Maine Real Estate Sales in January - Not a pretty picture (short sale, mortgages)

[Jpurvis]

I just saw on our news station down here that out of the whole nation, Ft. Myers and Cape Coral, ( which is 30 minutes from me) was Number 1 in foreclosures. In the whole Nation!!! That is a lot. But I knew we have been hit really hard here. Out where I live, there is house after house that has just been left empty. It is pitiful to see all these abandoned houses and there are so many.... Sad..

[msina]

Hi jpurvis! compounding the problem of foreclosed homes sitting empty, are squating by homeless people and copper theft. Many houses are being stripped of copper and and valuables including windows. Many houses will need major overhaul if they are sold.

[maine4.us]

What is even worse is that there are NO bidders on most of the foreclosures. The banks are stuck with the homes. That will add even more problems because the banks aren't going to spend anything on maintenance and other issues. It is terrible here in Florida. My next door neighbors house will soon be in foreclosure, and I wonder what kind of neighbor will be there next. Over 90% of the foreclosure sales ended up with the banks as the owners. It is going to get much worse. They are already taking the central A/C units from vacant houses.

[mainebrokerman]

Originally Posted by Mainer61

Real estate people are as much (if not more) to blame as bankers...and I have been both so I feel that I can say that. In the midcoast, MBNA moved in and prices went through the roof...their executives would pay anything..when they left...the money went with them and prices are coming down. Thankfully I just sold my house (after an unbelievable 17 months on the market). However, I sold it for less than the appraised value, as I had to let it go. There are very overpriced homes still in this area. People need to become realistic...except that many paid too much and now will lose money when and if they sell. It's a mess.

mainer, sorry to hear of your loss..

buyers set the market, real estate broker do not,,,it does no one any good to overprice a home,,that wont even come close to a bank appraisal,
thats a deal breaker.
its actually to the brokers advantage to under-price a property because in theory, it would sell much faster,,,( we cannot intentionaly do so)

sellers ultimately set the final selling price
and buyers,,ultimately set the offering price,

[maine4.us]

J-Luv: Bankers have always protected us from ourselves before. They got greedy, threw away all the rules, and now it is a mess. The people didn't care that they couldn't afford a home, if the bank thought they could afford it, they bought it. Little or nothing down and a 40 year mortgage.

[bignhfamily]

Originally Posted by mainebrokerman

you cant just blame the banks,, say a bank approved me for my million dollar dreamhouse,,,THAT DOESNT MEAN I WILL BUY IT,,,(if i couldnt afford it)
especially, on an ARM,,,knowing the rates will go up significantly,,

yes the banks were too lenient in loaning monies,,,but at the same time,,,what responsible person,,,will buy a house,,that they cant afford??
knowing thier payments would increase down the road (on an arm)

personal responsibility does play a part in this..



this is actually a good time to buy, the interest rates are reasonable,, plenty of inventory, its a buyers market,,,
dollar for dollar,,,might be better to buy now,,than a few years ago,,the interest rates are low,,AND the houses are priced realistically..

You're right, fiscal responsibility starts at the individual level. a lot of people made poor choices and now they are feeling the consequences. What ever happened to living within your means.

Housing prices are going to continue to fall. Soon the housing market will become much more saturated with inventory as people list their homes in the spring. More inventory not only gives you more choices but will further drive prices down. Also looks like Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke will be lowering interest rates again.

This isn't such good news for home sellers but it's great for us potential buyers.

[Mainer61]

Mainebrokerman...we didn't LOSE the house...I'd croak if that happened. We just got much less for it than anticipated. It's amazing that in this area, everyone wants a big modular...no character, no distinction. New people moving here don't seem to care about the construction, etc. It's been a real eye-opener.

[Northern Maine Land Man]

I remember January of 2007. It would have been an ordinary market, but the weather was exceptional, not much snow and warm temperatures for January. People were out buying. Of course the sales rate was up compared to a normal January. Now compare that with January of 2008. People don't tend to buy real estate in blizzards. It's a miracle that as many homes sold as they did. I have seen no mention of this in the media as they bemoan the market. The difference between the two Januarys was very substantially weather related.

[McMar]

Here is how I see it. If the banks were smart, they would go ahead and price foreclosed homes (those that are listed anyway) more competitively, even if it means a loss to them. As several of you have pointed out, the longer these homes sit vacant, the worse the condition, the harder to sell, the lower the price goes, the bigger the loss to the bank. The latest decision the banks have made makes no sense to me either: although the Fed keeps dropping rates, mortgage loan rates are INCREASING. Why? Because the banks are concerned about inflation. HUH? We need another Alan Greenspan genius-type. Now. It seems like the banks are making a big mess even bigger.

I think the fault lies with predatory lending practices as well as consumers who borrowed way beyond their means. Unfortunately , this has come to bite all of us, including the responsible homeowners, in the rear.

Another thing I've noticed - in many markets, sellers just will not price according to the market value. This has been going on for several years, and I'm sure you agents can attest to this - many sellers are overpricing their homes, despite advice from their agents that to initially price the home lower will attract more potential buyers. Just my two cents.

[Shuffler]

Generally speaking, those around the country who bought more house than they could afford, and then leveraged all of that false 'equity' to buy things like vehicles and second homes...they reap what they sow. And I really hope some heads roll in the boardrooms of those companies that backed this nonsense. I think much of the problem is plain old ignorance & greed. It's even spawned TV shows like "Flip that House" and other nonsensical garbage. I sit back and laugh at the stupidity of it all, and am thankful to live beneath my means and not be sweating it.