It must be difficult every night for the media to find a fresh angle on the housing downturn. Perhaps the so-called "victim" angle is played out, so ABC's May 7 "Nightline" blamed the builders.
The broadcast featured Maricopa, Ariz., a community near Phoenix where one in 10 homes is for sale.
"While existing homes go begging for buyers, builders continued putting up new houses," said ABC correspondent Brian Rooney. "As many as one in 10 of the homes in Maricopa are for sale right now, as builders, banks, homeowners with mortgages they can't afford all compete to sell at lower prices."
Instead of focusing on the irresponsible lenders or borrowers that created the market for home builders to thrive, "Nightline" blamed builders for capitalizing on the market. The report didn't include anyone speaking on behalf of the homebuilders in that particular Arizona market.
"I pleaded with [the National Homebuilders Association] that the investors are coming in to town," Maricopa Mayor Kelly Anderson said. "They need to watch what they're doing. One in five homes were sold to an investor. But times are good - they wanted to keep the sales going to satisfy the stockholders in those firms."
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100 million new immigrants - don't build homes. Smart?
May 8, 2008 - 13:39 ET by Gary HallSo where are the people going to live? In FEMA trailers? LOL
The State of CA has predicted (time & time again) that the population will grow, in CA alone, by 25-30 million folks, by the year 2050 - almost all of this via immigration (legal and illegal, and their future and past offspring).
And Jeff, you covered it here.. National Public Radio President Kevin Klose predicted that "Global Warming" will increase the population of the US by 100 million people, within the next 30 years (that is so funny, as that was approximatley the prediction without his "Global Warming factor").
Somehow, I'd bet that ABC correspondent Brian Rooney, also likes to promote views which promote anything but closing the borders and reducing immigration. (;~> gary
Eh .,..
May 8, 2008 - 16:52 ET by crosspatchI live in California. Housing prices are still rising compared to last year in my zip code. There is also no increase in foreclosures. Houses generally sell in about two weeks. And these aren't modern McMansions, either. They are 1960's, 3 and 4 bedroom ranch homes in a standard boomer era housing development on what used to be a prune orchard. Those 40 year old homes sell for about 1.2 million in good shape. A cleared lot will go for about 800,000 to a million with no house on it. A lot with a badly maintained home that needs gutting will sell for about 700,000 ... meaning it pays to tear down the old house becuse a "scraper", as we call them, brings down the value of the lot it is on.
Crosspatch
May 8, 2008 - 17:53 ET by Jerry MackThe bitching that I hear from the sellers thru several real estate agents is that they are getting less profit than they would have 1 year ago. They are blaming themselves.The houses are on the market for 6 to 8 weeks.