Sales up big in housing... obviously reaching a bottom...

The housing market will have bottomed in about 3 months. Due in large part to the treasury forcing down long term rates by buying up bonds.

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The housing market will have bottomed in about 3 months. Due in large part to the treasury forcing down long term rates by buying up bonds.

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low interest rates will spur demand, but will not clear the queue of houses. We just have too many out there.

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Time will tell. I stick by my opinion that housing prices will see a bottom and the overall national decline in prices will be over by summer 2009.

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Hope, change has hit the housing market

I see both sides on this issue. But you cannot possibly compare Baton Rouge to Escondido. (I should have replied to Rivers - whom by the way I admit is much more knowledgable with money)

I lived in Phoenix and experienced the boom. I bought at 150,000 and sold at 265,000 2 years later (it reached a market value of over 300,000 for a while). In that interim it was insane and artificially inflated. There were literally lotteries by builders to have the opportunity to purchase a new home. It was driven both by subprime loans and investors from California. One of my friends had 5 homes as investment properties and recently underwent bankruptcy. As an FYI, that house I sold according to zillow is now in the $170,000 range and dropping like a rock.

The boom in Baton Rouge was much smaller and was actually driven by the demand created from Katrina.

Also, Louisiana unemployment is literally 1/2 of California. Barring a major bust in oil, prices may drop but I cannot see it being nearly on the level of other markets. Hell oil dipped below $30 for a little while and prices remained stable. Now that oil is trading much higher I am hopeful prices continue to remain stable.

EDIT: I thought I was in the Baton Rouge home price thread, so it is probable Rivers was not comparing the two markets.