Hate Your Neighbor?

I can think of a couple of good reasons to really dislike your neighbor.


1 - Sold on the fact that the development would take off, you purchased in the first phase. The development tanked and your neighbor bought the same house 8 months later for $50,000 less. That hurts & leads to an awkward conversation at the next barbeque.

"I love your house! Did you guys get in when the builder was slashing prices and giving away upgrades as incentives?"
"No. We paid $50,000 more and didn't get jack squat for upgrades. I'm going to go grab a drink (perhaps a shot or five) right now."

The good news is, you really don't have to harbor the anger towards your immediate neighbor for long. Why?

2 - From your porch, you can see a new development being built. That's great right? The area is taking off!! Long term, that may be true. If you want to sell your house in the next five years a different picture is painted. You will be competing against new builds! In other words, you were $50,000 upside down to start with and now you might be $70,000 upside down because in order to sell, you'll have to beat the prices of new homes!!

Bottom line, new home sales are up, but prices are not. The market remains in turmoil. More houses + Fewer buyers = Struggling housing market

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/Dispatch/070824markets.aspx