Real Estate Information

Whats This about a Housing Bubble?


In his recent testimony, Alan Greenspan warned against the possiblity that we have seen home prices plateau. The bursting of the "bubble" could cause a big hit to the U.S. economy. But, why should we worry?

Well, as we all know, house prices are up across the country...over 10% in the last year, including over 25% in some markets. Additionally, house prices have risen over 70% since 1994, more than double the increase of renting during that time period. Demand for houses is high, as interest rates have stayed low. This has created an investment market for houses.

Now, the average homeowner can use the equity in his/her home to finance the purchase of one or more additional houses. One statistic showed that 13% of houses are currently unoccupied, due to investors gobbling them up, hoping the prices will continue to skyrocket.

But can these prices last? Once the supply of houses exceeds demand, we could see a rapid drop in prices, as people look to sell their extra homes. Higher interest rates or falling prices could scare away potential buyers, creating a housing market crash.

Furthermore, those with Adjustable Rate Mortgages (ARMs) who figured they would only own the house for 3-4 years might now be stuck with either a high interest mortgage, or selling the home for a substantial loss.

Either way, the potential for bankrupt investors seems unnervingly real. With new laws making it harder for one to declare bankruptcy, we could become a nation with huge individual debt...and that would certainly hurt our economy.

Scott publishes and maintains Stock Market Plus, a financial blog with topics ranging from Investing to Debt Control. Visit him at http://www.stockmarketplus.com


MORE RESOURCES:

USA TODAY

$16 house man: real estate genius or squatter?
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And while real estate experts and authorities say he's misusing the law, Robinson appears to have inspired dozens of imitators who moved into the Dallas-Fort Worth area homes - some of which were still occupied by their owners.
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San Francisco Chronicle (blog)

Real estate firm's game ad nothing to laugh at
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New York Times

So Eager to Get Foot in Real Estate's Door, They Work Without Pay
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In past years, becoming a real estate agent was rarely a first-choice gig. For many people, it was a way to pay the bills while trying to break into another field. For some, it was a second career — or maybe a third or a fourth — tackled after the ...
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Montgomery County eyes hefty real estate tax jump
Roanoke Times
Demands and cuts in state funding suggest a 21-cent real estate tax rate hike. Supervisors balked. By Mike Gangloff Montgomery County supervisors braced themselves Monday for the possibility of a record increase in the county's real estate tax rate.

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Real estate title agent to add 200
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
The parent of United Lender Services, a national real estate title and settlement agent in Findlay, has acquired two large office buildings along the Parkway West, where ULS will relocate and triple its employment to more than 250.

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Bloomberg

Real Estate: National foreclosure settlement delayed, Nevada AG concerned
Reno Gazette Journal
Ap File BY THE NUMBERS Foreclosure-related filings for 2011 for Washoe County, Nevada and the United States. Filings include notices of default, notices of sale or auction and bank-owned foreclosures. Washoe: 7981 (down 27.3 percent and 27.6 percent ...
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Oregon Company Attempts to Bring Real Estate Into a Mobile World
LoanSafe
by Evan Bedard on February 6, 2012 in Real Estate (Source: By Sherri Buri McDonald, The Register-Guard, Eugene, Ore.) - A Eugene start-up company, RealLead is trying to bring the speed and immediacy of mobile communications to real estate shopping.
Bringing real estate into a mobile worldThe Register-Guard

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The Real Deal New York

Manhattan Real Estate CEO Pleads Guilty to Bridgehampton DWI
Patch.com
By Brendan J. O'Reilly Real estate broker Robert Futterman, the CEO of Manhattan-based firm Robert K. Futterman & Associates, pleaded guilty Friday to a felony driving while intoxicated charge and a misdemeanor count of driving while impaired by drugs ...
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Zephyr Real Estate Announces Top Producers for 2011
MarketWatch (press release)
SAN FRANCISCO, CA, Feb 06, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- Zephyr Real Estate, San Francisco's largest independent real estate firm, is proud to announce the company's top producing real estate agents for 2011. The Company Top 10, in order by highest ...

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TEXT-S&P says European real estate should weather downside credit risks
Reuters
"We think that our macroeconomic forecast of a mild recession for the first half of the year will have a moderate effect on the operating performance of our rated Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) portfolio," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst ...

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