I personally know of friends and family who are in distress due to this housing crisis. They got themselves into a non-conforming loan and now hope the government will save the day before their ARM or IO mortgage resets.

Do I feel sorry for them? Absolutely not because do you know what happens when people lose their homes? They can still RENT. Just like the millions of homeowners in the past, these families will be forced to SAVE and earn the privilege of owning a home.

We’re buyers that have to face those greedy realtors, bankers, sellers…etc. few years back when trying to buy a decent affordable house for family to live. What we got?? “oh I don’t think the seller will even come close to the price you want me submit….don’t even bother to submit since you got no chance…there’s another one’s bidding on this house also, you’d better add more….”

Hey at that time we didn’t hear about government would “bill out” renters or any seller would feel sorry for us either. Why should we feel sorry for people who can not afford the houses now? They shouldn’t buy anything they can not afford in the first place.

If you’re one of them, I certainly not feel sorry at all either.

People have different lives so it makes sense that people buy/sell at different times for different reasons. Buying at the bottom isn’t necessarily the way that makes the most sense for everyone. If you find a house you like that you can comfortably afford, I say go for it!

Btw, congrats on the new addition to your family

No I’m not proud that our RE market is going to hell. I wish we never had the crisis to begin with, but the fact is that we’re in unchartered territory here.

If I wanted to waste my time I wouldn’t be doing this. I’d much rather be sitting by the pool enjoying my lovely afternoon than dealing with bitter people who have nothing better to do than troll housing sites.

Are we blogging for attention? Of course. The more people I can help avoid being a knife catchers, the happier I am.

Creating niche websites is a side hobby of mine but 90% of that energy is spent on AHB because I get to share real-time news with fellow like or unlike-minded readers. Like you, I also spend plenty of time on housing websites!

By the way, I still appreciate having you drop by because sometimes I do forget that life exists outside of this housing bubble.

I’m seeing homes in Arcadia being discounted slightly. In San Marino and South Pasadena, many homes get sold at or above asking price. For instance, this home just sold for $2,000,000 which is $301,000 over the asking price of $1,699,000

http://www.redfin.com/CA/San-Marino/2735-Carlaris-Rd-91108/home/7011305

I’m not really surprised as I’m firm believer in efficient markets, especially with the advent of MLS listings freely accessible to anyone with internet access. I think homes really do sell for “market price”, so it’s a good strategy for sellers to underprice and get fence sitters off the fence.

I’m waiting patiently, though not happily, on the sidelines for the market to correct. I’m actually expecting my first child soon and am dealing with nesting urges. Thankfully, I made a decent gain (even though I was not trying to time the market) on my last home so I can probably pay mostly cash on my next home.

I anticipate that we will see a couple of false bottoms that will lure market-timers out into buying a home. But we probably won’t see the real bottom for at least a couple years out. There might even be a chance that I will buy before the real bottom if housing becomes a good hedge against inflation, financial crash, dollar crash, etc.

Actually I haven’t been going into any open houses on the weekends, but merely taking notice of the ones I happen to drive by. If you or anyone else is going to them, please stop by AHB to let us know how it looks out there. Gas is expensive so it’ll be great to get input from other locals without actually going to an open house.

Technically I can stop renting right now and purchase a home with a hefty downpayment, but I’m happy with my situation and don’t mind waiting for a better deal. I guess you can call me a bargain hunter.

I can’t imagine how happy you are as a renter if you’re visiting open houses and constantly writing about saving up for your house purchase. Maybe you are just like me, reluctantly waiting on the sidelines and satisfied with renting at the moment. And yes, I too constantly visit open houses and check MLS listings daily.

Having owned a home from ‘99 to ‘05, I’m not necessary looking forward to the maintenance and hassles of homeownership again when valuations come inline with economic conditions. However, homeownership is probably the best fit with my plans and lifestyle in the coming years.

There are plusses and minues with both home ownership and renting. People just tend to get emotional with their home choices and tend not to see their homes as investments as well as the typical housing blog writer, commenter, and lurker does.