According to a report released today by the National Association of Realtors, U.S. homes sold at the slowest pace in over ten years in the first month of 2009. Sales were down 8.6% since January of 2008.
More on U.S. Homes Sales Hit Slowest Pace in More Than a Decade
Wells Fargo Bank and the National Association of Home Builders recently released an updated list of the most (and least) affordable places in the United States to buy real estate. The list (which runs almost two years behind in order to run all the statistics correctly) was created by looking at the price of real estate sold in 2007 and comparing that with the median income in the areas where the homes were located in that same year.
Once again, more downs than ups in the property investing markets.
- Emaar properties, Dubai-based owner of John Laing Homes have filed for bankruptcy protection for the American firm. John Laing Homes is one of the largest home builders in the United States and the 31st biggest in the world. Or at least – they were. Luxury property blog.
Paul Krugman, the Nobel Prize-winning New York Times op-ed columnist and Professor of Economic and International Affairs at Princeton University, said in today’s column that in regard to the housing slump and the general economic downturn in the U.S., “…the seeds of eventual recovery are already being planted.”
I have just finished reading through the great Barack Obama’s fix for the foreclosure mess in the USA which will magically mend the world’s housing woes. NOT!
For those of you expecting a quick fix to the financial crisis, sorry to disappoint, but this is just another $275 billion of US taxpayer’s money pissed down the toilet. Ignoring the fact that the whole mess started by lending cheap money to people who could not afford to make the payments and doing more of the same is just…………. Not even sure I know what word to use actually. If any individual acted the way the governments and banks are doing, I guarantee they would be behind bars this very minute.
The current economic downturn is starting to hit some segments of the luxury real estate market. Park Avenue Co-Ops and Condos in New York City are down 20-25% from the summer of 2008, and some of the priciest suburbs across the country are suffering even more.
The U.S. economic stimulus package has finally passed, and while no one believes that the housing market will experience an instant revival, if you are planning to buy a foreclosed home on a short sale or have your eye on a home in a hot area that shows signs of revitalization, certain improvements will make your home more valuable and easier to resell than others.
More on Can You Still Flip a U.S. House? Best Resale Upgrades
Every spring, Home Builders Associations in metropolitan areas across America host an event that has come to be called “The Parade of Homes.” The Parade of Homes usually takes place in a hot subdivision and features 12 to 20 new homes with all the latest and most luxurious features designed by local architects and sponsored by various home builders.
More on Denver Parade of Homes to Shift to Luxury Theme in 2009
Things do seem to be hotting up in the investment property world, and I don’t mean burning down hot as seen in the recent Australian bushfires. Volatile is the word that comes to mind. As developers and agents try to combat falling prices, we are starting to see some interesting approaches. Most of Manhattan seems to be up for rent at the moment with luxury condominiums in Manhattan completely failing to sell.
Where in the hell is Elkhart, Indiana?
If you were asking yourself that question yesterday as President Barack Obama made a special trip to Elkhart to talk about his economic recovery plan, and as Elkhart Indiana was being splashed all over the cable news media and hailed as the city with “the highest unemployment rate in the U.S.” (15.3% and climbing), let me help you out here.
More on Elkhart Indiana–Worst Place to Buy a House (This Week)
