Posted by hchickpea on January 14, 2008, 11:03 am
I don't normally watch the home shows on tv anymore, but happened to
watch a couple of them last night. One compared homes in Maui HI,
Dallas TX, and San Fransisco CA.
I know that circumstances dictate a lot of where people live, and some
folks just can't live without a fix of seashore, mountains, big city
life, etc., but surely not everyone is this way?
A grad student and his wife were buying a $500K small condo near San
Fransisco. How the f^&* are they going to pay the almost $2K mortgage
payments and still have money for food, taxes, clothing, and
everything else?
$250K in Maui doesn't even get a person into the market. A million
dollar home is a "starter" home.
The only place that seemed anywhere near reasonable was Dallas, where
a three million dollar home was a palace, and even the low end homes
seemed nice.
After watching this program and thinking about the mortgage "crisis,"
I've come to a conclusion that it isn't a crisis at all, but a case
where real estate costs in some areas are grossly out of proportion to
incomes, and people have continued to buy-in to these markets.
If a relative or friend of mine wanted to buy an 800 square foot condo
in any area for $500K to a million, I'd be telling them "Here's yer
sign!"
What kind of shortsightedness has overtaken these millions of people?
I think of the amounts of interest being paid, the taxes, the
insurance, the riskiness of such over-the-top investments, and I shake
my head in disbelief. Perhaps the mantra of real estate should be
changed from location, location, location to stupidity, stupidity,
stupidity.
It isn't that we have a housing and mortgage crisis that occurred out
of thin air, we have had a fever of speculation that is finally
breaking.
Posted by Rod Speed on January 14, 2008, 12:16 pm
hchickpea@hotmail.com wrote:
> I don't normally watch the home shows on tv anymore, but happened to
> watch a couple of them last night. One compared homes in Maui HI,
> Dallas TX, and San Fransisco CA.
> I know that circumstances dictate a lot of where people live, and some
> folks just can't live without a fix of seashore, mountains, big city
> life, etc., but surely not everyone is this way?
> A grad student and his wife were buying a $500K small condo near San
> Fransisco. How the f^&* are they going to pay the almost $2K mortgage
> payments and still have money for food, taxes, clothing, and
> everything else?
> $250K in Maui doesn't even get a person into the market. A million
> dollar home is a "starter" home.
> The only place that seemed anywhere near reasonable was Dallas, where
> a three million dollar home was a palace, and even the low end homes
> seemed nice.
> After watching this program and thinking about the mortgage "crisis,"
> I've come to a conclusion that it isn't a crisis at all, but a case
> where real estate costs in some areas are grossly out of proportion to
> incomes, and people have continued to buy-in to these markets.
> If a relative or friend of mine wanted to buy an 800 square foot condo
> in any area for $500K to a million, I'd be telling them "Here's yer sign!"
> What kind of shortsightedness has overtaken these millions of people?
> I think of the amounts of interest being paid, the taxes, the
> insurance, the riskiness of such over-the-top investments, and I shake
> my head in disbelief. Perhaps the mantra of real estate should be
> changed from location, location, location to stupidity, stupidity, stupidity.
> It isn't that we have a housing and mortgage crisis that occurred out
> of thin air, we have had a fever of speculation that is finally breaking.
Bet it isnt 'breaking' in the sense that that will stop any century soon.
Posted by Seerialmom on January 14, 2008, 1:34 pm
On Jan 14, 8:03 am, hchick...@hotmail.com wrote:
> I don't normally watch the home shows on tv anymore, but happened to
> watch a couple of them last night. One compared homes in Maui HI,
> Dallas TX, and San Fransisco CA.
> I know that circumstances dictate a lot of where people live, and some
> folks just can't live without a fix of seashore, mountains, big city
> life, etc., but surely not everyone is this way?
> A grad student and his wife were buying a $500K small condo near San
> Fransisco. How the f^&* are they going to pay the almost $2K mortgage
> payments and still have money for food, taxes, clothing, and
> everything else?
> $250K in Maui doesn't even get a person into the market. A million
> dollar home is a "starter" home.
> The only place that seemed anywhere near reasonable was Dallas, where
> a three million dollar home was a palace, and even the low end homes
> seemed nice.
> After watching this program and thinking about the mortgage "crisis,"
> I've come to a conclusion that it isn't a crisis at all, but a case
> where real estate costs in some areas are grossly out of proportion to
> incomes, and people have continued to buy-in to these markets.
> If a relative or friend of mine wanted to buy an 800 square foot condo
> in any area for $500K to a million, I'd be telling them "Here's yer
> sign!"
> What kind of shortsightedness has overtaken these millions of people?
> I think of the amounts of interest being paid, the taxes, the
> insurance, the riskiness of such over-the-top investments, and I shake
> my head in disbelief. Perhaps the mantra of real estate should be
> changed from location, location, location to stupidity, stupidity,
> stupidity.
> It isn't that we have a housing and mortgage crisis that occurred out
> of thin air, we have had a fever of speculation that is finally
> breaking.
Actually pay does tend to go up in areas that have higher cost of
living. Additionally many of the people who live in SF may work in
the tech sector of Santa Clara or San Jose so the pay is decent. But
I agree that sometimes it's ridiculous what price some people will pay
to live in a "location". I remember seeing a 2 bedroom "bungalow"
listed in San Jose for 1M...same one here in Sacramento would have
been about 100K...max.
Posted by BeaForoni on January 14, 2008, 6:40 pm
On Jan 14, 8:03 am, hchick...@hotmail.com wrote:
> I don't normally watch the home shows on tv anymore, but happened to
> watch a couple of them last night. One compared homes in Maui HI,
> Dallas TX, and San Fransisco CA.
> I know that circumstances dictate a lot of where people live, and some
> folks just can't live without a fix of seashore, mountains, big city
> life, etc., but surely not everyone is this way?
> A grad student and his wife were buying a $500K small condo near San
> Fransisco. How the f^&* are they going to pay the almost $2K mortgage
> payments and still have money for food, taxes, clothing, and
> everything else?
> $250K in Maui doesn't even get a person into the market. A million
> dollar home is a "starter" home.
> The only place that seemed anywhere near reasonable was Dallas, where
> a three million dollar home was a palace, and even the low end homes
> seemed nice.
> After watching this program and thinking about the mortgage "crisis,"
> I've come to a conclusion that it isn't a crisis at all, but a case
> where real estate costs in some areas are grossly out of proportion to
> incomes, and people have continued to buy-in to these markets.
> If a relative or friend of mine wanted to buy an 800 square foot condo
> in any area for $500K to a million, I'd be telling them "Here's yer
> sign!"
> What kind of shortsightedness has overtaken these millions of people?
> I think of the amounts of interest being paid, the taxes, the
> insurance, the riskiness of such over-the-top investments, and I shake
> my head in disbelief. Perhaps the mantra of real estate should be
> changed from location, location, location to stupidity, stupidity,
> stupidity.
> It isn't that we have a housing and mortgage crisis that occurred out
> of thin air, we have had a fever of speculation that is finally
> breaking.
Why live in a desirable market? Because it is desirable.
Look at places that are so called 'over priced', and they have assests
that pull people from all over the country. Weather, culture, mass
transit, night life, employment opportunities, medical care, lack of
Texas accent, open mindness, educational opportunities, the list is
endless as to why one part of the country is more desirable than
others. In the eighties, Sothern California had a real estate bubble
that burst. Homes lost twenty percent of value. People abandoned their
properties rather then pay on an upside down mortgage. A few years
later the prices again rose and those who stayed saw their equity
increase.
Folks who live lives full of experiences and opportunities live full
lives. People who live life always looking for the cheapest way tend
to feel life is cheap and never really enjoy the richness of human
existense.
To each their own.
Posted by hchickpea on January 14, 2008, 7:04 pm
On Mon, 14 Jan 2008 15:40:41 -0800 (PST), BeaForoni@msn.com wrote:
> Folks who live lives full of experiences and opportunities live full
>lives. People who live life always looking for the cheapest way tend
>to feel life is cheap and never really enjoy the richness of human
>existense.
I understand your point, but it isn't as cut-n-dried as that. I just
escaped the South Florida real estate bust after having lived there
for twenty years. I had the rich and full experience of the area, and
watched it change for the worse, even as the real estate bubble was
driving prices up. I've also lived in a number of other cities and
towns, including NYC and Atlanta. Aside from the Broadway plays,
concerts, and larger selection of dining choices, the big cities
didn't seem to offer much in exchange for the increased costs. Riding
the subway? Dealing with crowded elevators? Rush hour traffic?
These may be vibrant signs of life, but since I'm not an extrovert, I
don't crave them.
One aspect of my confusion is that I need a certain amount of space to
feel comfortable, and a certain amount of stability to feel
financially secure. I don't understand living in an 800 sf condo for
$500K plus taxes and insurance, if there is the option of living for
less than half that cost in a far larger paid-for home with decent
ammenities, where income doesn't go into a black hole.
I'm aware of the equity argument, and agree that sometimes it works,
but in many areas that equity is a false gain, once you deduct the
outrageous property taxes and insurance that have been paid over the
same period.
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> watch a couple of them last night. One compared homes in Maui HI,
> Dallas TX, and San Fransisco CA.
> I know that circumstances dictate a lot of where people live, and some
> folks just can't live without a fix of seashore, mountains, big city
> life, etc., but surely not everyone is this way?
> A grad student and his wife were buying a $500K small condo near San
> Fransisco. How the f^&* are they going to pay the almost $2K mortgage
> payments and still have money for food, taxes, clothing, and
> everything else?
> $250K in Maui doesn't even get a person into the market. A million
> dollar home is a "starter" home.
> The only place that seemed anywhere near reasonable was Dallas, where
> a three million dollar home was a palace, and even the low end homes
> seemed nice.
> After watching this program and thinking about the mortgage "crisis,"
> I've come to a conclusion that it isn't a crisis at all, but a case
> where real estate costs in some areas are grossly out of proportion to
> incomes, and people have continued to buy-in to these markets.
> If a relative or friend of mine wanted to buy an 800 square foot condo
> in any area for $500K to a million, I'd be telling them "Here's yer sign!"
> What kind of shortsightedness has overtaken these millions of people?
> I think of the amounts of interest being paid, the taxes, the
> insurance, the riskiness of such over-the-top investments, and I shake
> my head in disbelief. Perhaps the mantra of real estate should be
> changed from location, location, location to stupidity, stupidity, stupidity.
> It isn't that we have a housing and mortgage crisis that occurred out
> of thin air, we have had a fever of speculation that is finally breaking.