2012 Real Estate in General Fact not fiction

Sometimes it's hard to fathom. But there isn't going to be a full-fledged recovery from this real estate crash for many years to come. 
For some reason a lot of people want to believe that things will somehow mercifully get better—and get better fast – like over night.

Some areas of the country are more fortunate than others. West Virginia has seen hard times for years and they’re seeing home prices rise. Kansas and Iowa are enjoying a boom in farming that is bringing record prices for their crops. At least some real estate markets in 15 states are forecast to improve in 2012.

But the real estate crash that the majority of the U.S. is dealing with involves more homeowners, unemployed, underemployed and underwater mortgage holders than any other crash in U.S. history. At the current average rate of deflation by the end of 2012 one in three mortgage holders will be underwater.

It’s also the reason why another 2-million to 3-million homeowners will give up on their homes in 2011 through 2013 walking away from their mortgages. The defaults should come as no surprise to anyone who has been watching things change in America. Generation X feels society owes them something. It’s this sense of entitlement that has come from their parents raising them to feel better about themselves.

But this same sense of false entitlement has helped to destroy common values that were an essential part of being an American. It was an unspoken bond between citizens that at the core of our democracy America cared more about “country” and others than ourselves.

The merciless banks, including failed Countrywide, Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo, CitiGroup and their like broke this bond with Americans when they granted anyone a mortgage to buy a home.

Americans also broke this accord with ourselves when we somehow started thinking and making ourselves the “center of the universe.” To even think that one person or family is more important or deserves more just because they were born in the U.S.A. was ludicrous. But those who grow up with the silver spoon in their mouths or who inherit it are most often the type of people who are the self-centered careless types that offend our nation’s forefathers.

The era of the selfish, arrogant and self-important is a hard pill for most Americans to swallow and many of them are not even part of the 1% that Occupy protestors rave about. They simply don’t possess enough cash. Their wealth often comes in the form of stock, bonds and other investments, which can disappear in a bad financial market quickly.

Many are wanta-bees whose whole drive in life is to ascend to the top of their entitlement.

A U.S. Census report issued just days ago made a major issue clear – half of all Americans now either live in poverty or are part of the living poor. With wages falling for years it was too obvious for many years, and with pay-rolls down, and unemployment at the highest level for the longest it has been in U.S. history, who is going to be there to buy homes in greater numbers?

At least Cleveland has it right. They’re bulldozing 20,000 homes in the next two years. That’s a good start.

Sounds awful does it not , but its the harsh truth as here in Windermere many are still in denial of worse times to come. Slowly but surely we are seeing prices drop in the higher end market as Realtors have to admit they have got prices wrong or on the flip side owners who tell Realtors what their homes are worth only to watch them stay on the market for the last 2 yrs . Take the community of Isleworth or Lake Butler Sound or perhaps Keenes Pointe , Fact is prices are dropping in the middle to high market. The writer speaks from experience. We purchased a home in the latter community for $540,000 of a bank , it was $2.m  , after renovation we sold it for $750,000 and we did well . Homes in the same road are still on the market but at $1.3m  The local market will not stand many of the current prices.

Sellers need to adjust to current market to sell their homes if they are not in a short sale or underwater . Its a sad fact but the good news is if they are shopping for a new home they need to understand their next castle is going to be purchased at a knock down price too

If your upside down don't give up , we have without question the most experience of any firm locally to handle short sales. We have had 100% success in this sector for our clients. If you want further information visit our Dedicated short sale site at www.windermereshortsales.net 

Its work as normal at Wendy Morris Realty and we are looking for new listings for 2012