I agree with PBC Owner - curb appeal can do a lot for your home to set it apart.

From a buyer’s perspective, the bottom line is the price. If there are several similar houses in a neighborhood, if yours is the lowest price then you are the first guy I talk to. For example, in Abacoa the prices for (nearly) identical homes can vary by 5-10%, so in choosing which homes I would look at, the lowest priced one comes first.

If you HAVE to sell now, bite the bullet and drop your price. If you don’t, hold on because in time (perhaps as much as 3-4 years) you will get a price at late 2005 levels.

By MARTIN COUNTY LOVER

June 26, 2006 01:26 PM | Link to this

Those are great suggestions.

Actually, we didn’t use a realtor. We used a mortgage broker connected to a law firm for showing us homes and for making sure that the contract was legally sound and that our interests were protected from our standpoint.

I think the suggestion that dropping your price now, voluntarily, rather than letting the market depreciate it over time as interest rates edge up and buyers become even more scarce is great advice.

If you make only 50% profit instead of 100% profit that’s better than continuing to sweat it out over the next year…and next year still only getting 50% profit.

By realisticseller

June 26, 2006 03:06 PM | Link to this

So nice to read intelligence in posts, thank you for the previous few posts. I agree with the above, I have never believed you can go wrong when you purchase real estate. We are still way above average in appreciation percentages on a annual basis, what is it now 11% I think. In the area I plan on moving in NW metro Atlanta, the appreciation rate is hovering around 3-4%, so I think as far as a business perspective, not too bad for homeowners in Palm beach county or Fla in general. Regardless of a market slowdown/correction, anyhone who purchased a home is still walking away with a nice profit, unless they got into a bind somehow on the way in. I happen to take the optimist approach, the buyers are there they are searching they are just not grabbing anymore because they can take a little more time now. My fsbo ad has at least 600 hits in 3 weeks, not too bad and i have had great buyers follow up. SO I shall be patient along with the rest of you.Flippers are the ones that are panicing really.

By Wake-Up Time

June 26, 2006 03:50 PM | Link to this

Its time for everyone in South Fla and Amerika to realize the “BUBBLE’. RE is a market which every shoeshine boy and bartender jumped into to make a fast buck. Just like PETS.COM. Too much tv and too litle edumacation in S Fla has led to the biggest bubbles and financial disasters in Amerikan history. You will all be telling your grandkids about $500k homes sitting empty and selling for $150k in few years. After everone buys, who is left to sell to????????

Energy costs for AC, Insurance rate increases of 40% and tax hikes will leave all these Mcmansion dwelling debt luving South Fla fast-money chasers living in the Escalades.

Trophy homes just like the trophy boca babes are all plastic cladding - FAKE.

“big hat, no cattle” BWahahahahahahahahahaha

ha

ha

ha!

By bobcat

June 26, 2006 04:42 PM | Link to this

Listen up people, real estate isn’t your personal ATM, put down the HELOC application and get real. 30% year over year gains aren’t normal. That only happened because your moron neighbors all bought 5 houses to flip cuz it wasn’t working out in the stock market anymore. Now that the music stopped they can’t flip them for a profit and they can’t rent them out to break even so they’re all trying to exit at the same time. That’s why your market is flooded and you can’t sell your home.

I hope you people don’t listen to this this clown PBC OWNER writing posts as Ms Palm Beach to support himself. Can’t blame him though. His tract house is going down in value and it’s all he has.

Sellers don’t chase the market down, either hold on for a LOOOONG time if you can or price it right and get out!

By PBC five years

June 27, 2006 10:30 AM | Link to this

I’m reading this ‘cause I have the time and real estate fascinates me; but it’s a shame to see how ignorant we can be. My wife and I got here 5 years ago with only our clothes on, we have bought four houses, sold two and currently live in one and have the other rented. Stop complaining and blaming others for your inhability to succeed in life. There’s nothing wrong with the market, econmy always goes up and down in cycles. I know people who bought houses a decade or two ago for 30k to 50k and it was still hard for them to make the payments (salaries were a lot lower compared to today’s ones). What happens is that we need to stop dreaming with what we cannot afford and never buy something till we can really afford it. We are both just school teachers, we are not rich people; but we have a plan, we have a budget and make things happen. I’m also a mortgage broker(part time) and it really exasperate me to find how many people making minimun wage want to buy a house and they can’t because they are looking into the wrong neighborhood(unafordable for them) and the wrong price range. The problem is not moving to another county/state/country (chances are you are going to be facing the same if you don’t have a plan). I could make a lot of money with those people, it is simple with all those loan programs out there these days; instead, I try to show them how to save the money they need (if you are going to spend 1/2 your income in a house and limit yourself to the extreme till you face a forclosure, don’t do that) Yesterday I had one of those cases, he would be paying $500 over his current rent payments if he buys the house he wants; but that would means he needs to take a second job. My advice: take those $500 and put them into a savings acccount, use part or all the interest to get a better education which means a better paid job, wait and see how much money you have for a down payment in five years, as well as how much more house you can afford with a higher income. Unfortunately people don’t do that. They want that 4 bedrooms/5bathrooms/swimming pool house in a 1.25 acres lot now, they can’t wait to show others what they don’t have. Again the solution is not moving, the market moves with you and prices will still go up (slower, more rationally but for sure).The first cars built in America sold for hundreds, go buy one this year!

By By PBC five years

June 27, 2006 12:17 PM | Link to this

One more comment: If you are buying wait and see what happens; if you are selling because you NEED to, stay put in your price and help the market; if you are selling just because you thought it was a good time to make some profit, put down your sign and wait for a better time that will also help the market(remember offer vs. demand).Too many options for buyers makes a buyers’ market. And remember success is for those who make things happen, failure follows those who wait for things to happen. Just think for a minute, what would happen if tomorrow there are not houses for sale in the market? So, be smart and put down the sign:rent even if it is only to make even, rent if it is only to pay the interest; or just stay put and hold on to your property making a plan for the future.Listen if you want to, laugh if it is your wish; but if you have a real estate property, you have money and you have the ability/possibility to help driving the market to the point you want! You want to make money or you want to lose money? It is up to you. If by now you have not bought a house, or cannot do it, make a plan and wait till you are ready to jump in; but please, stop complaining and blaming others for what is in your hands. Succesfull people make things happen, failure follows those who wait for things to happen!

By bad news charlie

June 27, 2006 08:15 PM | Link to this

sorry 5 years, all the twisted logic in the world isnt gonna prop up yuor home value forever. prices have hardly dropped yet. just wait until people HAVE to sell, resetting ARMs, investors negative cash flow, etc-th fun hasnt even started. SF inventory in my old zip is double the amount of single family homes sold in the past month for all of PBC! gonna get much uglier

By MARTIN COUNTY LOVER

June 27, 2006 09:30 PM | Link to this

I was perusing the MLS listings via Barclaysrealty.com for Jupiter, only, today and saw that there were 1012 single family homes for sale in the Jupiter area alone.

Wow!

I’d say that people had better start thinking about seriously not dreaming of making a huge profit on their home just because they think the market is there. It’s obviously not.

On top of that are the forthcoming new communities on the planning boards for other areas in Jupiter and the area that will put brand new homes out there for people to buy.

When face with brand new construction with all the amenities versus an older home that you will have to pay more for insurance for, it’s easy to see why people will opt for a brand new home. It’s better to put your money into a newer home instead of into an older home when you’re going to have to pay more for house insurance for an older home if it’s older than 2002. Plus, the newer homes are concrete construction. Why in the world would anyone want wood construction in this termite and hurricane-prone environment when they can have concrete and new construction with stronger hurricane reinforcement?

People need to wake up and smell the roses and realize that they are asking so much money that their homes are going to rot on the market at the current prices.

By BFD

June 27, 2006 09:35 PM | Link to this

How about the fact that real estate agents/brokers refuse to submit low ball offers as being unrealistic and too low to offer to the buyers agent- I have had several properties I wanted to ofer 20% less than asking price on and the brokers looked at me like I was from Mars???

.and what about an agent/broker who lives in the same building/community as the property that is for sale and will not pass on low ball offers as it effects the value of their own property……and.what about the brokers that show you comps. from last year and tell you those are the prices you need to offer…?

By tl

June 27, 2006 11:06 PM | Link to this

MC Lover cbs construction is not limited to homes ‘02 and newer. The majority of fl homes are cbs construction with the exception of much older homes pre 1950’s. Any home can be retro fitted with hurricane straps, reinforced garage doors, etc.

By MARTIN COUNTY LOVER

June 28, 2006 07:10 AM | Link to this

The reason I’m mentioning 2002 as the year that matter, tl, is because that’s the first thing an insurance company asks you when you call to enquire about insurance. “Is the home 2002 or newer?” That matters to them. If it’s not 2002 or newer they tell you to call someone else.

Did you see the home insurance blog? Well, down near the bottom of it someone posts exactly what I’m talking about - how their house is not a 2002 model and the only insurance they can get is Citizens.

We called Citizens about our brand new CBS home and to insure it was $9800K a year.

We called another company and because our home is brand new and CBS construction we are going to pay $2600 a year for $400K insurance - even though we are less than 2 miles from the ocean (being 3 miles or less from the ocean is also a big no-no with most insurance companies.)

I certainly do feel badly for the people out there who need to sell their homes and are having a hard time. When I checked at the Barclaysrealty.com site and saw 1012 homes for sale in the Jupiter area alone, my mouth dropped open.

They’re calling this a “correction?” I call it a blowout.

By PBC five years

June 28, 2006 07:45 AM | Link to this

Bad news Charlie, my point is:don’t sell if you don’t have to and help the market. My message is for those in the market trying to make a ridiculous profit when it is not the time(they made up their minds too late). Regarding price, be realistic and study, historically house prices have gone up and down, but the down side has never been under the original price; those who bought 20 years ago for 40k have seen their properties at 60k,90k,100k,then down to 70k, 65k, then up to 200k;but never down back to 40k or less. That’s the beauty of real estate. If anything different happens now, it would be a huge economic disaster for home owners only? No think about the whole industry behind housing:construction meterials (a lot there),banking institutions ( a lot),government also has money in the market.It may take a while 5-10 years, if you survive that you’ll have money, if you freak and run away you’ll have nothing.

By Terri

June 28, 2006 08:01 AM | Link to this

Wow - my parents have lived in SW Florida for over 30 years. And it was paradise for them and their friends. They were able to retire in SW Florida, enjoy the warm weather, live their golden years very comfortably on their modest pension and social security, and grow old with their friends and neighbors.

What happened?

Now, it’s almost my turn - I’ll be 53 years old, and my dream was to retire in SW Florida. I always loved the SW Florida – I remember the first time I saw the Palm Trees and I said – wow – this is what I want.

I blame this marketplace on the greedy real estate brokers, and the developers that allowed these brokers and their friends to purchase condo’s and single family homes in the double digits creating a false market.

What a shame.

Now I’m bering forced into thinking about other alternatives.

Any ideas?

By chris

June 28, 2006 09:16 AM | Link to this

MC Lover, your insurance company is definitely giving you a good deal. What company is that? I might give them a call. Thanks!

By MARTIN COUNTY LOVER

June 28, 2006 10:49 AM | Link to this

Hey, we used Jaguar Insurance out of Stuart Florida - Brian is his name. 772-781-8076.

Again, I’m not sure how our rates will compare to others’ insurance quotes because our house is brand new, CBS construction, has an alarm, hurricane shutters, etc., but after checking over them all, Jaguar was the best and the nicest. Class act office.

By Wayne REDUX

June 28, 2006 01:05 PM | Link to this

Right on Wayne, you need a repost:

One important fact all across America today is that we no longer have any leaders. All we have are maggots, liars, theives and just plain dirtbags who pretend to be on the side of the hardworking taxpayers. Most of them, all the way to Washington should be cleaning toilettes and picking up trash along our roadway. Until the next American revolution comes, the working class will have no say in our Government. That’s because elections are no longer viable for the common person who would do the right thing if elected. You cannot compete with the dirty money of the campaign trail or the crooked influence peddlers along the way. When was the last time that politicians truly said NO to runaway spending? If you ran your business like the political theives run our Government,someone comes to arrest you. So why do they have the power to steal from us over and over again? America today is for the Corporations and crooked politicians who have a 50 year record of failure to the taxpayer. Now, I’m done.

By YouFools

June 28, 2006 03:32 PM | Link to this

Face the reality that you have been taken in one of the largest frauds perpetrated on the American people. Americans (and your) failure to understand markets have set you up for a fall. The prime fraudster is Easy Al Greenspan who traded one bubble (stock) for another (real estate) with artificially low rates and ridiculously easy credit terms. All under the guidance and approval of the current political party (REPUBLICANS) in control. I’d be willing to bet that you have little or no equity in the property. Your flipper neighbors will start handing the keys to the mortgage company and walk very shortly. I don’t live you your area, but follow real estate closely and I can tell you this bloodbath is stacking up to make the S&L days of 1990 look very tame in comparison. If you wnat more info on the state of R.E. in the country, check the blog that led me here http://www.housebubble.com/index.html I wish I had better news for you. Sorry there are no greater fools left. It is what it is…..

By Sideline Money

June 28, 2006 08:10 PM | Link to this

YouFools,

Please don’t steal comments from other blog entries on other sites, unless you want to attribute them. Thanks.

By N

June 28, 2006 09:30 PM | Link to this

The May sales data would look good, but if you consider inventories built up during the period then the information isn’t so good.

A glance at realtor.com over the last two months indicates the number of houses for sale in Palm Beach County increased by over 1,000 single family homes or on average 500 homes per month. May and June are typically the busiest months in real estate. If you consider that inventories grew by 500 in May that would mean that while 982 single family homes were sold in May, then close to 1,482 (982+500) homes went on sale in May.

This effect could be further felt later on in the year where when we are out of the busiest buying season. Unsold inventories could really shoot up higher.

The only way for the market to avoid a decline in prices is for the inventories to decrease.

So what’s your bet??? If inventories go down then prices can remain supported. If inventories swell up higher, then prices could suffer.

By the way the current number of houses on sale in PBC is 14,939 homes (not including FSBO).

http://www.realtor.com/FindHome/HomeListings.asp?frm=byzip&mnbed=0&mnbath=0&mnprice=0&mxprice=99999999&js=off&pgnum=1&lnksrc=&fid=so&mnsqft=0&mls=xmls&vtsort=&typ=1&poe=realtor&zp=33401&zp=33402&zp=33403&zp=33404&zp=33405&zp=33406&zp=33407&zp=33408&zp=33409&zp=33410&zp=33411&zp=33412&zp=33413&zp=33414&zp=33415&zp=33417&zp=33418&zp=33426&zp=33428&zp=33430&zp=33431&zp=33432&zp=33433&zp=33434&zp=33435&zp=33436&zp=33437&zp=33438&zp=33444&zp=33445&zp=33446&zp=33458&zp=33460&zp=33461&zp=33462&zp=33463&zp=33467&zp=33469&zp=33470&zp=33476&zp=33477&zp=33478&zp=33480&zp=33483&zp=33484&zp=33486&zp=33487&zp=33493&zp=33496&zp=33498

By Michael Fink

June 28, 2006 09:40 PM | Link to this

You know, I am not one to personally attack another person on these site, but I really have to question the logic of the post above (PBC owner).

You say that the outlook is good for sellers; and yes, in some areas I may believe that (beachfront). However, the market is so overbuilt right now, I just don’t see how you can say the market looks good for your normal home/condo seller.

If you don’t buy now, you never will? Do you really think that nobody will be able to afford S. Florida in a few more years? That will never happen, not to an area that large. If nobody can afford it, you cannot have a workforce and the area will slowly die. Especially since we have a disproportinate number of retirees here. Do you think they want to be police officers/lawyers/etc? If not, how will these people afford to live here to work.

I do not doubt that prices may rebound at some point (its a certainty that if you project far enough they will go back up again). However, salaries will have caught up to the price of RE, and on a “real money” basis homes will be more affordable.

PBC is one of the least affordable places to live in the US; something has to change. And, imho, its not that the “have nots” are going to leave and only leave current homeowners here.

Again, its FAR TOO big an area. There are 400 miles of coast in FL, about 150 in S. Florida. In my opinion, for the next 10-15 years, its never going to be less affordable (at least in PBC county) then it has been for the past 2 years. That does not mean the prices are going to crash (although I feel they are going to, in some places), but it does mean that salaries are going to catch up.

I have family who bought a home on Long Island, about 30 miles from NYC. They were close to the water, and had deeded deep water dock. They bought there home at the peak of a housing boom there and lived there for about 10 years. They sold it, 10 years after they bought it, for very near what they bought it for. They were “upside down” in there house for almost the entire time they lived there.

S. Florida is not immune to this kind of housing pop; espcially when you take the amount of open land we have, and how far our market as appreciated in the past few years.

Now is NOT the time to buy. Give it another 6-12 months and see whats happening. Take a look at the inventories; take a look at the price drops, and buy when the time is right. Look at the price per sq ft. That’s the important number; not the house cost.

My condo is right around 300 dollars a sq ft; which is very, very high for a condo in a 2nd tier city. I expect the price to drop to around 200 a sq ft, which would be much more in line with the land/construction costs.

By Michael Fink

June 28, 2006 09:46 PM | Link to this

Quote from an above post:

but the down side has never been under the original price; those who bought 20 years ago for 40k have seen their properties at 60k,90k,100k,then down to 70k, 65k, then up to 200k;but never down back to 40k or less. That’s the beauty of real estate.

That’s the beauty of real estate all right. Unless you bought at 100K and had to sell at 65K. That’s the situation many people are going to find themselves in over the next year or so.

Yes, if you hold on long enough the price will go up. But you can invest in a good mutual fund and get 8-10 percent year over year with much less risk. RE is a very bad investment right now. Unless you are here for the long haul; and even then I would tell you to rent for awhile and watch the prices and inventories.

If you bought at 100 and sold at 65, you lost 35% of your investment. That’s a inventing disaster. If its your home; not such a big deal. If your trying to make money, you just had a very, very, bad year.

By N

June 28, 2006 09:59 PM | Link to this

Florida is not immune to a housing bubble pop. It just hasn’t happened in Florida in a long time.

If you want to see a similar period of real estate in FL look at the mid 1920’s. Not only did real estate shoot up in a near similar fashion, the prices later crashed by 1928.

Not saying it’s going to happen in the same manner, but we are by no means immune from something like that.

By bubba

June 29, 2006 09:42 AM | Link to this

PBC Owner: Even though prices did swing up last month by about 1.3%, they are still far down over 7% from November, 2005.

For the first time in years there was no year to year appreciation.

Volumes are swelling while sales are plummeting.

Foreclosure rates are increasing to alarming rates.

Put this all together and what do you get?

Prices are going to drop. It was only two years ago (May, 2004) that the median home price here was $290,000. Prices may not fall to that level, but don’t be surprised if it comes close.

Buyers should sit tight, and wait until those with “exotic” mortgages they can’t afford have to dump their properties for any cash that they can get.

By PBC OWNER

June 29, 2006 07:47 PM | Link to this

I think everyone in these blogs who want to buy, don’t have the MONEY. And they don’t even know what they want, a house, a condo, a townhome. They are all over five counties looking at property, from Dade to St. Lucie. Face it, you are a “flipper” yourself, looking to take advantage on someones misfortune.

A true buyer zeros in on a area, for a certain type of home. They are not looking at property for two years like some these bloggers are doing. These are your DREAMERS. The HAVE NOTS who want to take their frustrations out and blame the ones who do own property here. You talk about prices some 20, 30, 40 years ago. That was the past, we are in 2006, and like everything else, prices are up. If your wages are not, then time to move. I hear Arizona, Nevada and the Carolinas are hot areas to move to.

Time to stop wishing, hoping and dreaming of a major crash like 1928. To much money invested here in S. Florida for that to happen. Did anyone see all the construction cranes from Dade to Palm Beach County? If the market was going to crash, the the investors would stop building here. Not happening, because we have the real buyers coming here from the north, Europe, and South America who have the money. They have their investments, retirement accounts, inheritance, “old” money, “dirty” money to buy real estate here. Sellers would not care what type of money it is, as long as the buyer can pay their price on the house, condo or townhome.

Foreclosures, ask any honest realtor about the fees on those type of properties. A real good foreclosure is grabbed up by a banker or broker anyway. You will never get a chance to see it on the market. Owners who have those “exotic” loans, will just add on another. They have more than one property, and willing to wait it out another year by getting another loan.

Prices are not going to drop what they were in 2004 or 2001. Reason, new homes sale prices, cost of construction materials and you are looking to buy into S. Florida. These factors control existing home sales. Look at the locations of people writing from, New York, California, New Jersey, Carolina looking into property here on these blogs. South Florida renters cannot afford property here, but outsiders can.

If you blame the politicians, vote them out. The new guy won’t help build lower cost housing for you. Is that what you want? How many low cost housing units did anyone see along the ocean these days being built?

If you want to wait for lower prices, wait. Then see where prices are, especially this fall. Buyers will back, prices will be up and you will be on the “sideline” as always. If there are so many properties out there to buy now, what are you waitng for? I tell you what you are waiting for….to make more money to save!

Your teachers / police / fire / nurses / landscapers will have to pick up and move, just like earlier ones did. We are a revolving door for service people, only ones with money can afford to stay. There will be others to take their place as always. people looking to get out of the cold winters or people from South America ready to take on the service jobs. Look at prices in other states, we just caught up with them. Looking to buy into South Florida, pay the price now or pay a higher price later. Make it happen, don’t wait for it as someone said earlier. Or you will be writing from another area a year from now complaining of what you missed out on in South Florida.

Remember, the three goals to buy here are: MONEY, how much you can SAVE, and can you SACRAFICE.

And the three most important areas of real estate are LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION.

What are you going to be? A BUYER, or A “HAVE NOT” ??????

By Jeff Poole

June 30, 2006 11:48 AM | Link to this

I have to admit, I agree with PBC Owner on his last post. As a matter of fact, I responded indirectly to him on another post from the “Investors going to Carolina, Alabama - just not here” blog from the other day. I thought he and a few others were a little naive and amateurish, but he is on the money on the dreamers and the have nots and the wannabe flippers. These kind of people will always be the doom and gloomers, the gold bugs, the “country is going to hell in a handbasket” mentality. Yes, we have problems here, but they will work themselves out. PBC Owner is right. Those of us who have good properties in PBC will always win in the long run. Those of us who are diversified and have properties here and other areas will be even better off, but then again, that is smart, prudent, good business sense, and the bandwagon amateurs we have seen in the past two years here have none of that. I still disagree with PBC Owner on what I said in my earlier post, but for his last post, I couldn’t have said it any better. Here is what I said in my earlier post to be fair….. “By Jeff Poole

June 27, 2006 07:36 PM | Link to this

Mike is on the money on CityPlace on fairly extreme price adjustments downward. His “Manufactured” comment is what he is right about. What he doesn’t realize is how bad or how far reached it can be. What is so easy to see for people who have been here since at least the 80s is the following: People forget the condo building boom in the early 80s, way overdone, and then in the late 80s, the south florida condo was the butt of jokes, remember. there was a severe glut. you could buy all the condos you wanted for prices so deflated it was scary, and that lasted years. of course, it finally worked itself out as the population increased, but it took years. there were thousands of people in palm beach county that took a bath on that fabulous florida condo. it is worse now. at least then, they were still building on land that was at least in decent locations. the problem now is the good locations have long been built on, so, not only have they overbuilt what the area can handle for the next few years, those new ones are land that developers laughed at, passed on, and now, when the frenzied, idiot amateur bandwagons for a must have condo or cookie cutter zero lot liner, the developers finally built on that lot next to cracktown in delray, or the railroad tracks in anytown pb county. what is unique about these properties? Is it the fact that they are concrete built, as our naive friend, PBC Owner, says, or the amenities that the “wannabe wealthy in their leased cars” want, but in the end, they are still residences in locations that most people still laugh at. When northerners get off the plane in wpb, they still have to drive through rundown areas to get to that condo. once inside, i’m sure it’s nice, but they will not want to drive through the crap to get to it, or worse, have their friends and relatives see the neighborhood they have to live near, it’s laughable.

When you have people like PBC Owner say ignorant and blanket statements like every frame home in every state in the union is junk compared to his concrete one here, and Bubba saying he wants to find city water in Jupiter Farms because he doesn’t trust well water, we know we are getting close to the absolute top to a real estate frenzy like the stock market was in 1999. This is comical. Look, obviously, studies have long proved our tap water and well water is no different than the bottled water that Madison Avenue has sold ole’ Bubba, and I know there are plenty of wood frame homes in every state in the US, including right here in PB County, that are a hell of alot nicer and more expensive than our “pompous” PBC Owner. Remember PBC, there’s an a*s for every seat.

When the bandwagon masses follow the rest of their broke friends and relatives up to North Carolina or Atlanta (I think they have listened to too much real estate radio shows), we are near the top. The problem that those people will have when they get there is threefold. The residents up there don’t want them, hence the popular NC phrase AFF (Another fu#$ing Floridian…kinda like why we all left Boca 15 years ago…), they are escaping to places that are themselves getting overcrowded and will be in the same predicament a few years from now with higher taxes, overcrowded schools and rising crime rates, and the fact that if they stopped listening to radio shows and their idiot brother in law, they would realize there are other states close by that are less expensive and have nicer amenities that htey are looking for….Get this, if you are moving to NC or North GA or TN, you are more than likely paying full retail. There are better bargains elsewhere and not too far from there.

In the end, we will be fine here, and most single family homes will not be killed as much as the condo market here (frame or cement) but it will be better when the amateurs have gotten out. The money to be made when the idiots fall is going to be amazing. The people are still coming and they will always come. That will always help us faster than other areas.

Let the “Interest Only” hare crowd get pushed out and us tortoises will be there to pick up the pieces. The tortoise always wins. I know. I saw the movie a few times. -Jeff “

Have a nice weekend!

By Rat Race

June 30, 2006 06:14 PM | Link to this

Hello all, I have been reading your comments and I have to say this… Everyone is consumed in consumerism. One says that he would prefer Miami because its a party place. Another says he likes wide open spaces. Another says he can have the same in one county as another can have in another county for much less. Another brags that he was lucky and is getting out. Another already left and got out. Everyone thinking that he pulled off something better than the other cause he got more. The one who dies with the biggest house wins. Everything is a fad. Baby boomers are going through another fad. We think we’ll be more popular if we have a better home or something, when in fact, all it breeds is envy and dislike for the guy that is bragging. You would be better to have nothing and work on your spituality rather than your big house. Maybe then someone would come over and visit you.