Oh, give me a home where the sub-prime rates roam!
I had a first-hand look at how bad the housing market is in the U.S. last week, particularly in Florida, where I was snooping around for properties that may one day be more pleasant to spend winter time in, than these frigid snowing streets.
What you hear is true, and the time to buy is now or in the near future, because it is a buyer’s market — the likes of which I have never witnessed in Canada.
I spent a few days on the Gulf side of the sunshine state driving the coast from St. Petersburg up to Tarpon Springs, and it seemed like up to 30 per cent of the houses or condos on every street I wandered along were for sale, with nary a “SOLD” sign in sight. I’m not sophisticated enough to know if it’s all because of the sub-prime meltdown or a lousy economy in general, but my gut tells me it’s a bargain at the moment.
Some houses (mostly those that are for sale by owner) have signs on the lawn that read “make an offer, all offers will be considered.” To my eyes the bargains were in the $150,000 to $300,000 range, in terms of houses or condos. They seemed to be reduced by 20-30 per cent. I did see some basic bungalow houses in average neighbourhoods that were selling for $80,000 to $100,000, but they looked pretty shabby. I’m told by some who are closer to the market than I am that there are no, or very few American buyers, those who are shopping are Canadians and Asians and that prices are expected to drop another 15-20 per cent before it bottoms out.
I didn’t buy anything, nor did I make any offers, but kicked a few future tires that were a hell of a lot warmer than the frozen Michelin ones I’m riding on now – and the orange juice was sweeter!