Well there goes the economy

[piece-itpete]

Easy availability of credit (and prosperity)(and increased population). Home loans (any loans!) were way different. Look at the car payment.

And most are better off as well.

Simplistic and not complete - and I'm no expert

Pete

[merrylander]

Originally Posted by piece-itpete

Easy availability of credit (and prosperity)(and increased population). Home loans (any loans!) were way different. Look at the car payment.

And most are better off as well.

Simplistic and not complete - and I'm no expert

Pete

I recall the first car loan I ever received, back in Quebec. No hassle it was a small bank branch and the manager knew me, no stinking credit bureaus involved. As I paid off the loan the interest portion dropped because it was based on the outstanding balance. Now here car loans are like mortgage loans and the interest is constant - this is an improvement?

[BlueStreak]

Originally Posted by piece-itpete

Easy availability of credit (and prosperity)(and increased population). Home loans (any loans!) were way different. Look at the car payment.

And most are better off as well.

Simplistic and not complete - and I'm no expert

Pete

Really? Had nothing to do with "flipping" and the unrealistic rise in home values? In eight years my house went from being valued at $87k to $193k.
Did incomes rise to keep pace with that? Uh, no.

It was good for me 'cuz I owned two homes. So, I sold that one, and moved back into this one, and pocketed the difference. But the woman who bought that house went bankrupt trying to pay for it, and now it sits empty. Has been for the last two years.

The problem as I saw it in my area, was that the homes simply reached the point where people could no longer afford them. I started hearing a lot of people saying, "We'd like to move to a bigger home, but who in the hell can afford it?" Shortly after that, the homes stopped selling. We have one of the best unemployment rates in the country---so that's not it. The prosperity is there, the jobs are there. The things are just too damned expensive.

Regards,
Dave