How is the economy in your area?

[Alexandra]

When I hear about foreclosures I wonder if they are pockets of the country where this is much worse than others? I do not know one person who has been foreclosed upon and I see tons of commercial building projects being undertaken. My df who owns her own business has more work than she can shake a stick at. All I hear is massive Doom and Gloom! Is the D&G just taking a long time in getting here?

I live in Texas btw.

[hsmamainva]

In Virginia, it's in pockets, depending on where you live.

 

I live near Fredericksburg (an hour south of Washington DC and an hour north of Richmond) and there are many houses foreclosed upon because folks took on more mortgage than they could handle. The builders went crazy and folks were snatching up these $500,000 and $600,000 homes with $0 down and a low ARM rate. Now, 2 to 3 years later, their interest rates are at 7% to 9% and they can't make their payments. A lot of local builders have gone out of business.

 

The unemployment rate is somewhere around 4% to 6%, but that doesn't seem to really be an issue, unless you're working in the construction industry, or unless you're a realtor -- I know several real estate agents who're really hurting and are now working a 2nd job to stay afloat.

 

Gas is around $3.59 to $3.70 a gallon, depending on where you are in the area. Food prices are out of this world!!! Our grocery bill has doubled in the last 6 months. That's where it's affecting us the most.

[TraceyS/FL]

Well..... my DH works in the septic business.... last week they had to repossess a septic system (house wasn't done - went into foreclosure before they finished).

 

IT's not great.... we do still have a lot of commercial going in, but we live next to a retirement community. That said, the out buildings in the shopping centers are not getting leased.

 

I do know someone that has lost their house - a couple of them even, but they aren't in my area.

[Closeacademy]

High gas and food prices have hit fairly hard here in the midwest. A lot of my friends are looking for ways to make money at home to help make ends meet so they do not have to do drastic budget reductions. And I have seen several moms put their children into public school and get jobs this year. As far as forclosures, I don't know anyone who has lost their house yet but everyone is struggling to get by. One boy I babysit for both of his parents work two jobs plus his step-parents each have a decent paying job.

 

My dad lives on a fixed income and lives in a housing co-op and he told me before school started that many of the children who lived there were surviving on ramen noodles and couldn't wait for school to start so they could eat decent meals again.

 

A co-worker of my dh's wife just lost her breadwinning job because her company is cutting costs and decided that she was a good place to cut.

 

Things are tough where we live.:001_smile:

[Guest Virginia Dawn]

From what I can see here, a lot of people still have the money to spend on things they don't need. Everyone is complaining and cutting back, but I haven't seen or heard of much real suffering.

 

Just like dh said recently, so far this is nothing. In the 70's he remembers double digit inflation, and double digit unemployment.

 

Right now it appears to be more of a reality check than a crisis.

[RoughCollie]

Food prices are a lot higher than they were last year. Gas is high, of course. Home heating oil is outrageously high -- it will cost us $1250 a month to heat our house this winter. A few years ago, it was around $400 per tank.

 

Our clients, especially those who are in the real estate business, are not able to pay us because they aren't making any money. If we don't get paid, we can't pay our bills. Our self-employment income has dropped by 50% from last year. This is the first time it has dropped significantly in 20 years.

 

Our health insurance went from $1800 to $2500 a month in the last year for no reason that has anything to do with us. We can get cheaper insurance if we are willing to pay $10,000 out of pocket in deductibles -- which we can't afford and can't take the chance on because of my heart problems.

 

Malpractice and auto insurance rates have also increased.

 

The property tax we pay has increased a lot, to over $1200 a month.

 

The value of our house has decreased to exactly the amount of our mortgage, and it needs a lot of work done, so we can't sell it and move to another state where the cost of living is lower like we'd prefer to do.

 

It's going to take a miracle for us to survive this, and we are just ordinary people. I'm sure there are a lot more people in our boat around here.

 

RC

[Jugglin'5]

Here in the Houston area, apart from the Ike mess, I'd say we are still going pretty strong. A few sectors, like real estate, have slowed down, but my dh didn't have much of a problem finding a new job recently. Food and gas costs are definitely making a bigger dent in our budget, so we are cutting back on extracurriculars this year. I agree with Virginia Dawn that this seems more like a reality check than a real recession.

[cawn009]

Just the same after 10 yrs, yet it is getting worst every year.

[lynn]

We live in N AL and we are pretty much the last to feel any recession. There are many high tech, engineering jobs, and very low cost of living.

 

There is an anticipation of growth with BRAC (base realignment) to move people from VA to here and a lot of building going on in anticipation but, BUT if people in VA can not sell their homes how can they afford to buy a home now especially with financing more difficult to get. DH and I are anticipating picking up a bargain in a year or 2 because of the surplus of homes.

[lynn]

From what I can see here, a lot of people still have the money to spend on things they don't need. Everyone is complaining and cutting back, but I haven't seen or heard of much real suffering.

 

Just like dh said recently, so far this is nothing. In the 70's he remembers double digit inflation, and double digit unemployment.

 

Right now it appears to be more of a reality check than a crisis.

 

Here to. People are just spending like always and planning their fall trips as usual to Disney or the Beach. Nothing has stopped or slowed down.

[Kari C in SC]

It is not good here from what I can tell. The construction industry has tanked and that was a big employer around here. My dh is a mechanic. When we first got here in January, he was making pretty good money - he is commission. It has been really bad since May. His boss is having a hard time keeping his shop open. Nobody can afford to fix their cars. They have had so many cars left because they couldn't pay to pick them up. We are just praying that it will get better soon because my dh really likes where he works and doesn't want to look elsewhere.

[MelaniePA]

I'm in Central PA and I don't think it is too bad at this point here. Gas, food, oil is higher. Homes are still selling as long as they are listed reasonably. Dh is self-employed as a commercial wallpaperhanger/painter and he is still busy.

OTOH, my sister and parents live in FL and it is worse there than here. Home prices have dropped drastically, I think my sister at this point owes more on her mortgage than what her house is worth now. Homes aren't selling, many foreclosures, etc. Higher gas and food prices.

Maybe it just hasn't come here yet, or it has to do with just that it is different areas.

[Scarlett]

It is not good here from what I can tell. The construction industry has tanked and that was a big employer around here. My dh is a mechanic. When we first got here in January, he was making pretty good money - he is commission. It has been really bad since May. His boss is having a hard time keeping his shop open. Nobody can afford to fix their cars. They have had so many cars left because they couldn't pay to pick them up. We are just praying that it will get better soon because my dh really likes where he works and doesn't want to look elsewhere.

 

 

This surprises me. I would think with the economy in trouble, and new car sales way down, MORE people would be repairing older cars. Dh and I have 2 paid for older cars (mine is VERY old). Even if it is a $1000 repair bill, still much cheaper than a new $15K car.

[Scarlett]

Honestly, I don't think it has hit us much here in NW AR. I think home sales are down on higher priced homes...one across the street in the $400K + range has been sitting for over year, but other more reasonably priced houses are selling. Dh's job is excellent...he just got a big raise. The company is doiing better than expected for this quarter...We are sort of holding our breath waiting for the other shoe to fall..but so far so good.

 

ETA: I should say that food prices are ridiculous and if a family was barely making it, those sort of increases could be devastating. I think my grocery bill has gone up by 25% in the last 6 months. One example is cooking oil. I was getting it for under $2 for a bottle. Then I noticed it went up to 2.12. THEN it suddenly jumped to $3.09. That is just insane.

[Michelle T]

I'm about 35 minutes north of Los Angeles. There are lots of short sales and foreclosures in our area. Our house is now worth less than we owe, as are most around us. Many small businesses have gone under. Obviously we are hit by high food prices and gas prices like everywhere else.

 

My DH is a loan consultant for Countrywide, this crash in the real estate market has hit us HARD for the past year or so. Just about every single loan he is currently handling is for someone buying up foreclosures.

Michelle T

[Desert Rat]

We've been lucky. But many we know haven't. We live in southern Nevada where construction is a huge part of the economy. Nevada has almost an 8% unemployment rate and we know of several people who have lost their houses. However, IMHO they shouldn't have had those houses to begin with. My dh recently switched jobs from single family home building to apartments. We were SO lucky! He would have been in the next round of lay offs.

While we don't have to deal with heating oil as much, food here has gone up quite a bit. Overall, I'd say lots of people are hurting here right now I just don't know if I'm noticing it more or if it's new due to the recession.

[The Governess]

A friend at church helps run a homeless shelter in our area. He said when gas prices rose this summer they had record numbers of people coming in. Even though gas prices are down here now, our grocery bill is still much, much higher this year than it was last year.

 

I think that the areas that are being hit hardest with foreclosures are those with the most new construction - areas that mean a long commute to work but a cheaper, new house. People were moving to these locations just because closer areas were too expensive. And a large percentage of them were first-time homebuyers with little money down. When home prices drop these new construction areas are usually hit the hardest, and that means more foreclosures.

[Jane in NC]

There are a number of retirees where I live who complain about low interest rates on savings and declining stock portfolios. While they are losing buying power, they are still keeping their heads above water.

 

My local economy was fueled by a housing boom created by these retirees who desired golfing communities or retirement homes near water. In fact, the tax valuation on our property tripled in the years from '95 to '05. Most of the rise came on the tail end of that period. Around 2002 - 2005, there were people making a lot of money by turning over real estate. Those who were left holding properties at the tail end of the boom found themselves stuck with real estate that had suddenly lost value. (Could one say that greed placed them in this position of owing more than their investments were worth? Probably.) Tax valuations per thousand did not change so with the rise in value has come tax bills that have tripled. Ouch.

 

We had one foreclosure on our street. The couple who owned the house chose to walk away from it, feeling that they would lose less money that way. They are small business people who were part of the buy and sell crowd during the boom.

 

The people who worked in construction here are hurting. The church pantry is cleaned out regularly.

 

Family members of mine in the midwest are keeping their heads above water, but friends who are teachers there have witnessed great changes of fortune among their student populations. In some cases, one parent loses a job; when both lose their jobs, the problem really hits home.

 

I must admit I have wondered what lies around the corner. I have several friends who used the escalating value of their home equity to buy vehicles or fund lifestyles. Will equity rates rise or could banks call those loans?

 

Our local CC has record enrollment as fewer students are leaving home to attend college. The same is true for the CC in the next county.

 

I think there are some huge challenges ahead.

 

Jane

[Alenee]

Lots of houses on the market here in SW WA. We moved into our new place last August. I recently drove through my old neighborhood and saw a house that is still for sale. It has been on the market since before we listed our house. It's a nice house, good neighborhood, just isn't selling.

 

Housing construction is slowing, finally. It was really getting out of hand. Now what I see are houses that were being built last year, just now being finished.

 

However, business seems to be good. A new JC Penney, Lowes, Sonic, Olive Garden, are all being built within a mile of a Wal Mart, Home Depot, Kohls, MIchaels, etc. The latter have been up a few years. It just seems odd to me to see the Penney's, Lowes, and Olive Garden going in right now and Lowe's going in so close to Home Depot.

[Haiku]

We live in the Midwest. Gas, food, and utilities proces are skyrocketing. Like someone else mentioned, our food budget has nearly doubled in six months. I am making a lot of changes (and I already was frugal and cooked from scratch and bought in bulk before all this happened) to try to rein it in.

 

There are a lot of foreclosed upon houses in our city. In some neighborhoods (like ours) it's not a problem. In others, it's a big problem. You can tell as you drive through them.

 

The other main problem is that houses are not selling.

 

I am not an economist, but I'll tell you, when my husband's (decent) salary gets stretched thinner and thinner and thinner just on the basics (no luxuries here!), to me, the economy is bad. When a middle-class family that lives frugally can't make ends meet on one salary, the economy is bad.

 

Tara

[Haiku]

 

A co-worker of my dh's wife

 

Wait ... aren't you your dh's wife? ;)

 

Tara

[Haiku]

Our health insurance went from $1800 to $2500 a month in the last year for no reason that has anything to do with us.

 

Yeah, ours has gone up 42% in the past 3 years. For what we pay for health insurance, we could pay a second mortgage. It's ridiculous.

 

Also, we just got our tax valuation. Our house lost $20,000 in value. We now owe $20,000 more than it's worth (we are relatively new homeowners). I was worried that we had done something wrong to cause our home's value to drop so drastically, but our neighbors, who have spent the last two years improving their house and yard, lost $16,000 on the valuation.

 

Oh well, at least our property taxes will go down ...

 

Tara

[KatieJ]

Michigan has the highest unemployment rate in the nation..almost 9percent. The state is loosing grounds as evidenced by the number of one way u-haul type rentals. However, we are told those numbers are skewed by the east side of the state..Detroit, and not on the west side where I live. On the postive side our daughter and her husband were able to build a brand new home because their builder branched into home builder as his business contruction slowed down and he offered huge signingn discounts. We were able to get our kitchen cabinets custom built because business is slow and the cabinet maker needed the work. Typically he works on the more expensive homes.

[newbie]

I'm about 35 minutes north of Los Angeles. There are lots of short sales and foreclosures in our area. Our house is now worth less than we owe, as are most around us. Many small businesses have gone under. Obviously we are hit by high food prices and gas prices like everywhere else.

 

My DH is a loan consultant for Countrywide, this crash in the real estate market has hit us HARD for the past year or so. Just about every single loan he is currently handling is for someone buying up foreclosures.

Michelle T

 

:iagree:Same here in San Diego, your dh is lucky he has a job still, thank God, my bf's dh lost his w/Countrywide and ironically they are going through a bankruptcy and foreclosures.

 

So. Cal has been hit hard.

[melmac]

Well, let's see. I live in the poorest county in the poorest state (MS) in the nation. Things aren't looking too good 'round here. :001_huh:

[Mrs Mungo]

I'm in Hawaii which is an area being hit *HARD*.

 

My neighbors bought their house for $720K a few years ago. A house with the same floor plan just sold for $500K.

[Mom2jnb]

I currently live in SW Michigan. Things are bad here.....companies closing and laying off (Pfizer). My dh was affected by the layoffs. In fact, today was his last day...but, he had 4 job offers within 4 weeks of finding out that he was going to be let go. 3 of which were in the Houston, TX area......from a visit down there house hunting......the housing market is leveled off but the job market is booming....we put an offer in on a house that is in short sale and we are still waiting from the bank for an answer on that...there seem to be a few foreclosures down there but nothing like there are here....There must be 100s of foreclosures up here..in fact I have a dear friend that is going to have to let her house go into foreclosure here due to the job market here. :(

 

So, IMHO, Michigan is tanking......it looks like TX is booming........

 

Alison

[newbie]

I'm in Hawaii which is an area being hit *HARD*.

 

My neighbors bought their house for $720K a few years ago. A house with the same floor plan just sold for $500K.

 

We should have waited and went to Hawaii, anyone want to trade.

[Kari C in SC]

This surprises me. I would think with the economy in trouble, and new car sales way down, MORE people would be repairing older cars. Dh and I have 2 paid for older cars (mine is VERY old). Even if it is a $1000 repair bill, still much cheaper than a new $15K car.

 

They do want to fix their older cars, they just don't have the money to pay for it. They had one guy barter with an expensive hunting rifle a couple of weeks ago. They have had to sell at least 4 cars that I know of because the people couldn't come up with the cash to pick them up. People want to fix their cars, but if they don't have the cash or credit... they just can't do it.

[6packofun]

I live in the Cleveland area which has been declining financially for a while now. In the past year, I've seen a LOT more for sale and for auction signs go up in certain neighborhoods. Most families I know are trying to adjust their budgets to accomodate gas and grocery prices, but I still don't feel like things are at their worst in those areas. Housing and jobs? YES.

 

Personally, my dh lost his job in 2005 and has been struggling to work FT ever since. He's trying to get a 2nd job now and can't even get a call back from WalMart, Target, grocery stores or video rental places! We just applied for food stamps. :( It's getting very tough for us.

[Tarheel Heather]

In a word, crappy.

[Julpost]

We had our oil tank filled half full because that's all we could afford. I only drive 1-2x/week to save on gas and we are buying fewer groceries. I had started to build up some food storage and now we are going through it. Food prices, even at Cosco, are just going up, up, up! I'm glad we are homeschooling because we didn't have to go buy new clothes, spend a ridiculous amount on school pics, school lunches, snack food, and a hundred different field trips. We probably couldn't afford ps right now! :) We're taking it a day at a time around here. We aren't doing extra lessons or classes and I haven't even bought all of our curriculum yet. I'm just piecing it together each month. This month I get to buy our science book. The library knows us well. Our septic field has failed so we are using as little water as possible. I'm learning how to make meals on the cheap and eat less. My sister offered me $100 to buy 200 lbs. of wheat, so I'm pretty excited about that. We're one of those people who needs to get things fixed but doesn't have the money. The tail light on my van has been broken for about a year now. Our lawnmowers keep breaking so our yard is a mess. Ds's friend broke the handle off our front screen door, still haven't fixed that. It just all adds up.

 

Birthdays and Christmas will be slim this year. We picked a ton of pears from a neighbors tree and I'm thinking everyone will be getting pear butter as a gift.

[elegantlion]

Things are slow in our area, SW Louisiana. My dh's business (construction) had slowed until the hurricanes. I'm sure he will not have an issue finding work now, unfortunately for those affected.

 

We had planned on selling our home this spring, but the realtor warned us that houses that were not 100% remodeled were not selling. So we have decided to wait until next spring.

 

We have some equity, but our value has not increased like it did in the previous two years.

 

Stagnant is how I would describe it.

[WTMCassandra]

In eastern WA it doesn't seem too bad. Business and real estate seem to be basically holding their own. Prices are definitely up, but it sounds like we have it relatively good here. Except that gas is now a *bargain* at 3.75/gal. Ugh. We had gotten up almost to 4.50/gal a couple of months ago.

 

So, ya'll come on up here and join us!

[Peek a Boo]

south of DFW here.

 

it's not too bad from our perspective.

our house value has plummetted, but that's ok w/ us --lower taxes :D

we weren't planning on going anywhere anyway!

 

dh has been unemployed for 3 months now, but we were expecting it [typical for the industry] and have enough stashed away to last a few more months. He expects we'll probably have a pretty thin bank account by the time he gets a new job.

 

My deceased fil's house in SA is on the market, showing, and getting almost reasonable offers. We expect to have it out of the way in the next 6-8 weeks. That will help.

 

milk is lower at WalMart by about 50 cents a gallon --at the rate we drink milk, it almost makes up for the gas prices...:tongue_smilie:

 

But honestly, we haven't budgeted ourselves too thin yet. We're still indulging in plenty of little luxuries here and there. taking the time to buy low w/ a few things.

 

ask me again in a few months.... ;)

[angela in ohio]

Ohio and Michigan are in bad shape, especially the area we are in. We were able to get our house for a steal, because housing prices are so low. Dh chose a career that is not glamorous, but is federally mandated, so we are not living high, but we have security.

 

And yet the local and state governments keep making the same stupid moves that got them into this jam....

[Scarlett]

They do want to fix their older cars, they just don't have the money to pay for it. They had one guy barter with an expensive hunting rifle a couple of weeks ago. They have had to sell at least 4 cars that I know of because the people couldn't come up with the cash to pick them up. People want to fix their cars, but if they don't have the cash or credit... they just can't do it.

 

 

Wow. I guess times like that is when Dave Ramsey's plan to have $1000 emergency fund would come in handy.

[cathmom]

What if you've already spent the $1000 emergency fund? Then what?

[Renee in NC]

What if you've already spent the $1000 emergency fund? Then what?

 

No kidding.

 

Things are bad for us because our business is construction related. Our revenues have dropped 42% compared to last year. Many of our customers are in bad shape, people who owed us money haven't paid (because they don't have it either), and business is just much slower. We're losing equipment because we can't pay for it.

 

I'm sure that people in this area (central NC) that are not in a construction-related business are doing okay, but I have noticed WAY more foreclosures. Our real estate agent says that things just aren't selling in many areas, but other areas are still good. My father is selling his house and it will likely sell pretty quickly, but we've had 2 couples interested, and only AFTER the price was dropped to a short sale level.

[6packofun]

I'm glad we are homeschooling because we didn't have to go buy new clothes, spend a ridiculous amount on school pics, school lunches, snack food, and a hundred different field trips. We probably couldn't afford ps right now! :) We're taking it a day at a time around here. We aren't doing extra lessons or classes and I haven't even bought all of our curriculum yet. I'm just piecing it together each month. This month I get to buy our science book. The library knows us well.

 

Wow, this is exactly how things are going here. lol I keep pushing down this nagging feeling that I should be out trying to get a job since my dh can't find a 2nd one, BUT putting our kids in school and finding care for my little guy would be WAY too expensive. Not that I *want* to do PS. *sigh* We are just getting by on the materials we have, too, and waiting for the time we have the money for our next history book. :( We still haven't tested our kids to send in with our notification for this year and I just got a letter from the school system reminding me to get the results in...I don't have an extra $125 for the tests yet! Ugh.

[Scarlett]

What if you've already spent the $1000 emergency fund? Then what?

 

Good point. Of course you are suppose to build it right back up again---immediately and aggressively...but I know when things get tight it is almost impossible to do so. My dh has a really good job and yet we never seem to be able to save. It isn't an income issue...it is a mindset issue. Shrug. I can see that if something went wrong we could quickly be in trouble. I have tried for years to get us (because I am part of it too) to change our habits in that area (lack of savings) to no avail.

[Carrie12345]

Wow. I guess times like that is when Dave Ramsey's plan to have $1000 emergency fund would come in handy.

 

What if you've already spent the $1000 emergency fund? Then what?

 

Can I just say that I am so grateful that we planned on waiting until tomorrow to fully implement the Dave Ramsey plan? We were going to split our money into our $1000 savings and our two small cc bills, one a closed account and the little left over to a nearly maxed card with a small line of credit.

 

Tuesday night, our well pump died. Wednesday morning, we had to pay $2200 for a new pump, a section of new wiring, and labor. No payment plan available (we checked 3 companies.) If we had gone ahead with our plan, we would have been completely sunk... if one could sink when they don't have water!

 

Anyway, as far as local economy, ours is weird. There's a very high rate of foreclosure here, and it's been growing every month for a couple of years. There were "special" programs for NYC and Philly residents to obtain inexpensive housing here in the lovely Pocono mountains. The majority involved ARMs. While I'm all about personal responsibility being top priority, ethical business practices still need to be up there. I hate to say it, but a lot of people got together and convinced low income families that they could easily have the American dream by signing on the dotted line.

 

I'm not sure where even low payments were supposed to come from. Our retail scene has expanded like crazy, but there are very few other job opportunities around here. We have retail and similar level jobs, some teaching jobs, and one pharmaceutical plant. Other than that, you pretty much have to own your own service business, or commute to a bigger city, burning up a ton of gas money.

 

Even with dh working for bigger-city wages and our owning a modest (fixed rate, low interest mortgage) home, we're starting to feel the pinch more and more. Most homes use oil heat around here. I never imagined I'd be grateful to have 100% electric, but I am!

"Tourist season" is pretty much year round, and we wind up putting a lot of effort into sticking to grocery stores and gas stations that don't charge tourist prices. Afterthoughts and poor planning can cost a fortune.

 

Still, we have a steady stream of people building 3500+sq' center hall colonials, moving in, and continuing their bigger-city jobs. While I figure half of those are probably digging themselves a big hole, it's still an opportunity for quite a few people to continue a comfortable lifestyle when they're squeezed out of their original expensive location.

 

Driving around our area, you'll see many foreclosed and abandoned bungalows with McMansions being built next door. On the next block, you'll find foreclosed McMansions next door to a small cabins housing families of 5 with the latest and greatest in outdoor recreation items.

 

We have an interesting mix of people around here!

[hsmamainva]

$1000.00 seems awfully low for an emergency fund.

 

I take it this is just a sort of 'line item' in the family budget each month? Or is that the amount to have in the bank to take care of you in case something happens?

 

I'll admit that I haven't read much about Dave Ramsey -- I'm a Suze Orman fan and she recommends having 8 months' worth of salary in the bank at all times, in case of an emergency.

[tmkclscroggins]

It seems that where we live ( about 30 minutes North of Dallas) things are going on as usual. We just bought a home ( a foreclosure) in a neighborhood that was full of them. These homes are being snatched up left and right. When our house was on the market ( it took 6 months to sell), we'd look at a home and then the next day, it would be sold. These are moderately priced homes as well. It did seem that 300+ homes were going quickly as well.

 

I don't know of anyone who has lost a job or a home. I have noticed a tremendous increase in the cost of groceries. We probably pay about 200 more per month than we did a year ago. For example, I like to use peanut oil and it has jumped from 5.69 to 8.39. I can spend several hundred dollars at Walmart and not have nearly as many groceries. This hurts.

 

Overall, things are just rolling along here. People are still spending.....movies, restaurants, extras.

 

 

I still feel that something big is coming and it really scares me.

 

 

melissa

[Kathy in MD]

Foreclosures in the inner counties near DC have increased 2 to 10 x's or more. They range from moderately priced condos and townhomes to one with a $1.5 million loan, if I'm interpreting the foreclosure notice properly. (The required certified check to bid on it is $150,000.) Houses are the market are staying on the market for long periods, you can actually take your time in house shopping now, a rarity.

 

I don't believe that the initial cause of the downturn was job loss, we have a stable economy here normally. I think it was caused by 1) the recent huge run up in prices 2) people who believed that prices would only go up and the interest rates never would (dreamers) 3) the belief, common around here, that if you don't buy today, you'll never be able to afford a home so you overextend yourself 4) too much overendulgence in luxuries to save for essentials (keeping up with the Jones) 5) and yes, too easy access to mortgages.

 

Of course gas prices going up steeply in one of the worst areas in the country for traffic and one of the longest average commute times put a further crimp in budgets. (Our church saw a sharp drop in tithing with the jump in gas prices.) Food prices further added to the budget woes.

[CAMom]

$1000.00 seems awfully low for an emergency fund.

 

I take it this is just a sort of 'line item' in the family budget each month? Or is that the amount to have in the bank to take care of you in case something happens?

 

I'll admit that I haven't read much about Dave Ramsey -- I'm a Suze Orman fan and she recommends having 8 months' worth of salary in the bank at all times, in case of an emergency.

 

The $1000 is a "baby emergency fund" for the purpose of having some set aside to pay for something fairly big and not depending on credit cards in an emergency.

 

The "fully funded" emergency fund is a minimum of 3 month of living expenses (not salary) stored up for a job loss, medical emergency, etc. Being self employeed, our minimum comfort level for our fully funded emer. fund is 6 months.

[Liz Mc in SC]

I live south of Charlotte, Nc and it's not too bad but the housing market is slow. The worst thing at the moment is there is NO gas.....I mean none at all. Tonight I saw one station who did have gas and the lines were insane -- they'll sell out before everyone is served.

 

It's bad when the price of gas is high, but it's worse when you can't even get it.

[LisaKinVA]

Another Virginian here... about 1/3 of the homes "on the market" in Stafford, Spotsylvania, Louden, and PWC in the past year were foreclosures or short sales. Homes are often on the market for 6+ months.

 

We've been looking to buy... after cooling our heels during the ridiculous price run-up from 2002-2006. There was a lot more speculation in our area than anyone realized.

 

"Investors" were purchasing homes TO BE BUILT with borrowed "equity" from their primary residence, and planning to sell them for a profit once they were finished (The average price increase between 2001-2006 was 20%... I believe from 2005-2006 it was 25% here in Stafford).

 

This same type of speculation went on in Nevada, Florida and Southern California.

 

In Northern VA it was the implosion of the Condo Market. Too many condos, not enough buyers. Most of No. VA (Arlington, Alexandria, Fairfax), while they have seen decline and some foreclosures, the rates haven't been as high (not as much new building in those established counties). Don't get me wrong, there were still higher than normal foreclosures -- but you didn't see entire neighborhoods "hit" which was the case in certain parts of Stafford, PWC and Spotsy Counties.

 

The unemployment rate really hasn't been a huge factor here. Gas prices have changed a number of things in the "rural" counties. Lots of people scaled back on community sports programs, and many chain stores and local stores have closed (we haven't seen the end of this here, yet -- lots of underperforming stores in the area).

 

People are still buying homes (people still moving to the area). I have been watching this market and have had my eye on a number of properties -- even bid on a couple. It's always funny to hear about "the deal" someone got on a property we've investigated....

 

Sold at auction for $275 (the house needed... and I mean NEEDED, a new roof, new garage door, front porch, had wood rot in most of the exterior trim, new flooring, the basement "walls" were studded with a lightweight panel that BENT if you pushed on it slightly... the basement bath was awful, the appliances had been pulled/broken...). I thought the person buying it at auction was paying too much (and the investors bidding on the property stopped when we did at $200k). The kicker? The bank REFUSED the auction price -- and then someone NOT from the area thought they got a "deal" when they paid $300k for the home.

 

The market value of the home in GOOD condition is about $325k. The estimated cost of repairs to the property to BRING it back to "good" condition was close to $40,000. :confused:

 

Oh, and then, there was the house with mold you could smell as soon as you walked through the front door -- the advertisement said, "basement needs some cosmetic work":lol:

 

One house has been on the market for over 720 days... we won't talk about what's wrong with THAT one (the price is finally in a more realistic range).

 

Real estate here is a wild ride. Not just for homes, but also for buildable lots.

 

We purchased ours (assessed at $200k) for $107,000 in January. Across the street a new development is going on the market... they are asking $195k for an untreed 3-acre lot. The value of the land (according to appraisals) is about $150k as of June '08.

[Tap]

It has been hard hit in our area. A lot of homes have plummeted in value, (actually they were overinflated to begin with) and now anyone who bought in the past 2-3 years is upside down in their house.

 

We bought our house for $150,000 7 years ago. It topped out in value at over $300,000 and now is probably worth $250,000 (if you can find a buyer). It has dropped $50,000 in about a year. To anyone who bought in our area a year ago, with an ARM loan, they are not only upside down but their payment has skyrocketed to the point that they are being forced to let the house go the bank. Their house now has to regain the value AND they are paying more than they thought for it (people don't forecast the potential ramifications of the word 'adjustable').

 

Our friends who have ARMs, or have a high amount of loans (good or bad loans) and that live paycheck to paycheck are really feeling it right now. Our friends who are invested heavily into real estate or the market, are feeling it on some investments but not others. The ones who are stable are the ones like us. Very low debt, fixed rate loans, and stable jobs.

 

In our area it really depends on what type of financial situation you're in, whether you are feeling it or not.

[Sharon H in IL]

Here in the Peoria area, people mostly complain about the price of gasoline and groceries, but still drive too fast and the parking lots at the chain restaurants are always full. :glare:

 

The housing bubble never came here, so it hasn't burst. McMansions are being built in outer suburbs at a steady rate.

 

Some moms in my local parenting group are trying to earn money at home so they don't have to put their children in other-care. Other moms have taken jobs in high-tech fields because they pay so well and tend to be flexible about hours.