Local tv news--10 houses for sale in Michigan for every one buyer.

[European Socialist]

And economic conditions are not supposed to improve for several years.

[villager]

1. as a Californian, I have to ask: What's the median price?

n/t

[Fridays Child]

7. What's the median price of a home in California?

Or in your part of California?

[villager]

16. SoCal: High 400,000's/500,000, more or less...

n/t

[5thGenDemocrat]

8. I can't give you an exact price, but much, much lower than CA

You can buy a very nice house here in Saginaw for 50 or 60K. I paid $14,000 for mine in 1994 (bought it from my mom's estate) and I'd say it would sell for $40K today.
John
I would add that Saginaw is ranked as having either the most or second-most affordable housing in the entire USA (I believe Peoria, IL sits atop the rankings with us).

[villager]

17. in Cali terms, those are "free houses..."

n/t

[OffWithTheirHeads]

20. Amazing

In my part of town, that would barely pay realtor fees and closing costs.

[cliss]

22. Yeah. Now wouldn't it be a cool trick

to hoist up one of those houses in Michigan and move it....

to California!! Presto. You've got equity.

It's a long move, though......maybe the pieces would make it there.:smoke:

[European Socialist]

9. Not sure--I would guess about $175,000.

[dmkinsey]

21. move to Kalamazoo, MI

affordable houses, a Blue city, and four years of paid college for your children
http://www.kalamazoopublicschools.com/education/dept/dept.php?sectiondetailid=10657&sc_id=1131662979

[ohio_liberal]

2. Yep, it's the same thing in my part of Ohio

I live in a town of 6500 people and there are 400 houses for sale. Nobody is buying. Nobody is moving here.

[progressivebydesign]

15. People don't move in January. n/t

[NorthernSpy]

25. I have.

I'm "people".

:eyes:

Northerners are used to the concept of winter. We don't stop doing things just because it's January.

You don't suppose that the well-publicized decline of the American auto industry might have anything to do with people not wanting to buy houses in Michigan, hm?

[ohio_liberal]

32. I've moved plenty of times in the winter too

Moving in the cold and snow sure as heck beats moving in the wind and rain in the spring. :hi:

[ohio_liberal]

27. It's been like this for years

Probably 8 years or so, since the steel mills started to go under. There are houses in this city that have been abandoned and now in disrepair and the city is just having them razed.

edited to add:

I bought the house I"m in now in 1995 for $22,000. It's appraised value at the time was $63,000. It had been on the market for 4 years and the owners just wanted to dump it. It's worth a lot more now that I've done remodelling but I'll never be able to sell it. Thank goodness I'm not planning on going anywhere.

[Dr.Phool]

18. I have a house in Cleveland that I can't give away.

[ohio_liberal]

29. Heard that

My brother's fiancee has a house in town here that she's been trying to sell for 3 1/2 years. The only way to get rid of it is to take a loss.

[hogwyld]

3. Things are going to get worse

Once GM folds up it's tent and goes home.

[Rageneau]

4. And housing sales in Sacramento are down 57% in the last 3 months

Or so I read over at CreepRepugnant, where the freepers live and lie.

Canary in a coal mine?

[triguy46]

5. Ouch.

[Sal316]

6. Shades of the 1980's

20% unemployment was all the rage.

'Tis why my family relocated to AZ.

[cliss]

Probably a good move.

Robert Kiyosaki predicts that there will be a certain bubble bursting this year. He has also predicted that certain markets will ride out the storm. Arizona was one of them. Also Oregon. I don't know about the other areas.

http://www.richdad.com/

[jeanarrett]

10. I live in the Ann Arbor area and the median prices around here

are much higher than Saginaw (post above). $180,000 to $200,000 median and you aren't necessarily getting much for that, 3 bedrooms tops.

[hatrack]

12. Yes, but wouldn't you live closer to the Amway hive than those in Saginaw?

Or is my Michigan geography all screwy?

:hi:

[5thGenDemocrat]

40. That's true -- A2 is a LOT more pricey than Saginaw is

This used to be a city of 100,000 (c 1960). Just under 60,000 live here today. As you can imagine, that leaves a lot of extra housing available. Grandma G bought this house in 1951, used it as a rental for ten years, then sold it to mom and dad in 1961. The family has lived in it ever since.
When mom died, our family lawyer suggested we get an appraisal and the sibs could sell it to me at the appraised price. The appraiser came over, looked around and said "Do you want a high appraisal or a low one?" I replied "Well, I'm buying it -- so I guess I want it low." He said "$14,000." All that to note that my experience in home buying isn't nearly typical.
My friend, Mike B, is currently looking around town to find a three-bedroom home to put his SO and her kids in. There's no shortage of options and I'd say the majority of the places -- quite livable if not fancy -- run between $35 and $50K. These are in decent neighborhoods and might need some updating, but aren't dumps (for the most part). And we've looked at dozens of places over the past month or so. There is no shortage of homes at that price.
John
Of course, Saginaw has an unemployment rate of over ten percent (disregarding the "official" numbers, probably a LOT higher). And, what with GM and Delphi's current situations, that's probably going to get worse before it gets better. Thank goodness the sibs and I own two natural gas wells in northern Michigan, or we too would be up the creek (economically) without the proverbial paddle. I'm sure glad I bought this place when I did. At least I have a (pretty nice) roof over my head and don't have to make mortgage payments or pay rent.
It also gives me a place to throw the annual FUNDAY bash, which begins 153 days, 16 hours and 41 minutes from now.

[EvolveOrConvolve]

41. Good lord, $35K - $50K for a house???

Here in the county I live at in Idaho, it's almost impossible to find a bare lot under $100K. That doesn't include the house - it's simply dirt. And those are 8:1 lots (8 lots to an acre). I've seen 1/2 acre lots go for over $500K.

My house that was worth $95K last year is now worth over $200K. It boggles my mind to think that there are still areas of the country that have house prices in the $35K to $50K range.

[jeanarrett]

11. And I'm hoping the bottom does drop out--then maybe I

can afford to buy a home and stop paying $1200 per month rent.

[progressivebydesign]

13. It's the dead of winter. Wait until spring.

No one buys homes in the winter. Only if they're desperate due to job relocation. They say this stuff every winter... and every spring it picks up. Now that the gas prices have stabilized, things will still be strong when the world thaws out up that way.

[SmokingJacket]

26. Except that... someone had to sell those houses.

They must be leaving the area, then, right?

[Jayhawk Lib]

33. Probably to Tennessee

It seems like that is going to be the mecca of the automotive manufacturing business.

[Clark2008]

37. Good - because I'll be putting my house on the market this year.

Obviously, I'm in Tennessee.

[SmokingJacket]

39. Really? I thought they were closing the Saturn plant...

and moving more stuff to Canada.

[havocmom]

30. Been watching a big batch of listings for over 18 months, prices falling

houses STILL on market. Think there has been a spring and summer in that 18 months somewhere.

And this particular market is in the sunbelt.

[NYC]

14. That ties into this story:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2039822
Foreclosures are up.

And this one:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=2038512&mesg_id=2038512
86% of Californians can't afford to buy a house.

[Catchawave]

19. Was there a "bubble" in Michigan ?

If so, it may have burst into a buyers market? Also a Michigan "winter" may not be the best sellers market??? Just wait til spring :)

[European Socialist]

23. Never much of a bubble here. Maybe 30% since 2000

[Catchawave]

28. 30% is great !

Keep on keeping on Michigan !!!!

[European Socialist]

31. Really? Compared to the coasts. Their prices have doubled or tripled

[Catchawave]

38. Depends on Location/Location/Location too....

..in any area ! Even in my "bubble" area, I'm lakefront, even in a slow real estate season. I'm sure your numbers will change come springtime :hi:

[dogday]

24. 10 Houses for every one buyer and the buyer can't

even afford one house....now that's irony

[PassingFair]

34. Waiting for Mrs. Grumpy...

in 5,4,3,2............

[Silverhair]

35. In my town, house sell very quickly when they come on the market.

Those are houses that are in the Multiple Listing Service, that is. Houses that are "For Sale By Owner" often don't sell, but that is because nobody knows about them being for sale.

MLS houses go very quickly.

[wixomblues]

36. The Wall Street Journal

said Michigan has the worst economy of any non-Katrina State. We're hitched to the sinking ship that's the auto industry.