Jacksonville Real Estate Ramblings: The sluggish real estate market: Who's fault is it anyway?

As human beings we want to know who is the blame for our current situation, who can we be mad at, who can we point that accusing finger at?

Here's my take on the current situation not only in the Jacksonville Florida real estate market but the entire country: (Not necessary in any particular order)
Wait! Before I start, I want to say that I don't believe there is just one person or one scenerio that caused out current situation, it's the accumulation of many.

1. Any unscrupulous people, whether it be lenders, real estate agents, appraisers, investors, owner occupied buyers, etc...

2. Real estate agents- yep, I said it. We have to take a little responsibility. We pushed the bar to net our sellers the most money we could. That's not really a bad thing, but it is reality.

3.Appraisers-Some helped push the values too high when the value just wasn't there.

4. Mr. Greenspan should have raised the rates a little more before our peak in 2005.

5. New home builders. They were increasing their prices right and left. One builder consistantly increased their prices by 5k a month!

6. First time homebuyers were priced out of the market! Think about it....your first time homebuyers are your foundation, without first time homebuyers to buy homes, it keeps everyone else from moving up to bigger homes. So the market is correcting our faulty foundation, by the prices coming down so the qualified first time homebuyers can start buying again.

8. Lenders for lending money to people just because they had a pulse! And some of those programs, I can't believe you put those buyers in, even though they were not in the buyer's best interest.

Last but definitely not least....


9. Buyers who made poor choices just to be able to buy a home. And I'm talking about investors and owner occupied alike! You signed up for interest only loans or loans with ARMS, thinking that the market would still be hot and you would be able to refinance to a fixed rate or sell for a huge profit. Now, when the ARMs have reset and homeowners can't afford their new payment, they are also having a difficult time selling their home because they are upside down in value. What a terrible place to be for families facing this burden.


What a learning experience this has been! Personally, I'm glad to have the opportunity to experience the market of 2004/2005 and to be experiencing the current market. Don't get me wrong, I can't stand to walk into a vacant home that is going into foreclosure, and seeing remnants of a family. Little finger prints on the wall, toys left behind, furniture left behind, anything that tells a story of who the people were, that lived there. I've learned the tools needed to assist these homeowners to make the best out of a bad situation. Learn what your options are to foreclosure.