That sinking feeling...

Good morning, Jeff Kent. As a friend likes to tell her 10-year-old son, "Cowboy up."

News item from Reuters: "A record 26% of U.S. homeowners say the value of their homes has fallen during the past year, above the previous peak of 24% seen in 1992, a survey released Friday from Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers showed. "Overall, the data indicate no let-up in the slump in home prices," said Richard Curtin, director of the consumer surveys, in a statement.

MORE: "Homeowners in the western United States, where some of the most dramatic home appreciation had occurred, have been especially hard hit by the real estate downturn. In the third quarter, 33% of homeowners surveyed in the West said their home value fell during the past year, up from 23% in the second quarter."

Thoughts? Comments? Email story tips to lalandblog@yahoo.com.

Comments

[Ace]

Not a news story...

So, my house that I bought for $300k 5 years ago has dropped in value over the last year. Now it is only worth $550k.

Cry me a river.

[Matt]

People are starting to wake up, but I dont think they are ready to hear the real truth yet.
There were 230 Notice of Defaults that were issued on Tuesday of this week. Some of those are repeats, but most are not, so if LA county is seeing 170 NOD's each day.........hmmmmm that aught to tell people something about debt to income. It is not even close to reality.

I have knocked on doors for the last 7 months talking with people in default, and the ALL are going to , or have, lost their homes. I tell people to " quit making your morgage payment and save your money", they are going to need it.
I found a property in North Hollywood that was 700,000$$ upside down, a 1200 sqft teardown on a 6000 sqft lot. The property had 1.2 million against it. That is one example of things I have seen.

Cheers!!!!
Matt

[MyLessThanPrimeBeef]

This is globalization in action - they sell us cars, toys and oil, and we sell them CDO's.

When one American sells a house worth $400k for $1.2 million, and the buyer later defaults and re-emerges as a renter by walking away, the seller is $800K richer to spend as he sees fit and the buyer has only his credit history set back a couple of years. The ones hold the bag are the Germans, the French and the British. This is a big win for us Americans!

I wonder if they would like to continue doing business with us?

Why should they trust S&P or Mood'y?

Why should they trust Uncle BIn Lackey to defend the Dollar?

"In Dollar We Don't Trust," they say.

I think we really outsmarted ourselves this time.

[MyLessThanPrimeBeef]

So, my house that I bought for $300k 5 years ago has dropped in value over the last year. Now it is only worth $550k.

--------------

That's like the Dodgers saying in June, 'We are still ahead of everyone else in the division. We are in fact in a better position now than we were in April when we started the season.'

Fast forward to today - they are crying a river at Chavez Ravine.

[jb]

It is imprtant to realize that very few are getting shafted now.... my brother bought in Ventura for 600K in 2002 and his house is still "worth" 1.2 million. There is a long way to go by anyones count.

(I agree with Matt, those who are in default should quit paying, save their money, and walk)

[are they crazy]

Ace: folks are crying the river becaue they've heloced their$550K houses to the max with arms and now can't pay, can't sell and the credit cards are maxed. And guess what, when their $550K houses lose value and are only worth $300K, your's will be, too. Then again, a house is only worth what someone is willing to pay on the day you want to sell.

[and]

It is virtual money for real home, you can feel good about it. See if you can make 500,000 from your home and walk away with 200,000 cool money. i bet you will not find a single buyer for your sweet dream. This was good feeling to have equity ,getting it out and some people who fell for it know how hard it is to pay. Lender want people to pay or be a prey. Guys I am not sure how many know math.

[investorguy]

and: or grammar, apparently.

[Virgilio Mendoza]

People were suckered by the mortgage companies and their sales people in their desire for those commissions. What we are seeing is just the tip in the iceberg. Anyone who thinks the prices of homes have stopped falling live in Lalaland. People will be in shock when prices to continue falling even lower. The dollar is falling, oil prices is rising and thanks to NAFTA, all the good jobs have left the USA. We have to take responsibility for voting for people who exported our jobs abroad and gave our Social Security to people who did not even contribute to Social Security, wasting gas with our reckless and inconsiderate driiving habits to name a few! People will wake up but, it is too late to do anything about it. You made your bed, you go sleep in it!