Tag: economy

Money by Joe WilcoxDec 10, 20058:17 pm

Pop!

The Dec. 19, 2005, Business Week piles on more worrisome indications that the housing bubble is deflating. The story focuses on Loudon County, Va., once one of the hottest real estate markets in the country that is now cooling off. As sales slow, sellers are cutting prices. According to Business Week, “From August to October, the median sales price for houses dropped from $506,100 to $480,000”. I expect falling selling prices and rising days on the market to be the norm in most housing markets, if not now within a short time.

I first blogged on the housing bubble in August, a year after I started warning people trouble was coming. Coincidentally, not a week following the post, a good friend asked me about real estate as an investment. She had come into inheritance money and looked to help another friend, who had been successfully speculating on houses in Pennsylvania. I strongly recommended against real estate as an investment. I hope she took the advice.

Econolypse by Joe WilcoxNov 12, 20059:55 am

The Housing Bubble Pops

Serious are the signs that the housing bubble has started rapid deflation here in the Washington, D.C., area. Summer 2004, my family chose not to purchase a house in Bowie, Md., because, even then, I was convinced that housing prices were way over-inflated. Since, I’ve warned plenty of people the end would rapidly come.

Earlier, I expected the housing bubble to stay inflated into 2006, but Hurricane Katrina’s widespread economic rumblings appear to have put on the squeeze. As recently as October, New York-market deflation forebode coming trouble.

Money by Joe WilcoxOct 15, 20057:55 pm

It's Just Too Easy

Yesterday, I received a postal mail offer from one of the local car dealers for a pre-approved auto loan. The paper had a toll-free number to call with a code to get the loan amount. Being in a curious mood, I rang and discovered that (supposedly) I was pre-approved for $22,500. Walk in and walk out with a car, no money down.

We drive a clunker 1989 Volvo 740 that my wife curses almost everyday. So the idea of a new car is appealing, and $22,500 is lots of spending power. It’s a helluva lot of debt, too. As momentarily tempted as I was, no car loan. We’ll drive the clunker and get by.