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Oops. Should have clarified that you could only "theortically" make money in a slight downward trend SHORTTERM. Also, food for thought. Everyone should know that when you retire with your huge nest egg, not to take regular monthly payments from sales on stocks for your income. If you sell...

Hey, actually, even in a sideways market, provided that there is some volatility, it makes money. Model it yourself and see. Make a sine wave pattern, and you'll see that over the long term, the average purchase price is lower than the average price (middle of the sine wave). This is because...

FWIW, I wish them the best. As their friend, I would be advising them to sell...even at a loss...or to refinance into a long-term fixed rate. Tell them, that if they refinance, also borrow the money to pay a lot of points to bring the rate down. I've found that when you borrow from a mortgage...

Oh yeah. It is supposedly an accepted concept in economics...that commodities decrease in price over time. I think they attribute this to the creation of acceptable substitutes, and the subtle pressure to keep prices on substitutes low because that is the only way you can sell them. I know...

With great sympathy toward the folks that lost it all with Enron, they didn't diversify, didn't protect themselves against the downside, and they were buying something that was over-inflated with a "it can't fail" mentality. And they were doing it because their coworkers were doing it, and they...

Agreed. Not in California. Those people ignore earthquakes, floods, fires, mudslides, traffic and the entertainment industry for the priviledge of living there, and I'm sure that after they pay $300 a square foot for housing, once in the while they have second thoughts. :) But...there...

TS, Thanks for that. It was an informative insiders view. I don't have a license, but I have acted as my own agent and done FSBO stuff without an agent here in Florida when buying "no frill" investment properties. But I can definitely see the value in using a realtor if I was going to...

Yeah baby. So if a funny-looking guy like me was to assemble a portfolio of rental properties in North Florida and hang on to it while Floridians continue to migrate northward away from the insanity in to his territory, thereby raising the prices significantly, he might just laugh all the way...

This is what I was saying. In North Central Florida, prices didn't dip much at all...maybe like 8%, and we're holding steady. The better (smaller) places are starting to move again with the dip in rates. SM

If you were going to write a textbook recipe of how the middle class will be phased out, or shrunk down, this is how you would do it. The good news is that if you think that it is a slam dunk, all you have to do is buy stocks in these companies to participate. But the bad news is that you may...

So you're saying, that effectively, the banks try to set the fiat currency, using the mechanism you outlined, at a level such that the commodities will not increase in price? Got to re-read your post half a dozen more times, but if that is what you are saying, it does make a lot of sense. The...

I remember learning in economics class that the price of a commodity decreases over time. But last night, I was thinking about a fiat money supply, and realized that with a fiat money supply, the value of the currency decreases over time. So what if you take them together? What does the...

What was interesting to me is out vindictive some of the replys were. Man, there is some real hatred out there for the little guy who takes a shot at grabbing the brass ring...

***I'm seeing anecdotal evidence that we're nearing the end of the "correction". I think it has already started with the smaller houses, and will slowly work its way up to the bigger houses... The Economy's Housing Problem Source: Business Week Publication date: October 30, 2006...

Sure. The Fed wants rates up high enough to where folks can't keep borrowing against their house, but not so high that it kills the economy. So far, they appear to have hit their target. Fed is doing such a good job that folks are now realizing inflation won't be a run-away long term. Prior...

Rental property. I LOVE inflation! SM

Couple of thoughts. Sales of housing have dropped to 2004 levels. Remember all the vagrants and hobos living in camps back in '04? Maybe it is because our 30-year mortgage rates are up to a lofty 6.25%. Also, though sales are down, as of last month, the backlog of unsold houses decreased...

If you are a doomsayer, and you do believe that prices will continue to drop significantly and you live in a volatile area, then one of the best ways to respond to this belief is to is to sell your house now, and either rent one, or buy one in an area where prices are not as likely to retrench...

If you're buying a house, you'll find it eye opening to calculate the return on investment associated with paying points to bring down the interest rates. The actual return is upwards of 15% in most cases. So you may find that it makes sense to borrow money at less than 15% to pay points if...

Steve, Had to chime in with a "me too". This is what I'm seeing in north Florida as well. I too think that if we're not at the bottom, we're close to it. I saw some weakening, but not much to write home about. Now I'm seeing the market tighten up. Rates dropping just a little bit are...