Another way to keep housing prices inflated.....

[wayiwalk]

I wonder if this was deliberate or more of an accidental outcome, that I'm sure the banks will jump all over to make sure they control the supply to keep up prices....

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-0...ale-falls.html

[LorenS]

Re: Another way to keep housing prices inflated.....

“If the foreclosure process has moved efficiently so that whatever problem there was has been taken care of, you’re going to see price appreciation as long as employment is growing,” Fannie Mae’s Duncan said in an interview.

IF.....

[c1ue]

Re: Another way to keep housing prices inflated.....

I wonder how much of the anecdote is because the house in question was 'underpriced'. Seattle depending on the area is not cheap at all.

I would not be surprised if the article was astroturfing by the NAR.

[aaron]

Re: Another way to keep housing prices inflated.....

The biggest companies here in the Seattle area are Boeing, Microsoft, Amazon, Starbucks, and Costco. They are all hiring. Other, smaller companies related to those industries (and there are a lot) are also hiring and growing. These jobs typically pay enough to afford a house in the 400K to 1 million range with today's low interest rates.

The houses with the bidding wars are in this "sweet spot". There is very little inventory because everybody is underwater and cannot sell, yet these same people still have jobs to keep up with the mortgage payments. Plus you need to come up with large down-payments, which people do not have because of the carnage in home equity over the last 5 years.

Average home prices are still dropping. However, averages do not give the full picture.