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Q: Is There a Real Estate Bubble?
A:
Yes,
Virginia, there probably is.
Q: Is it collapsing, bursting,
exploding?
A: No, probably not. Just leaking badly.
Q: Would this be a good time to speculate on Miami condo developments?
A: We have some lovely oceanfront property in
Kansas you may be interested in.
'Fannie And Freddie Were Lenders'
The article
bearing this title which appeared in the
June 21, 2002
issue of Executive Intelligence Review is as good a treatise on the real
estate 'bubble' issue as we've seen anywhere. Here are some
additional informative articles
for your edification:
::
Pop Goes The
Real Estate Bubble
:: A First
Hand Glimpse Into The Bubble Mentality
::
Real Estate: The State Of The Bubble
:: Entire US Real Estate Market
Falling
::
Warren Buffet Warns of Real Estate Bubble
The short of it all is that the U.S.
Savings rate has now gone below zero as you can see by
clicking here and viewing this
graph which means that America has stopped saving.
This phenomenon is unprecedented in U.S.
history and leads to some potentially disturbingly implications. Let's ask
some more questions and see where they lead us.
Q: Is it safe to assume that a
family that has stopped saving has already consumed any prior savings they may have had?
A: Yes.
Q: And what would cause them to consume their savings?
A: Because they lack sufficient income.
Q:
What will they do yet?
A: Probably turn to credit.
Q: What is the largest and most obvious supply of
credit available to most families?
A: Until lately, what we call the 'Real Estate Credit Card,' meaning the equity built up in
their mortgage.
Q: But that has already been tapped too, as
evidenced by the nationwide declining housing market, so now what does the
consumer do who has no savings, no home equity and no other available credit
remaining, and yet who still lacks sufficient income?
A: File bankruptcy.
Q: But weren't the bankruptcy laws recently amended to make discharging credit
card debt nearly impossible?
A: Yes.
Q: So now what does the hapless,
debt-ridden consumer do?
A: Take immediate, corrective action, possibly moving in with other
family members if necessary, then eliminating debt; educating themselves on the
dangers of debt so they never again find themselves 'behind the eight ball';
tightening their belts to reduce or eliminate all unnecessary spending, and;
educating themselves on the power of compound interest so they can use the
dollars they formerly wasted on debt payments each month to grow a retirement
nest egg.
Q. Sounds like they need 'Two Steps To Wealth'!
A. Was that a question? |