oh yes. I just sold a big house in June and downsized to a Sunnyvale foreclosure I picked up two years ago in the last real estate bust, so I'm really aware of what's going on. I did not want to get caught in the flood of houses on the market. Downsizing was a great deal, I went from a too-big house, big mortgage and long commute into a small house, no mortgage and no commute, plus I don't have to pay tax on the gains, plus it gives me money to short the market :) In the town where I sold my house there's twice the (expensive, unsold) listings now than there were in April. Here in Sunnyvale the local real estate agent's newsletters warned sellers not to expect multiple offers anymore and that overpriced houses are not selling. It's very similar to 1990. Employment in the valley is very cyclic and each time there's a boom everybody cries "this time it's different". There are so many renters here that rent prices were driven up and it drove up the price of houses very quickly.
PS a lot of the house pricing here is a Ponzi scheme. I paid 180K for my Sunnyvale house two years ago, it is your basic tract house with three-bedroom, two-bath, two car carage, with vaulted ceilings and fireplace and a city park in the back yard, no it's not next to a freeway. I wish their stories were correct so I could flip this one for $600K, but I don't think so. They can ASK that much, but it will never sell..... |
