Quote of the Day
I think we forget, with all of the negative doom and gloom in the media, that many people are still doing well, many people are in jobs that are thriving and, gasp, growing, and many people are doing what they would have been doing had this mess not occured. People are still moving to NYC…
I think we forget, with all of the negative doom and gloom in the media, that many people are still doing well, many people are in jobs that are thriving and, gasp, growing, and many people are doing what they would have been doing had this mess not occured. People are still moving to NYC to follow their dreams, and people will still buy apartments and houses in the neighborhoods they want to buy in. Seems to me that our media’s hyper attention to the minutia of every stock market jiggle, every business decision, and especially every business and personal disaster story, has turned us into a nation of hesitating, reactive, quivering masses of jello. (Continued…)
— by Montrose Morris in Hey, Something Sold!
I’m not saying it’s not bad out there, believe me, I’m experiencing it, as are friends and family. Would that the media, Congress, the SEC and others who are supposed to be watching, had spent as much ink and pixels on preventing what was preventable, instead of wailing that life as we know it is over. It will indeed be interesting to see how that translates to real estate transactions in Brooklyn. I don’t think we are immune, but as we see from the Forum, and from sales, people have bought in this market, and will continue to do so, albeit more slowly.
Just blathering on to basically say, I’m glad this sold, it sold quickly, and let’s keep it going. Good news for buyer, seller, real estate broker, attorneys, movers, handimen and perhaps contractors, decorators, and more.
The What is a crazy little homeless man
Here is a QOTD. You are still a bunch of Clueless Asshats! Show me where thing are getting better in the implosion of the Mutant Asset Bubble?? And while we are at it lets put Brownstoner up there with the broken hype machine! How can you say the media is responsible for the recession when they was telling everyone “but now or be priced out forever”” or my all time favorite “Subprime is contained”!!
You have been lied too and the sad thing about it is you want them to lie to you some more! The reality distortion field has collapsed with the Mutant Asset Bubble and both are swirling into the vortex called Deflation….
Buh bye Asshats, nice knowing ya..
The What
Someday this war is gonna end…
The party is over, no matter how much of an optimist you may be. Yes, there are still sales, there will always be sales. But prices will slowly reflect the REAL, not imagined or even exaggerated, economic conditions that are affecting the US and the world. Sure many people still have their jobs and are doing well–this is common in any recession or even depression. But economic indicators and recent events clearly show that we are in a very bad situation, and things will only get worse.
Montrose,
the media’s hyper attention to everything that’s wrong in this country should start to change around noon on Jan 20th
PS, overall I’m not disagreeing that we as a nation have a serious problem with auto use. That wasn’t my point at all. In fact I’d love to see a half a buck gas tax right now. You should note that the car that dropped most in sales last month was the Toyota Prius.
Montrose – I agree that credit needs to flow. But first time buyers – “those people” as you put it – have been asked to foot the bill for years, while existing homeowners have relied on the continuing escalation of their home equity to bankroll ever-increasing lifestyle and housing purchases. And the people beating the drum have been the brokers, the lenders, current owners, decorators, etc. Always GOOD news about real estate – always a sense of URGENCY. Always a rosy forecast driving the market ever-upward. I do not want to see the economy crash, but current pricing is not realistic – prices are not in line with real income and available credit. Sellers/home owners in Brooklyn seem unprepared to deal with the risk they took buying into a frothy, and inherently risky market – now that credit has eroded it would be unreasonable to think that first-time buyers face a different credit reality than they do and can still fund substantial real estate returns.
Montrose (and others):
The view from Manhattan isn’t good.
A neighbor in my New York building has one of those “aspirational” apartments people come from everywhere and slaver to get. (Pre-war; high-floor and floor-through; views, beams and moldings — the works!)
It’s been sitting on the market for months — and with a 20% price reduction. And the co-op board’s getting tougher about sales because it doesn’t want to “de-value” the building.
Normalize prices, sure.
But Krugman’s let it out the bag: we’re in for a Depression. For those who own places outright and don’t plan to sell it may be okay, but for those who bought high (and to speculate) it’s going to be a rough time.
Those “middle-class” folks waiting in the wings are going to be hit, too. So anticipate that the real-estate market will continue to decline. And act accordingly. Move very slowly on any purchase. We have a long slide to go — especially if Congress gets in Obama’s way. And that looks likely.
(By the way, Alcoa announced today it’s firing 13,000 people. This crisis is world-wide!)
Nostalgic on Park Avenue
HellsBelles, my point was not that everything is hunky-dory, because of this, or any other sale, but positive movement in the marketplace means that on down the line, people are getting paid, and in turn, spending money, and maybe convincing banks that they should start lending again. Not everything has a direct effect on what we want, or need, but every little bit helps.
I agree that first time homebuyers are in for a much harder ride than those exchanging properties, but those people are needed to stimulate the entire process. I hope prices, especially in middle class neighborhoods, go down to realistic prices that more people can afford. That can only be a good thing for everyone, and help those neighborhood economies, and the city’s, endure.
PS: Stupidity is a hard thing to pin down, and many stupid people are very good. On the other hand some brilliant people are very bad. I think you would do better pinning the blame on sin. That’s why it was invented in the first place.
But back to business, are you willing to be tossed into the Gowanus as atonement for our evil ways? Sometimes the old ways are best.