More NY Times Bubble Discussion
From the New York Times this morning, an article about the way that buyers are wrestling control away from selling in recently-hot areas such as Marin County, San Mateo, and Mercer County, New Jersey. The situation is not entirely bleak, though, as sellers have regained control in some markets and prices have not declined year-over-year, mainly "growing less."
"Thus far, prices have not fallen in any of the 375 largest American cities tracked by PMI Group, a company that monitors risk in the real estate market for mortgage lenders. Many are showing a sharp deceleration in price increases, among them Las Vegas; San Diego; Elmira, New York; and Lebanon, Pennsylvania. But cities where prices are drastically accelerating - St. George, Utah, Binghamton, New York; Boise, Idaho; Naples, Florida; and most cities in Arizona - outnumber them. "We'd expect a soft landing in prices because, naturally, the economy is strong," said PMI's chief risk officer, Mark Milner. Unless a recession hits and people begin to lose jobs, house prices will fall slowly, most economists say."
