Gasp, there is less and less real estate news.
The more I read real estate news, the more it feels like rehashed news, same faces, different wording. The choice now is clear, a few hopeful point to a bright sky under the storm and a lot point to the mess. Ultimately, the market still is where it should be, in the middle of the reshape.
Prices have come down a little, and that is a good thing. We are still far from the affordability versus real estate price ratio but it will have to get there. There are less buyers and lenders are scrambling to rethink themselves. That’s a good thing. Sellers have been forced to witness that little buyers can afford these prices that were possible a few years ago. It’s the lull of the storm. It’s the aftermath.
It will take some time before it returns to normal, whatever normal is. We have had a few things compounding this scenario. The disparity between classes and wealth in our country has never been so acute. Buying on credit almost created a society of mortgage paying citizen, that backfired. Banks shockingly admit they never thought people would walk away from a home they couldn’t pay. Oh my, you can say that and still get paid for what you do?
When the economy re-bounces again, hopefully this time around people will have learned that “having it all” also means paying for it all, that it doesn’t necessarily mean happiness. Especially when it comes time to pay.