Will they? If we are indeed overbuilt on housing, then no, they won’t sell. In some areas, I believe there’s simply not enough buyers. What you’re saying amounts to “If you build it, they will come”.. but you need to have enough jobs in the area to support the population.

Good grief.

I couldn’t believe how many homes were for sale at less than $1/sq. ft.- and you can get a palace for around $50/sq. ft.

Obviously the banks can’t give these things away. This is a piece that people often forget- it doesn’t just take a low price to bring up demand. Detroit is hurting because of the lack of jobs and a declining population- it caused a housing surplus as bad as any bubble could.

If the economy of bubble areas gets hammered, which certainly is looking possible, the downward spiral will continue- and no mortgage bailout plan will fix it.

http://tinyurl.com/3eytb5

I see a GREAT solution: LOWER THE PRICES AND THEY WILL SELL!

Well now that’s a pickle… So many rust belt cities have more homes than they have qualified people to buy them.. So what exactly is the 11th home in a city of 10 families worth?

Well let’s assume that everyone trades Up over time and the 11th house is the least desirable.

So now we need to value that gem? Well now a home with zero mortgage costs a whole bunch of money.. Taxes, Insurance, Maintenance, liabilities out the yin yang…

So how much would you pay me to buy this house?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Protestant_Ethic_and_the_Spirit_of_Capitalism

It would seem we have lost our way.

Do you choose to feel the pain of discipline? It will require you to PLAN, to not be impulsive, and to live below your means TODAY in order to have prosperity TOMORROW.

Or do you choose the pain of regret? It will allow you to live above your means, reap all the benifits of quick profit, then leave you with the mess after the good times are over.

This is essentially what this article points to. People bought houses they could not afford because they WANTED to. Lenders gladly forked over the money because it looked good on the books, and allowed the CEOs to get bigger bonuses. Now, folks have lost their homes and banks are getting bailed out. These properties have become a burden upon law enforcement, with financal responsibility shifted to the taxpayer.

We are feeling the pain of regret.

Jim is right. The fact that this is allowed to happen is an example of our path. And in light of the evidence, are we willing to change and choose the pain of discipline to correct the problem? Heaven’s no! Let’s postpone that as long as possible, until we can figure out another way to ‘avoid’ the pain of regret. It just makes it worse.

Ok, yeah, so the answer to the first question is the same as any company – yes, they can afford it, but the executives are too busy embezzling money in the form of bonuses.

The fact that this is allowed to happen is an example of what America is becoming.

If an ordinary citizen doesn’t pay his overwhelming taxes on time, or comply with local codes to the letter, the full weight and authority of the government are hammered down upon him, seizing his assets first maybe to be recovered at trial (which he can’t pay for since the government has frozen his bank accounts), but if you’re a big campaign contributing bank, or other well represented local industry like the entertainment biz here in L.A., well then, it’s just a polite lamentation that it would be nice if those properties were kept up to code.

Welcome to the new America. Welfare for large corporate interests, spite for the middle class.

Igor’s word: newboss.

Uncle Ben is buying all their bad mortgages AT FULL PRICE.

With the bailout underway, why should lenders invest any more time, energy or money? Just walk away! It’s the taxpayers’ problem now.

This is so unamerican.

They are not bright enough to know that the properties will be worth a mint someday.

What happened to all those contractors who wanted to buy junk houses?