Time to Start Playing a Housing Turnaround?

no other name from them, crooks, and big bonuses for all that come up with new schemes to bring revenue into the banking industry.

I love that term, "pump & dump"... it's the perfect metaphor for financier #$%$ Let's look at it simply, Economics101... housing supply is VERY high, demand is steady to low (in most markets)... secondly, most of the demand these days is coming from investors. Rental demand, however, is HUUUGE (insert Paris Hilton accent here). Rents are going up, investors are buying up inventory at discounted prices (short sales and/or foreclousre purcahses bought by investors, to the tune of 70%, discounted from 2004-07 purchase prices, run rampant). Get in the game at lower pricing-points, and maybe you can make some money in housing -however, tenants trash your properties & after you spend 10-30K fixing up your affordable investment property, you'll be lucky to get your investment back after it's been occupied by a tenant -should you decide to sell). Own enough properties and you can have some positive cash flow, hence investors gobbling up properties. New construction is an awful investment, in my humble opinion. Those homes located further from employment centers built on vacant land, never improved, won't see even moderate appreciation b/c they'll be competing against new construction across the street. New construction, condos for example, in major urban areas often aren't eligible for conventional financing due to high vacancy rates within their development/bldg. And don't forget, fuel costs to travel to & from work won't be going down, long term, anytime soon... heating & cooling costs for "bigger", larger, homes will only continue to rise decreasing demand for a McMansion. Those who are thinking about buying, just my opinion, should buy close to major highways, buy close to commuter trains, buy in areas with gainful employment, and don't buy "too much house", as costs for heating & cooling will continue to spike as fossil fuels are finite -decreasing a property's marketability, long term. Just my two cents. We're SO FAR from being in "the clear" on housing, it's not even funny. Bring back manufacturing to the U.S., and maybe we can see a genuine rebound in housing. Also, remember most of the people who bought during the "bubble" were employed in the housing market in some capacity (be it a bricklayer, construction worker, home inspector, real estate agent, electrician, loan officer, title company clerk, et.)... we need real jobs in the U.S., not "pump & dump" paper pushers, or "jobs" at the local Wal-Mart. How can we see growth in an economy where we create NOTHING and are all middle-men? (I suppose South America & Russia can be exploited yet, like we've already done to China...hmmm). And for those whose politics lean far to the right, fans of Ayn Rand & the invisible hand, keep in mind if it wasn't for "traffic lights", i.e., rules & regulations, we'd have chaos on our streets & thoroughfares... we do need rules, government, legislation... a lack of transparency in the governing of derivative markets would be an excellent example of "less government" not equating to "more". "The American Dream" of owning a home is fastly becoming exactly that, a "dream". Sorry to be a Debbie Downer, I do have hope... just not yet!

Crooks in NYC? What about DC. They are all in cahoots.

Only this time it is true (in certain markets). In suburban Atlanta or in Texas, you can buy a single family home for $35K and rent it for $800. So even if the house price goes to zero, you will still be ahead in about 5 years. In south Chicago, you can pick up a duplex for $60K and collect $1800 per month in rent. I don't see a huge risk in these..

ANY DAY IS A GOOD DAY TO BUY A HOUSE TODAY SINCE NO ONE'S BUYING HOUSES NO MORE, THANKS TO THE BANKS.

Sundar: One of my rentals in Dallas is renting for $800 and is worth between 35-45k. Problem is I bought it for 65k back in 2004....

Pension fund guarantees in some cities like Providence guarantee that some firefighters will earn over $400,000 / year if they can make it to 80. So if you think your taxes are low now, think again.

Cook County has $120 Billion (yes, billion) in unfunded pension liabilities. The state is a cesspool of corruption and the taxpayer is left holding the bag. This debt DOES NOT include unfunded health benefits. This is 3x the entire state of CA. I voted with my feet and left the state. Good luck IL - you got what you deserved after 2 generations of Daley's and now you're stuck with Rohm. Jeeze, talk about a black hole of waste and corruption.

In Illinois, not so good. But the country is large and some areas are desirable and don't have a lot of inventory.

But if the banks and hedge funds holding those 6% loans let you convert to 3.5% they will need to lay more staff off and get more bailout money from Bernanke!

Noway, I would rather take the money from the bank into the middle class consumers hand. The banks get free fed money so screw them.

Spoken like a true communist BIg Oil. Who cares about the personal property rights of the investors who own the bank that makes the loans to people who gambled that they could afford the loans?