Flippers Flop As Housing Market Cools

Mammon Proverbs 16:16 How much better it is to get wisdom than gold! And to get understanding is to be chosen above silver. ASSOCIATED PRESS - By Ryan Nakashima - April 29, 2007 LAS VEGAS - In the rampant real estate speculation of the Las Vegas valley three years ago, people lined up outside Pulte Homes sales offices overnight as if they were waiting for the release of the latest video game console or hot new movie. Having seen his house in an upscale part of suburban Henderson, Nev. jump $200,000 in value in 18 months, Sam Schwartz felt he couldn't miss any part of the boom. He spent the night in the parking lot with TV, snacks and drinks, along with about a hundred other people. Schwartz intended to buy a new home and then quickly sell it within the year - for a huge profit. Most people waiting were flippers just like him, he said. "We had seen real evidence of what was possible in this crazy, inflated market, and we just wanted to get a piece of that investment equity," Schwartz said. But when home prices unexpectedly took a backward step, many investors seeking to cash in quickly were left "upside-down," or owing more on their mortgages than what their homes were worth. The result was a glut of homes in the marketplace, communities spotted with empty houses and for sale signs - and a foreclosure rate in Nevada that leads the nation as owners unable to sell became saddled with unbearable debt payments. Foreclosure filings across the United States rose 47 percent last month from a year ago to 149,150 - one for every 775 households, according to statistics from Realty Trac Inc., a foreclosure listing service. And for the third straight month, Nevada's foreclosure rate led the nation when it rose 220 percent from a year earlier to 4,738 filings, or one in every 183 households. - - - - http://apnews.myway.com/article/20070429/D8OQ9IMG0.html FAIR USE NOTICE: This blog contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of religious, environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.