So a whole crapload of people stand at risk of losing their homes in the near future. The internet is chock full o' artles on why. I've read a few of them.
One on cnn.com/money names and summarizes 6 targets of blame.
Now, having worked sales, I can see that the real estate agents get some blame. I ain't saying they're all bad. They're certainly better than lawyers (Okay, not the most massive compliment ever...). Lenders and crew? Yeah, I think they should have been able to figure this was coming.
But let me boil the problem down to an over-simplified bottom line:
People bought big houses they couldn't afford.
Simple, huh? Yes, too simplified, I know. Yes there are and will be mitigating circumstances. People lose jobs. [Raises h and discretely at the back of the class.] People shouldn't have to be expected to plan for dropping property values, but maybe also shouldn't be surprised by it. It seems like you can't drive to the nearest Starbucks without passing multiple brand new croplands of subdivisions "starting in the high 500s" or worse.
Do we blame the developers? No, not really, much as we might like to. They're building because that's what people have been demanding.
Huge houses on tiny lots. Screw the white picket fence. Car in every garage? Quaint. Now it's one per person, and it better be newer and an upscale brand. Don't buy a Toyota if you can have a Lexus. These are the apparent standards success is now measured by.
Maybe if we (as a culture) had realistic expectations and less screwed up values and priorites we wouldn't see people losing houses they shouldn't have had in the first place.
On the other hand, dropping house prices makes it a buyers' market, which works in my favor right now. Hey, that means I can get a bigger house than I thought I could afford... Ack.
Posted by fictionman at April 10, 2007 06:05 AM | TrackBack (0)