There’s always something to howl about.

Tag: House Prices (page 1 of 1)

Another 25%? Ouch, that’s going to leave a mark…..


Okay, a couple of things that this chart assumes:

  • That from 1975 to 1999 was “normal” enough to indicate a statistical trend.   I think the case could be made that it was.
  • That we’re going to eventually get back to that trend line.    I think a case could be made that we will.
  • If both of those assumptions are indeed correct, then we’re heading into a scenario where we have quite an adjustment to go through in terms of a drop in peak housing values until we are back into range with that statistical trend.

What do you think?   Tell me why you think he’s wrong……

Tom Vanderwell

Values Have Dropped Only 25% of the Fall Needed to Reach Trend «

PRICE TRENDS / WAR OF THE WORLDS (Part 4): Property owners nationwide have lost only one dollar for every four dollars they can ultimately expect to lose on their home.

The good news according to the leading data series issued by the United States government is that prices have only fallen 6 percent. If you are a homeowner, you are wealthier than you knew. The bad news is you still have three dollars to lose for every one dollar which has already been lost.

The total projected fall from the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) “All Transactions Index”, which begins in 1975, shows a peak-to-trend fall of 27%. Since prices are 6% lower by this measure, prices must still fall an additional 23% from today for prices to revert to trend.

The assumption built into these estimates is that prices in the years 1975 to 1999 advanced at a typical rate. A trend line was generated to the present based upon that 25-year period. The chart depicts the divergence of the trend established from 1975 to 1999 and the actual prices recorded from 2000 to 2009.

The FHFA prediction of a total fall of 27% is far less than the total fall of between 49% to 60% predicted by Case-Shiller. Based upon the four data sets reviewed in the last few weeks (see summary below), we can estimate a total fall of between 27% to 60% from the bubble top to Read more

7 Things Every Home Buyer Should Know – Part 1

Here’s what I wrote about item #1 on the list last time:

6 months ago is ancient history. What your neighbor sold his house for 6 months ago doesn’t matter.   What the seller was asking for the house 6 months ago doesn’t matter.   What matters is what the market will support today.

So, how are things the same and how are they different?   A couple of things that need to be discussed:

How are things the same?

  • What happened 6 months ago is still ancient history.   Since I wrote the first piece, Fannie, Freddie and FHA have tightened up their appraisal guidelines and they will no longer allow an appraiser to use a sale that is more than 90 days old unless they have no other comparables and can write a 5 page essay of why they need to use that one.
  • I can’t tell you how many times over the last 12 months, I’ve heard people say, “3 years ago, the seller bought the house for $100,000 more than what I’m paying the bank for it.   I’m getting an awesome deal!”    My first response is, “Maybe.”   Maybe you are getting a deal.   But maybe the seller bought it at the peak of a bubble in the market and paid way too much and now things are just adjusting down to the market.    Maybe it’s not down to what the market will really absorb for the house and if you tried to sell it next year, you’d end up selling it for less than you paid for it.
  • “They just dropped the price by $50,000!”   This is a great deal!    Maybe, but then again, I can put my house on the market for $650,000 and then offer to give you $100,000 off the asking price.   Is that a good deal for my house?  (Hint – my house is still WAY overpriced at $550,000 – but I’ll sell it to you for that.)

So what is different?   A couple of things are a bit different from last year:

  • The First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit/Buyer Frenzy – If you are any where near the radio/newspaper/any mortgage lender or Realtor, you’re Read more