Believe it or not, home prices are still going up in the Seattle area. My county's avg home value went up $10,000 last month, to about $440,000. Homes aren't selling as quickly, especially the really expensive ones, but the values haven't really gone down here yet. Mostly it's plateaued...people are waiting for some sellers to GET REAL and are therefore holding off on buying a place. Eventually sellers are going to have to lower their asking prices to keep up with the competition - there are a gazillion homes for sale here right now, but it's not due to foreclosure; they're selling right now because they know this is the best shot they have at getting the maximum for their houses. In the meantime, potential homebuyers sit in the wings, waiting, waiting, waiting for them to get the clue. It's a game of chicken.

Here's an article on what we're seeing up here in the PacNW: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/htm...yndication=rss

Prices in the Northeast went up last quarter also. The Northeast didn't have the big runup that Fla, Cal or Las Vegas had either.

I went to a town hall meeting in February. The County's chair of the Board of Supervisors said that in the previous year there were about 200 foreclosures in the county, pretty average in a healthy market. The current year, there were 4000.

I happen to be in the number one area of foreclosures--Stockton, CA. The whole San Joaquin Valley area is a foreclosure hot mess :(

Homeownership is a privilege, not a right.

If you can't afford it, don't buy it. Above all, don't put every last penny you have into it. And don't give me stuff about the "escalating market" -- anyone with a modicum of sense knew, and many wrote, that the bubble HAD to burst.

If you can't understand the contract, don't sign it. That's a lesson many would do well to learn for EVERY instance, not just home loans. If you can't LEARN what it says, spend your money on school, not houses.

Remember that whole "pursuit of happiness" thing you were guaranteed? You have to catch up with it yourself. Don't expect me to bail you out when you can't.

I agree.


I want to buy a vacation house. I hope all the speculators, flippers, and wannabe owners lose their shirts and prices drop like a rock.

It's not good for a community in general to have a lot of vacant homes though. The house next to mine was in the middle of foreclosure when I first moved in. It was abandoned for two years. I had to call the city every couple weeks to have them come and mow the lawn of that house. They charged the owners (the bank, at that point, I think). But, living next to a house that has grass a foot tall invites a lot of critters. Kids also tried to break into the house to use it as a hang out because it was quite obvious that it was vacant. I had to call the police a few times for that too. Neighbors started mowing the front lawn of that house because it was a real eye sore and an invitation for trouble. On top of that, when it's in foreclosure, nobody is paying property taxes on it. When home values go down, so do property taxes and then our communities have less money to get by on. It's not a desireable situation. Now I know that the house on the other side of me will have the same fate and I'm dreading it (besides being sad that I'm losing the best neighbors in the world).

You end up paying for it, trust me, whether it's through a bail out of some type or whether your own taxes have to go up to cover the problem. The more houses that sell in distressed sales, the lower your own property values go also. It affects everybody in the community, not just the person who loses their home.

Senate passes foreclosure assistance bill: (from CNN)

The plan combines large tax breaks for homebuilders and a $7,000 tax credit for people who buy foreclosed properties, as well as $4 billion in grants for communities to buy and fix up abandoned homes.

See, they aren't helping people stay in their homes, they are trying to avoid blight in neighborhoods where foreclosures are high.