Homebuyers, Homebuyers...Please Come Back!

Hi Everyone,
   It's Friday, and I'm glad to have you back!

   Sometimes it fascinates me to see the ripple effect of the Economy (specifically, Housing and Employment). When Housing and Employment are in turmoil, some crazy things happen, for example...the creation of modern-day Ghost Towns...yes, Ghost Towns.

   According to a recent story on 247wallst.com ("The Eight States Running Out Of Homebuyers") by Douglas A. McIntyre, Michael B. Sauter, and Charles B. Stockdale, "Parts of Oregon, Georgia, and Arizona have become progressively more deserted.". As a matter of fact, they said that the "single biggest problem in the U.S. real estate market is simple: There are very few homebuyers.", and referred to a “buyers’ strike”.

   In order to find the hardest-hit states, 24/7 Wall St. used 6 factors which ranged from vacancy rates, foreclosure rates, unemployment rates, construction figures, population changes and price reductions.

   The Eight States that wound up on their list were Michigan, Nevada, Arizona, California, Illinois, Georgia, Oregon, Florida. Michigan had the worst Population Change (Decrease) from 2005-2010, which would have been substantially impacted by the car industry bankruptcies.

   Some other facts regarding the other states that were analyzed: Nevada had the worst 2010 Foreclosures, the worst Unemployment, and the worst decrease in Building Permits 2006 to 2010. Florida had the 2nd worst vacancy rates. Two states that did not make the list were Colorado (had one of the worst foreclosure rates) and South Carolina (one of the worst vacancy rates), but they stated that the populations in both states have "rebounded enough to make a strong case that their housing markets may recover moderately over time."

   What happens now?

   As we discussed the other day in "Really? They Are Doing THAT To Foreclosures?", this story also mentions that some homes will be "torn down in these pockets of high foreclosures" to drop supply and boost prices. Outside of that spark of hope, they don't feel overly optimistic regarding these areas, since, "jobless rates may never recover" and little chance that the "populations in these areas will ever rebound." Thus...Ghost Towns for now, and who even knows how long.

   Do you live near a newly-deserted region? How does it feel? What are your thoughts from your first-hand observations?

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Regards,
Rob Eisenstein
HomeRun Homes Blog: http://blogging.lease2buy.com
HomeRun Homes Websites: http://www.lease2buy.com and http://www.homerunhomes.com


TAGS: #GhostTown #vacancyrates #foreclosurerates #unemploymentrates #constructionfigures #populationchanges #Michigan #Nevada #Florida

Running Out of Homebuyers? Are We Really?

Hi Everyone,

   Welcome back and hope you had a great weekend. This is a pretty big week, with four major housing indicators that are due to be released, which are as follows:

* 1/25 (Tuesday) 9:00 AM: S&P/Case-Shiller Home Prices
* 1/25 (Tuesday) 10:00 AM: FHFA Monthly House Price Index
* 1/26 (Wednesday) 10:00 AM: New Residential Sales
* 1/27 (Thursday) 10:00 AM: Pending Home Sales Index

   We'd like to thank everyone for their fantastic feedback regarding our Blog Post from Friday January 21st, titled, "A Funny Thing Happened on The Way to a Real Estate Deal". As we have mentioned to several of you, we will be planning a new edition of that story line with all new "Funny Real Estate Stories" (we are accepting submissions via E-mail)

   I came across a very interesting story to share with you, and the title really grabbed my attention; "The Eight States Running Out of Homebuyers". In this 24/7 Wall St article (written by Douglas A. McIntyre, Michael B. Sauter and Charles B. Stockdale), the authors state that, "The devastation in some regions will never be repaired.", and they point to population desertion, jobless rates, and the eventual possibility that, "Some homes will be torn down in these pockets of high foreclosures in the hopes that reducing supplies will boost prices."

   The states listed in this article were Michigan, Nevada, Arizona, California, Illinois, Georgia, Oregon, and Florida, and in the article, the full breakdown of each state along with the sources for the data are provided.

   This is indeed a very frightening and an eye-opening story. It is also a sad story to hear of towns literally "dying".

   Do you live in any of the states mentioned? If so, what is your take on this story? We'd love to hear an inside scoop from Realtors, investors, homeowners, and home buyers.

Have a Great Week, and Happy Rent-to-Owning !
Regards,
Rob Eisenstein
HomeRun Homes Blog http://blogging.lease2buy.com
HomeRun Homes Website http://www.lease2buy.com


TAGS: #homeprices #realestate #realtor

Free Land Offers ? Are Things That Bad ?

Hi All,
   Welcome to the first day of December, and the Holiday Season. It sounds like a cliche, but I cannot believe how fast the year went buy!

   Well, it had to happen eventually; things have been so bad, that there are now 7 towns that are offering land for free (Yes, you heard me...for Free !). Colleen Kane from CNBC.com put out an article titled, "7 Towns Where Land is Free", and it lists the 7 cities as Marne, Iowa, New Richland, MN, Kansas (multiple towns !), Beatrice, NE, Muskegon, MI, Curtis, NE, and Camden, ME (I've attended the "Lobster Festival" in Camden, and it is gorgeous!).

   You know, if we spoke about free land just a few years back, you might have insisted I ought to be locked away for speaking such falsehoods, but this is real, folks !

   In keeping with the topic of tough-times, the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices were released yesterday, and the figures showed this U.S. National Home Price Index drop 2% in Q3 of this year, and 1.5% off from their levels from a year-earlier. Thus the prospect of potentially more free land offers.

   What are your thoughts on these "Free land" offers. Do you know of any other towns that should be offering free land to help their waning population and decreasing land and property values? Please chime in and let us know.

Have a Great Day, and Happy Rent-to-Owning !
HomeRun Homes Blog http://blogging.lease2buy.com
HomeRun Homes Website http://www.lease2buy.com