bigq
03-06-2006, 12:22 PM
sales tank..er..yeah it's Bakersfield...
Party has ended now that home prices have hit ceiling
By The Bakersfield Californian | Saturday, Mar 4 2006 9:35 PM
Last Updated: Saturday, Mar 4 2006 9:39 PM
What are we going to talk about?
We're back to the weather, children and Oscar picks.
I'm talking about real estate. It's in the tank. It's not just quiet, it's cratered.
This has been fun, hasn't it? Just think, you were rich. For three years the sky was the limit and the ceiling kept getting higher.
One minute, your house was worth $250,000 and a month later, you were cresting three bills. We were moguls. We patted ourselves on the backs so much that we were starting to leave handprints.
It hasn't always been like this. If you have lived in Bakersfield longer than five years, you probably developed an inherent modesty about real estate appreciation.
If you were fortunate to own a house and it was time to sell, you were happy to make a small profit. Break even. If nothing else, please God, don't let me lose money.
Houses were different then. People actually lived in them. Grew up in them, raised their children in them and entertained their friends in them.
We made our peace with friends and family who lived in Northern and Southern California. The lucky ones who enjoyed fantastic upswings in their net worth. Every year, they were $100,000 richer. We could hear the corks popping, we just weren't invited to the party.
This was Bakersfield. We liked living here, so did three of our friends. Houses were as plentiful as tumbleweeds.
Affordable housing. That was our mantra. It was good for the town's spirit. People could afford to live here.
When prices skyrocketed, one of the first things that went bye-bye was cheap housing. People said things like: "I'm happy about the appreciation, but the days of affordable housing are over. It's too bad."
No, it isn't. Once you're on the Love Boat, your sympathy for the less fortunate wanes as you drift farther toward the islands. Even if those waving on the shore are some of your own children.
The point is houses went from something you lived in to the smartest thing you'd ever done. The best investment you'd ever made. Why not borrow against them because they are going to keep going up forever?
That's all we talked about. Real estate replaced weather as the single most popular subject in Bakersfield. Instead of, "What do you think of this heat," it became, "Have you heard what so and so's house sold for?"
It was fun. Life was beautiful. We had joined the party.
Now real estate is flatter than a pancake. A friend told me that heads were rolling in a couple of the title companies. More and more, you see the word "reduced" on real estate signs.
The air has gone out of the balloon. More than that, with the sparkle gone from real estate, there is a bigger problem: First, how are are we going to pay off those huge home equity loans that paid for our jacuzzi upgrades?
More importantly: What do we talk about? Are we going to be forced to discuss things that really matter again? I'm not sure how long we can keep that up.
It's a matter of appreciation. Or in this case, the lack thereof.
Party has ended now that home prices have hit ceiling
By The Bakersfield Californian | Saturday, Mar 4 2006 9:35 PM
Last Updated: Saturday, Mar 4 2006 9:39 PM
What are we going to talk about?
We're back to the weather, children and Oscar picks.
I'm talking about real estate. It's in the tank. It's not just quiet, it's cratered.
This has been fun, hasn't it? Just think, you were rich. For three years the sky was the limit and the ceiling kept getting higher.
One minute, your house was worth $250,000 and a month later, you were cresting three bills. We were moguls. We patted ourselves on the backs so much that we were starting to leave handprints.
It hasn't always been like this. If you have lived in Bakersfield longer than five years, you probably developed an inherent modesty about real estate appreciation.
If you were fortunate to own a house and it was time to sell, you were happy to make a small profit. Break even. If nothing else, please God, don't let me lose money.
Houses were different then. People actually lived in them. Grew up in them, raised their children in them and entertained their friends in them.
We made our peace with friends and family who lived in Northern and Southern California. The lucky ones who enjoyed fantastic upswings in their net worth. Every year, they were $100,000 richer. We could hear the corks popping, we just weren't invited to the party.
This was Bakersfield. We liked living here, so did three of our friends. Houses were as plentiful as tumbleweeds.
Affordable housing. That was our mantra. It was good for the town's spirit. People could afford to live here.
When prices skyrocketed, one of the first things that went bye-bye was cheap housing. People said things like: "I'm happy about the appreciation, but the days of affordable housing are over. It's too bad."
No, it isn't. Once you're on the Love Boat, your sympathy for the less fortunate wanes as you drift farther toward the islands. Even if those waving on the shore are some of your own children.
The point is houses went from something you lived in to the smartest thing you'd ever done. The best investment you'd ever made. Why not borrow against them because they are going to keep going up forever?
That's all we talked about. Real estate replaced weather as the single most popular subject in Bakersfield. Instead of, "What do you think of this heat," it became, "Have you heard what so and so's house sold for?"
It was fun. Life was beautiful. We had joined the party.
Now real estate is flatter than a pancake. A friend told me that heads were rolling in a couple of the title companies. More and more, you see the word "reduced" on real estate signs.
The air has gone out of the balloon. More than that, with the sparkle gone from real estate, there is a bigger problem: First, how are are we going to pay off those huge home equity loans that paid for our jacuzzi upgrades?
More importantly: What do we talk about? Are we going to be forced to discuss things that really matter again? I'm not sure how long we can keep that up.
It's a matter of appreciation. Or in this case, the lack thereof.