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www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,225718,00.html

By
Services for Real Estate Pros with Treeline Realty

Here's food for thought:

 

Homebuilders are slashing prices. Hot markets are cooling down. Real estate flippers are flipped out, cashed out and knocked out.

You'd think that housing was crashing. It is not.

Stop, for a moment the fixation on what's wrong with housing and focus on what's right with housing: New home sales unexpectedly rose 5.3 percent last month.

Cynics say that's because builders are slashing prices and throwing in extras. Who cares? They're selling homes. And, over the last three months, selling a lot of homes: nearly 1.1 million of them — far more than economists expected and the most in three months.

And as they're selling, the supply of available homes is dwindling. Inventories of unsold homes fell 1.9 percent. That means fewer homes available and, in many markets, way too few homes available.

You see, the dirty little secret on this "doom and gloom" housing talk is that you need a "doom and gloom" in the economy to pull it off.

You need the jobless rate rising — it's falling.

You need corporate profits shrinking — they're jumping.

And you need the economy contracting — it's expanding.

I'm not saying hot markets don't cool. They do. They should.

But there's a big difference between "cooling" and "crashing."

"Cooling" means homes stop going up 35 percent a year in Southern Florida.

"Crashing" means a nuclear bomb going off there.

Be careful. There is a difference — a big difference.

Those of us who live on the coasts forget about all that land between the coasts, where home prices are stable and building sustained.

We see the world through our jaded, spoiled, double-digit-dilated eyes. And we whine when suddenly our condos "stop" rivaling the GDP of Latin American countries.

We like to think we're the world. We're not.

Or that the news is awful. It's not.

We haven't a clue. Fortunately, you do.

Click here to order your signed copy of Neil's book, "Your Money or Your Life."

Watch Neil Cavuto weekdays at 4 p.m. ET on "Your World with Cavuto" and send your comments to cavuto@foxnews.com

 

Rob Lang
At Home Kansas - Shawnee, KS
Local Expert in NE Central Kansas Real Estate Home

You wrote: "Cooling" means homes stop going up 35 percent a year in Southern Florida.

Must be nice to have 35% appreciation per year to go down from.  Some areas in Kansas have 0% appreciation on up to around 6-8% apprciation around my region.

Oct 28, 2006 04:12 AM
Jeffrey J. Rabedeau
Treeline Realty - Cape Coral, FL
Rob ~ Ever think about investing where I live...?
Oct 28, 2006 07:41 AM
Rob Lang
At Home Kansas - Shawnee, KS
Local Expert in NE Central Kansas Real Estate Home
Sorry, I'm too hands on to do investing clear across the country.
Oct 28, 2006 08:00 AM
Leo Namiot - LeoLends.com
Canopy Mortgage - Leo Namiot - Saint Augustine, FL
More than just great rates
The problem is those people who are OVER PRICED are sitting on their houses and keeping the inventory up while those who are realistic with their prices are selling their houses quickly.
Oct 28, 2006 09:26 AM
Jeffrey J. Rabedeau
Treeline Realty - Cape Coral, FL

Leo ~ well said.  I totally agree.  Add 'motivated sellers' to that list of people who are selling quickly as well.

It's been my experience that the one's who are just sitting on the house....aren't that motivated to sell in the 1st place.

I don't deal with these types.

Oct 28, 2006 10:46 AM