Housing $ situations in the USA
 

I have seen 'heat maps' that show states in the USA that are faced with distressed housing prices (including some metro cities in FL). Is TV the only spot in FL that is exempt from this condition?

I understand the law of supply and demand, and it must simply be the huge demand for TV that keeps it a robust housing market.

The other factor in TV's favor, I presume, is because many (most?) people aren't saddled with a mortgage, which greatly helps TV in its very low foreclosure factor. Cities with an undesirable unemployment situation are certainly more prone to have distressed housing prices (and foreclosures).

Am I missing anything?

Three cheers for TV!

Gene (& Kathy)
TV gonnabe's

Curious...would anybody care to guess what % of persons who buy at TV (say, over the past 5 years) take out a mortgage on their house?

My uneducated guess would be less than 30%. Am I high, low, or close?

Again, just curious. I have no special reason for asking.

Gene

It is just in TV. Just picked up another foreclosed house within 5 miles of TV. Built in 2005 for $199k, got it for $78k. They make great rental properties.

I am totally amazed at how distressed the market is here in Phoenix. My brother got a "great deal" on a 4 BR 2 1/2 bath 2600 sq. ft. home built in 2006. The original owner paid $240,000 and died. In 2008 his son sold it to my brother for $160,000. Thinking he got a great deal, he put several thousand adding plantation blinds, upgraded light fixtures and fans and landscaping. Right now, similar homes have sold recently for less than $80,000. Most people are "upside down" and owe more than the house will sell for so many are facing foreclosures and some will just have to "walk away" if they are faced with having to move from the area. No one can "put their finger on" what caused such a downturn - - just supply and demand I suppose.

Prices in TV
 

Prices have come down in TV. Just not to the level most of the country has seen. The delveloper has lowered prices on new homes or changed the names of homes and priced it lower. The developer has a great marketing department that convinces people they are buying a "life style" not a home. I am not convinced the life style today will be there when the build out is complete. We will probably buy a home there when ours sells in De. but with both eyes open and the expectation that when we do need to sell in TV we probably lose money on our TV home.:posting: You have to decide if the "life style" is worth the premium.

Our broker advised us not to pay cash for our home, at least not until the Government takes away the mortgage deduction.

I hear you, but so far, 80,000+ people have decided the premium is well worth it. I looked for something to be "wrong" with TV for 5 years, before moving here full time. I only found one thing wrong....I WASN'T HERE! Now, it's perfect! :D

I would guestimate that most retirees have owned and paid off many homes in their lifetime and WOULD NOT want a mortgage later in life....meaning after retirement. We paid off our mortgage in our mid 40's and would certainly not want another one in our late 60's. Deduction or not for tax purposes.
It's more a peace of mind thing.

So, I would say for us no mortgage.

The thing that always puzzled me when people tout the advantages of a "tax deduction" is that in order to claim it, you still have to spend the money first. As far as I can see, the bottom line is $0 gained.

I remember reading somewhere that it was around 40% who take out a mortgage. I believe it is accurate. When you see a house getting surveyed, it usually means they are applying for a mortgage.

Tax dedution
 

I am always taken back when people tell me that they only got a mortgage in order to have a tax deduction. I don't think this works unless you are in the 100% or + bracket. ??

When a home is sold at a loss, due to foreclosure and short sales, than the other homes around it are devalued. Now this only comes into play when someone tries to get a mortgage. The appraisal is based on what other homes in the area sell for. So what has SEEMED to have happened, and maybe this belongs in political, is that people who didn't have the money to pay for a home were given a loan for a home and they defaulted. It is our American generosity that probably caused it. We want everyone to be happy.

I remember when we were kids buying our first home and we scrimped and saved and went without to have the 20% down for that conventional loan. AND we figured and refigured our budget so that we could make the payments on that home that cost $13,900. We had one older car and I cut my own hair.

So here we are. We somehow survived all those "deprivations" that everyone was doing at the time.

I have not seen any evidence to support that our life style will change when buildout is complete. What is your basis for believing that it will?

I believe most people are thinking too many people and not enough regional rec centers and restaurants.

I have had two appraisals done in the past year as a result of getting a Home Equity line of credit. Last year house was $246k, this year $244k. Very little downward pressure here in TV.