Hampton Roads spared a bit of pain during housing slowdown

I’m a bit confused. On 3/13, the Pilot ran the headline “Hampton Roads Spared a Bit of Pain During Housing Slowdown”. Then they began an article on 3/14 with this tidbit: “As housing prices soared in recent years, city officials heard the same complaints from employees: They couldn't afford to live in Norfolk.”

Which article is most correct? Knowing the median income in this area and what sellers/builders are trying to pry out of buyers, I’m guessing it’s the latter article. Do your research, folks. Look at the MLS listing of the address of an existing home, then go to the city’s assessment webpage and look at the history of what it sold for previously. You will see increases that surpass 250%, especially for homes built pre-1990. Now, did your incomes increase by 250%? No, you say? Then there’s a housing bubble here, whether or not people want to believe it.

Where do “experts” get off saying that Hampton Roads won’t be affected when the entire economy is tanking on a daily basis? Do they even read the news or watch breaking headlines?

Banks are going to be VERY careful to whom they give their money from now on. No more loans given to those w

The problem in Ohio is employment, not the actual price of housing. A house there is almost half of what is charged here; you can get a two bedroom house for like $60,000. Even in Columbus, arguably the best city to be at given the rising unemployment rate in Ohio (about the only city whose population has actually risen in the last decade or so) you can get a two bedroom, one room house for like $75,000. That may be their 'hood, or ghetto, I don't know; but for what you pay here to live in similiar conditions, like $185,000 and there are gangs, looting, etc. um no, sorry, you can live way out in the suburbs or even in the country there. California has record unemployment as well, though I doubt their prices will ever be affordable; they have earthquakes every 20 years, a statewide electrical brownout and Arnold as governor, and people still want to live there, so go figure ...

Ethan it's actually 4; check it out at http://www.cox.com/hr/highspeedinternet/pricing.asp but in any event you can get over the air HDTV, but it sucks. Digital tiling and everything, like 10 miles from the station.

Nikki - Cox has two tiers of internet service, there is a $20 service that is slower, but still very usable if you aren't downloading huge files. Also, look into over-the-air HDTV broadcasts. Good quality TV with no monthly fees. I'm a "techie" and haven't subscribed to cable TV or landline telephone for 3+ years. To all, the National Association of Realtors is a powerful group. They were recently spending $40,000,000 on an advertising campaign to try to tell people that purchasing housing is still a good idea. They also have a very powerful lobbying group. Financial advisors and other professionals have a strict set of rules to adhere to when they give investment advice, but realtors make claims such as real estate never goes down or there is never a better time to buy. There is no recourse for this disinformation. I have a problem with this. And the gov't saving the banks and lending institutions that foolishly lent money.

What rocket scientist wrote this article?

Salaries are severely behind inflation. Fuel and utilities inflation, sustenance inflation (food), TAXATION inflation.. and so on...

This is what you get when the people in charge are not affected by the problems we need to have resolved. They are too busy not accounting for vacations, hiring 4,000 dollar hookers, and trying to get special interest convention centers opened up in Portsmouth at tax payer expense...

I don't know why it cost $30/month last year for electricity and this year $70. Same house, no changes. My heating expenses last year $125 to $150/month, this year $300/month. Gas at $3.30 or so per gallon, if it's not directly on my way to or from work, I don't go, especially when I paid $50 for 14 gallons on Saturday. My car it's 4 years old. I don't know about cable/internet, I was paying right at $50/month for basic/ internet in 2006, after canceling the phone and digital, and now it's $79.83, for basic/internet. I'm not pessimistic, I'm realistic, I'm not shrill, I'm resigned. My cost to live as a single person continues to escalate, no matter what I cut back or out. I've worked 30 years in the same profession, never taken a dime in public assistance, no illegitimate kids. I have a 30 year fixed mortgage, I put 30% down on, for a house, not a mcmansion. For me as a single woman with 50 just around the corner and an average salary, it's harder now financially to survive than it was 30, 20, 10 or even 5 years ago. It just is what it is, my reality.

I really have to question your accounting methods.

1. yes gasoline has gone up, and I drive a guzzler, and the cost of gasoline has jumped quite a bit, bit I have curbed any excess driving, I spend 120$ a month, i used to spend about 50.

2. Electricity, I took steps to insulate my 3 bedroom townhome, and I watch how we use electricity. I have no incandescent bulbs, all are cfc replacements, I use a digital thermostat, and with an ALL Electric home, still only spent 99$ in electricity last month.

3. Cable Bill. Sorry, I disbelieve you. I looked up all the priced over the last 2 years for the local cable company, and dropping the services you said you dropped should have saved you on average $13.00 a month, takin in consideration rate changes over the last 2 years, to a high of 26$ a month depending on what digital cable services and phone services you had.

The Daily Press reported the facts as they are.

"The annual ODU report said local sales numbers in 2007 were similar to 2000 and 2001, "when the market was not just stable, but thriving."

The report said the median price in Hampton Roads fell by about a half of one-percent to $215,000."

One half of one percent is .005%

Even the city assessor's don't believe that story. They've been busy dumping assessments, and even then they don't come close to what my neighbors have been trying to sell for. Listing prices right now are at least 15 percent below the 2005 original purchase price, and still no takers.

All is fine, nothing is wrong, the market is stable........SIGN HERE!

I went slumming last night - we all went to Outback 'cause I wanted a cheap but good steak. ;)

Home prices have only dropped .005% in the last year in Hampton Roads. That is because there is a balance between buyers and sellers here. Nevada, Florida, California, Arizona, and Ohio are where most of the problems are. We are very lucky.

The $30 increase in the cable bill sounded bogus. But things like gas, milk, bread, meats, potato chips (don't buy many but with kids, the price doubled). I'm nowhere near untouchable but I'm somewhat sheltered from some of it because I've owned my house for 20 years and have not borrowed against the equity. I haven't bought off on the ARM junk loans or interest only loans. I think even people that have stayed between the lines are suffering now though. That pain is bought about in part due to the high tax assessments (that caused over $150 a month increase in my payment). Even though the real market has been stagnant and even fell over the past two years, cities continue to go up on my tax. Truth be told, the cities are spending our tax dollars to subsidize projects that should not be funded with tax dollars. The cities saw the windfall increase from a few good years in the area and went into spend on pet projects mode. It's time for them to start running the cities like most of us have to run our houses, ON A BUDGET! Of course with your huge income and large investments, you'll continue to eat out at upscale restaurants and live in high-end Town Center (subsidized by taxpayers).

{Little joke there} Yes, I guess I am pretty lucky right now. Although both wifey and I have worked hard to acquire all that we have. I must admit most of the time I don't pay attention to the prices of necessities. I did, however, check some recent utility bills just to make sure.
-Have paid VAPower less so far this season (except for X-mas - all those Griswold lights you know).
-VNG much less this winter - haven't paid more that $145 per month.
-Bloom weekly bill has declined (although I can attribute that to a kid in college - GO LANCERS!)
Not disputing your bills-there are many factors that can influence heating/cooling. I have an extremely well-insulated home which definitely contributes to less paid.
Best of luck to you.

Guess it depends on your circumstance. If you are not going to be here for a period of time, renting would make sense but one can not make a blanket statement. If renting from someone, that person did buy at the right time or for the right price, or both, because I'm sure they are not renting the property for a loss. Also in the previous post stating what a monthly payment would be on a 399K condo, if your figures are that high you may want to either refigure, get another lender, or improve your credit report numbers.

I have to say you are the most depressing, pessimistic person on the VP comment boards. First most of your examples are/were caused by poor personal decision (can't sell the house, can't afford security deposits)or a conscious decision (pull kids out of school, family). Your shrill complaining is falling on deaf ears as you sound like the person who made VERY bad decisions in your life and want others to pay for it (notice I didn’t make a broad statement this time).

And Mr. Fabulous hit the proverbial nail on the head. Your OVER-exaggerations of your utility increases are pathetic. I’ve asked several individuals concerning their cable bill and their increases haven’t gone up more than $5.00 in two years, AND [with one person] that’s with a complete package (internet, phone [with a separate fax line] and HD television with 3 movie channels). Frankly, the rest of your figures are plain false.

Hey kids, remember that a REALTOR person gave this presentation. I've heard the Rose character mention that they have involvement with ODU, perhaps a kid that goes there. So don't trust anything that comes from it. Young people have insane amounts of debt, that is how the modern American lifestyle seems to be funded. I used to cut through a $600K+ neighborhoods from time to time to look for two things, for sale signs and the number of contractor style trucks parked in driveways. I was checking to see how many of the well to do's are deriving income from the housing mania itself, and there was a good amount. Our gov't is devaluing our dollar by printing more of them to loan to the banks. We need to let the home prices drop 50%, live within our means and not destroy our countries credibility with foreign countries that invest in us.

I COMPLETELY agree with your reply. My beef is with the "chicken littles" who put themselves in their situation and complain, yet do nothing about it, even if you have to take a loss to make a better life somewhere else, like Raleigh or Wake Forest (a utopia, for now).

Try thinking back to the 1980's when the prime rate was 20%. Those times make today look prosperous. Everything you would read about the economy was doom and gloom. I still have an article from 1983 that said the US economy would never recover. It predicted that young people would never be able to afford a new home. It predicted a depression by 1990 and this was written by an economic expert. The economy has a long way to go to even come close to sinking to the 1980's true recession.

Well aren't you the lucky one, not feeling the pain of the economy.

And no, I don't drive a tank, I drive a small car with a whopping 15 gallon tank that gets 24/25 miles to the gallon. Saturday, it cost $50 for 14 gallons. And nope, I live and work right here, been here going on 21 years now. And while it may have been a mild winter, it's still been cold, and I've conserved the best I could, I've kept the thermostat set at 60 degrees, because I couldn't afford to waste my money being toasty!

But since I'm single, pushing 50, with no kids or pets to feed and raise, and since I support myself by myself, maybe I feel the crunch differently.

I feel so sorry for young people and couples - I can't imagine being young and trying to raise a family, not here, not now!

So a customer left over from my web hosting business handles Real Estate Owned (REO) properties. The entire time I've hosted his site it was always 6 to maybe 13 listings at any given time. A quick look shows over 100 homes that are bank owned for sale through him. The banks haven't dropped prices, and I've read that many people quit paying, but the banks haven't started foreclosure. They just live there free because the banks don't have the resources to deal with the sheer number of foreclosures, or perhaps doesn't want it on balance sheets or something. The smartest guys in the room didn't count on the home-debtors walking away from their mortgages when the homes went underwater. 0% down, 103%+ CLTVs... geniuses. With home-debtors with nothing in the game, they have nothing to loose by walking away.

Orion, I do pretty well here in Hampton Roads, so while I'm renting I'm saving money. When I look at the market, I look at the average salaries in the region (median household income) and median household prices. Anyone who buys now is "catching a falling knife." The time to buy is when everyone thinks housing is the worst investment ever. Realtors tout "buy now because of low interest rates," but it's simply goofy Realtor talking points. Low interest rates + high price is bad. I'd rather have high interest rates! More money earned on my savings, bigger tax write-off, lower purchase price of house (easier to pay off), and the chance of lower rates in the future. Your Realtor(tm) won't mention this, they will gawk about never being a better time to buy or sell. It's never in favor of both. Buy low sell high, not buy at epic peak with huge debt loads.

I'll believe this when 200k will get you in a decent neighborhood AND a decent house. Nobody can afford houses here anymore. The cost of living offsets what the wages brought in. I see all these home being built and I wonder who can afford them? There are not any big paying jobs in this area. I know that what I did in IL I made $20 an hour and a DECENT house was less than 175K. Here I am lucky to make $12 an hour with the same house going for 275K. And why? What is so darn special about this area??

in either coverage, Daily Press or Va. Pilot, it all sounds like overly optimistic Real Estate folks trying to get people in the buying mood. Seriously, I may have been a bit direct earlier, but Kirk, please answer me honestly - Are you in the Real Estate biz - builder, developer, or agent? Not sure how anyone can put on a positive spin when we have had three MAJOR (Granby Tower, Spectrum at Willoughby, and the one in Suffolk) projects cancelled or funding withdrawn in the last few months. These projects wouldn't even have been completed for over a year, so if they genuinely felt the market was going to be so much rosier in late 2008 and on, why were they cancelled? I'll tell you why - Because these are smart money people, and they don't want to build out in a declining market.

guns and moses, you must have some dumb neighbors. The market here is very stable, and the Daily Press did a better job with this story. You can read about it at this link.

http://www.dailypress.com/features/dp-biz_forecast_0313mar13,0,5489027.story

For Kirk: What are you smoking? Or, do you work for William E. Wood, Judy Boone, or ERA Real Estate? First of all, the real estate downturn did not start only six months ago, it started over two years ago. So comparing today's home listing numbers with six months ago is meaningless. Try comparing with three years ago. Oh, that downturn! From my front yeard, I can hit four houses with a baseball that have been on the market for over a year. No speculation? Wow! I'm speechless! During the boom, the less scrupulous (and we ALL know who they are) builders would have built houses on top of each other if they were allowed. Oh, that's right, they did that, and jokingly called them condos. No buildable land? Certainly you haven't been to Suffolk or Isle of Wight lately. Oh, that buildable land! You mention San Francisco and Boulder. Certainly you must be living in either San Francisco or Boulder, because you certainly don't seem to know what's going on here in Hampton Roads.

To make such a bold blanket statement. Most people are stuck when it comes to moving somewhere "better". How does the average individual and especially a family just pick-up and move from where our families are located, when we're locked into leases, when we own homes that we can't sell, jobs, kids in school, don't have the money to make first, last, security deposits, for rent and utilities cause it's taking everything we've got right now to keep our heads above water. It's rude and belittling to everyone and is grossly immature.

I agree that it will be tough for young adults just out of school to buy a home, but there are some of us out there who bought our first homes in the eighties. We thought home prices were kind of high then, when you could get a pretty decent house for $100K. It was the interest rates that kept some people from buying. And you really had to jump through a lot of hoops just to qualify for the mortgage, but we managed to get that house anyway. The interest rate on my first mortgage was 12%, the going rate. Car loans were even higher.

If you are looking for a place, there are loads of desperate sellers out there who got in the market within the last 5 years at really good prices, had their property appreciate 50-80% and now need to sell because of a subprime reset, military relocation, etc. I purchased last June, just before the credit market fell apart and consider myself lucky. The house we bought was on the market for a year (empty for 6 months)and was on contingency purchase from a couple in Florida who could not sell for 7 months and deal fell through. We got the house $70,000 less than the original listing price (almost 20% less than the original listing) because owners (who purchased the house 3 years earlier for a really good price) needed to sell. They still made a huge winfall on the property, just not as much as they originally wanted. One the market forces gets that through these overpriced sellers heads, it will stabilize and things will improve.

I can't help but think about all of the young people getting out of school/ college who probably won't make more that 30k a year to start and are faced with home values of 300k +. How can they make it? The salaries in Hampton Roads have not caught up with the increasing COL and home values. That makes for a scary situation for our young people. They have my sympathy. But then, they could do the way some in my generation have done and run up everything on their credit cards buying overpriced luxuries and then file for bankruptcy.