It's a lot easier to be optimistic about the real estate market when I am back in our Sunnyvale-Cupertino "oasis." Here in Florida, we are surrounded by foreclosure signs.My niece and her husband have arranged for a "deed in lieu" with their lender on a condo rental they own. In that arrangement, the bank takes back the property for the outstanding loan amount, and they avoid the stigma of foreclosure.
Today's Bloomberg News predicts that the crash of 2007 will only get worse in 2008,according to everyone from Fannie Mae to Lehman Brothers Holdings.
Even our own Jim Gillespie, CEO of Coldwell Banker, admits that "it's not going to turn really strong next year." Median home prices in the U.S. declined in 2007...the first time since the depression, according to the National Association of Realtors. It's anyone's guess whether Treasury Secretary Paulson's plan to slow foreclosures will slow the trend and help enough of the 1 million mortgage holders who are expected to default in 2008.
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