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>>The Federal Reserve sent ideas to U.S. lawmakers about how to help the troubled housing market, warning that home prices will continue to fall if no action is taken. Meanwhile, minutes from a Fed meeting show that officials are disappointed in efforts to bolster the housing market. Fed officials "generally saw few signs of recovery in the housing market, with house prices continuing to decline in most areas and the overhang of foreclosed and distressed properties still substantial," according to the minutes.>>

You know, America was once a land where free markets were allowed to be free. Its citizens too.

Ummm....housing prices SHOULD be falling! They were artificially high for years!

My ex wife's mom bought a 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom house with a 1 bedroom guest house (on top of the garage) and a small inground pool in La Crescenta, CA back in 2001. She paid $314K for it. In 2006 her house was appraised at almost $600,000. WTF!!!!!!!! DOUBLED in value in 5 years????? Housing prices are a joke.

Holy sh1t! I agree with both of you.
Supply and demand at work (with a dose of subsidy thrown in for good measure...).

Mine will, if only because it will be paid off in full. Next time there is hyperinflation in housing (e.g. 5-10 years from now) I amgoing to sell high and then rent until prices crash- like I wish i had this time around. My house is down 60% from its peak...

Thankfully I bought cheap and haven't seen any major depreciation in my homes value

well, it will help fund my retirement if I sell after paying off the mtg in a way...instead of rent that would have vaporized it will be like I have been making monthly payments to the bank that I will be getting back when I sell. If the house goes up in value it will enhance my lifestyle in retirement. If not, then I got to live where I liked with a big rebate at the end. Maybe made no interest, but interest paid out was deductible and the principle comes back if the market is flat. But there was no promise of it being an investment that must turn a profit, just a home. Currently my house is worth more than I paid 11 years ago but I bought low at the time for what I have.

We must realize that part of the "market correction" is that we are finishing a cycle in which jobs and income were lost...purchases (especially huge ones like homes) slowed down... less product demand then caused more layoffs...

though not everyone will be happy, that cycle is reversing ever so slowly now. there has been hiring for a while and lots of newly lost jobs are actually government(s) related which people were demanding. But it is unlikely that the economy trend will bring back the housing cost frenzy that was artificial in the first place. Rising with the economy maybe, but rising insanely is doubtful...I hope.

Now if only colleges and health insurance could stay within the parameters of the normal marketplace...

absolutely correct, no promise, but for decades the general population became conditioned to believe that it was a sure thing for values to always rise. I erred in using promise, guess I meant I purchased my home because it was the one we wanted to live in and we tried to ignore the notion that it would double in value over x amount of time.

Apartment occupancy rates AND rent costs are both very high where we are near Boston. Plus due to less undeveloped land than FL, there is not such a huge inventory of newly built but never sold residences. Plenty of abandoned homes, plenty waiting in queue for foreclosure. But sales are up, though prices are down.

yes. definitely the formula in places like Boston. and a critical piece of the "recovery". That and our better than the nation's unemployment rate.

Robert is seeing a different cost stucture reality in a state with tons of free space. for years it made little sense to buy a house when you could custom build down there, according to some family I have there. Lots of newer homes sitting there never occupied. Not the reality in eastern Massachusetts.

MA is currently ahead of most states in climbing out of the darkness and perhaps the early slowdown in new residential contruction several years ago turned out to be a blessing in disguise. One less market glut dragging down the economy.