House prices are still falling

[FluffyMcDeath]

Doesn't it seem like they've been falling forever. Doesn't it sound like they might have stopped, judging by all the positive sounding news of late.

I've kept this link of the Miami-Florida page on HousingTracker.net since Red posted it a ways back. For a while at the end of last year it looked like the line was starting to level out but it seems to have taken a turn for the worse.

Considering how far the Case Shiller index had diverged from the mean it shouldn't be surprising that it's not back all the way down yet.

On the positive side though at least the unemployment rate isn't rising despite the fact that the US economy lost 85000 jobs in December.

So with a shrinking number of jobs and a growing population, how can the unemployment rate stay the same?

The civilian labor force fell by 661,000 in the month, suggesting that more people are stopping their search for employment.[/url]

Because, if you have given up looking for work or you have lost your home and you no longer have a mailing address or a phone then you aren't looking for work and so you are not unemployed. This makes the number seem rosier on the down side of the slope but, paradoxically, it can lead to a sudden jump in unemployment when the jobs start coming back.

 

[Wayne]

Well, when it gets to the point I can get a 100,000 house for 1920 prices, I might buy.

 

[cecilia]

I'm no expert on any of this in any way

my mother always said real estate is the best investment

she's never wrong about stuff like this and she's rarely wrong on most other issues, frankly.

now is not the time to sell.

that is all :mrgreen:

 

[FluffyMcDeath]

I'm no expert on any of this in any way

my mother always said real estate is the best investment

It depends on the time scale and the demographics.
However, if you have purchased your real estate for the service it provides rather than for the future profit it's usually a good idea to have title, especially if you don't intend to move.

Certainly now is not the time to sell if you have a mortgage that is worth more than your house. Now is the time to walk away, declare bankruptcy and get a cheaper house in a few years. If you are underwater by 150k or 200k you will be ahead sooner by abandoning the property and buying something comparable at the new lower price.

If you are already mortgage free or your mortgage is small then hold and if you can't live in it, rent. In some jurisdictions you may be able to claim a substantial capital loss by converting the property to rental. at this time.

 

[cecilia]

exactly.

the house I live in is mortgage free. In fact several people I know paid off their homes a while ago and are sitting tight. Homes are for living in.

if more people understood that there would be more happy people