Mr. Rawles,
I read the article on the housing bubble on SurvivalBlog and would like
to add a bit of evidence to the claim. I currently own a home in Orlando,
Florida and haven't sold in five months. This is unheard of for that
region, but it is just not me all the houses in the area having the same problem. Here
are a couple of quotes from my real estate agent on the Orlando market:
"I just returned from a real estate conference in Tampa. The main
topic was the large amount of time listings are sitting the market before they
sell. And,
the huge inventory of homes available.
There are six times more homes on the market right now than this time
last year." The
Denver market seems to be doing similarly. My sister is a real estate broker
and she heard at a recent conference 50% of all homes for sale in Denver are
in foreclosure.
The bubble is bursting. - Sean
Jim,
Your book "Patriots" radically affected my life: I only wish I had
read it pre-Y2K. I live in Nebraska where the farmers are struggling with historically
low prices and unprecedented costs for producing their products. Because of their
relationships with their creditors(i.e. bankers) they have no choice but to continue
going further
into debt. If they don't plant, they will be foreclosed on, but if they do plant,they
are probably going to lose even more money. They lose no matter what they do.
In spite of the unprofitable nature of farming, the price of land is continuing
to appreciate and taxes are rising, making it even more unprofitable. In the
last week there have
been rumors that farmers are receiving unsolicited cash offers for their farms
from foreign (Chinese) investors. Jim, I believe that in the event of a dollar
collapse, we could end up in a situation like that of Argentina, where foreign
corporations own
the farms and refuse to sell their products for worthless dollars. Additionally,
we are
now a net importer of food. Finally, I believe that the rise of Aztlan is attracting
the notice of the people that can be awakened and a mass exodus of refugees from
the Southwest is about to
ensue.
This will have a profound impact on the food supply as investments in this region
will become speculative and as the farm laborers become more militant.
In conclusion, while I believe a housing collapse is inevitable, I think that
agricultural land in the Northern states will continue to appreciate as long
as financing is available. Thanks for all you do. - Neb
