Why you should stay out of the sun

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/24/business/24phoenix.html?_r=1&hp=&pagewanted=all Amid Housing Bust, Phoenix Begins a New Frenzy Real estate got just about everyone into trouble in Phoenix, and the thinking seems to be that real estate is going to get everyone out. The low end of the real estate market here — and in some equally hard-hit places like inland California and coastal Florida —... [more]

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/24/business/24phoenix.html?_r=1&hp=&pagewanted=all Amid Housing Bust, Phoenix Begins a New Frenzy Real estate got just about everyone into trouble in Phoenix, and the thinking seems to be that real estate is going to get everyone out. The low end of the real estate market here — and in some equally hard-hit places like inland California and coastal Florida — is becoming as wild as anything during the boom. One real estate agent was showing a foreclosed house to a prospective client when a passer-by saw the open door, came in and snapped up the property. Another agent says she was having the lock changed on a bank-owned home when a man happened by, found out from the locksmith that it was available, and immediately bought it. Bidding wars are routine. Absentee buyers, who can be either investors or individuals purchasing a vacation property, bought nearly 4 of every 10 homes sold in the Phoenix metropolitan area in April, according to the research firm MDA DataQuick. That is up 50 percent since late 2007, and is nearly the same ratio as at the 2005 peak. Once again, just about everybody seems to be buying as many houses as they can, positive it will make them rich — or at least allow them to recoup some of their losses. “I bought too high a few years ago,” said Jason Fischbeck, an entrepreneur who lives across the street from Mr. Jarvis and is one of his clients. “It cost $225,000. Now it’s worth $110,000. So I just paid $80,000 cash for another. ” [lots more] http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/24/business/24phoenix.html?_r=1&hp=&pagewanted=all Morons: even better than Irish carpenters or Martians for saving the local RE market! [less]