Two more years of falling house prices? Could it be? Well, the chairman of Citigroup thinks so and he’s made that prediction in an interview Saturday with the BBC.
Win Bischoff, whose name certainly doesn’t match his bank’s performance, says he thinks prices will continue to go down, down, down–both in the U.S. and Britain–for another couple of years.
For the few of you left out there who are optimistic about the economy, this may actually sound like good news: two years more of lower and lower house prices…think of all the cheap homes that will be available to buy!
But there is a catch. Isn’t there always? You see, Bischoff also thinks the current credit crunch (which sounds like something you’d eat in a bowel with milk) will also keep on going right through 2009!
Translation: There may be tens of thousands of relatively cheap houses for sale, but not a lot of people around who’ll be able to obtain the credit to buy them.
Article Author:
Charles FeldmanCharles has written 149 articles for us.
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Charles is currently reporting for KNX Radio in Los Angeles, is the co-author of the book No Time To Think, and can be found commenting about the news on his blog, The Feldman Blog.
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{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Well i hate to admit it but i think we could face a few more years of this!!
Thanks to consistent sound bites released via the media, this ‘Price Fall’ is now firmly rooted in the public concsious and its effects are being seen!!! I estimate compared to 6 months ago a £500,000 house will now go for £425,000-£450,000!! With no end to this madness!!
Great Blog
I don’t think we are out of the woods yet. Two more years? Maybe in some places, but I think many places will at least be on the road recovery by that time.
Now is a great time to invest in foreclosures. The problem is finding “real” people who have “real” real estate product. A whole new industry has sprung up from this mess. My company has been working for the past 6 months to complile product from 5 of the major lending institutions in the country. Now that we have “real” product the challenge has been to find “real” investors. It’s not all doom and gloom out there for investors.
“An investment in knowlege, always pays the best interest.” ~ Ben Franklin
You might want to add Toronto to that list. What was once a high, bubbling market is now dwindling with a plummet soon to come. They say it’s great for first time buyers, but unless you have the money in cash I think the credit crunch will take a big bite out of that dream!