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发帖数: 4091 | 1 Here We Go Again - Builders Hold Lotteries for Right to Buy a House
Here's that "froth" thing again: Builders hold lotteries for eager new
homebuyers.
O'Brien Homes started holding a monthly housing lottery for its 228-unit
development called Fusion in Sunnyvale, Calf., after seeing throngs of
prospective buyers camp out at the openings of other new condo complexes in
the area.
Each month, as new sections of the development came under construction,
roughly 50 buyers would show up at O'Brien Homes' sales office hoping to be
picked for one of the 10 or so sites available. The participants were
already pre-qualified for a mortgage and had their down payment in place.
After being assigned a number, they crossed their fingers and waited for
each bingo ball to be plucked from the tumbler.
"Some people would come back month after month," said Frimel. "It got
very frustrating for them."
Adding to that frustration was that home prices rose virtually every
time a new group of homes went on sale. The two-, three- and four-bedroom
homes started out between $420,000 and $620,000. The last grouping went for
$555,000 to $815,000, a 32% increase.
Even with the price hikes, buyers kept returning. O'Brien started
issuing returnees an extra bingo ball. If they lost for four straight months
, they would get five chances the next time.
Here's my Greenspan imitation: "Don't worry, it's only some sections of the
country. Besides it's well supported by the fundamentals. And as we all know
, home prices never drop."
Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com |
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