Archive for September 10th, 2008

The Charlotte sky is falling. Or is it?

September 10th, 2008 categories: Charlotte Real Estate & More

CNBC’s Denni Kneale provides a refreshingly sober assessment of the current housing crisis. Please watch the short video here.

Mr. Kneale is a pretty well respected commentator on CNBC’s Business Nation and I think he makes some really good points about how we as a nation and/or (the 24 hour media) seem to seek out crises and may unwittingly create crises where they don’t exist. Now please, please, please don’t get me wrong here — there are some BIG problems in the housing market, people are losing their homes and their is more than enough stupidity, graft & greed to go around and around!  And it’s ceratinly more than a molehill BUT just consider some of the things Kneale says:

• There are 120 million homes in America.

• 1/3 of all homes are owned free and clear of a mortgage, so that leaves 80 million homes with a mortgage.

• ½ of those homes were purchased before the year 2000. (If you purchased before 2000 there has been 53% appreciation since 2000. So even with this recent pull back in price you are up 34% nationally.)

• Over all 95% of mortgage holders pay on time so that leave about 4 million homes nationally that are potentially in trouble. (California alone accounts for more foreclosures than 40 other states combined!)

Please, please, please again realize I am not saying everything is rosy or will be soon ~ who knows? What I am saying is that we will get through this and more importantly that some areas like Charlotte are more immune to the housing problems — our home market did not experience the insanely meteoric 30, 40, 50% rise in home values like California, Nevada and Florida. Our home market has been more steady and is now now reassuringly stable. I am sure you have questions about the Charlotte market ~ you talk we’ll listen!

Authored by Mike Gibbons | Discussion: Your Comments Please »