Laguna Beach Real Estate News - This Week's Blog

8/15/11 Laguna Beach Real Estate Blog

Bulldozing: The New Cure for Our Ailing Housing Market

I just read an article and cannot believe my eyes. Banking world, you finally figured out what to do with the glut of houses weighing down your portfolios. Can’t say you didn’t try plenty of less drastic measures in your arsenal first. But the stream of foreclosures, short sales, and other remedies just didn’t trim away nearly enough of the home bulk. Yes sirree, what better way to rid yourself of unwanted Real Estate then by bulldozing it into oblivion? Level the homes to dust.

I really can’t blame all you far-sighted financial folk. Just look at the state of things today. Nearly 1.7 million U.S. homes are mired in foreclosure. That’s a plethora of properties in no man’s land. Flood the market with them, and it’s a safe bet that home prices would go into freefall. Not exactly the cure we’ve been looking for, is it?

Doesn’t surprise us that banks are bulldozer happy. Shortages in the supply line keep all that overstock out of the marketplace. Wouldn’t want prices to drop to bargain levels. Can you imagine how many new buyers there would be out there for all those wonderful Laguna Beach homes for sale? Nope. Far better to call in the bulldozers. Flattened houses typically aren’t big sellers. So they’ll quickly disappear from available inventories. And prices will stay put.

When it comes to un-possessing the repossessed, Bank of America is one of the institutions that seems to favor demolition teams over Realtors. Just last month, B of A announced it will bulldoze 100 of its foreclosed homes out of existence in the Cleveland area. Generously, the bank will put ample icing on the cake by offering to donate the land to the government. Organizations such as Fannie Mae, JP Morgan Chase, and Wells Fargo also are on board feverishly donating repossessed homes and parcels of land to municipalities galore.

Of course, donation fever is being fueled not by charitable urges, but by the purest and surest of motivations – personal gain. You can hear the TV commercial now: “And if you’re a bank saddled with unwanted properties, here’s what your generous donation will get you:

* Complete freedom from paying property taxes and upkeep expenses.

* A possible tax write-off for making the donation.

But wait there’s more!”

No doubt about it. This is a juicy deal. So juicy that often demolition makes far more economic sense than fixing. And local governments aren’t exactly shy about grabbing some of that free land. So call out the bulldozers! It’s time for everyone to profit!

Apparently, we’ve reached the point where banks often are better off flattening homes then re-selling them. But all is not hopeless. Yours truly sees a shiny silver lining to this gray cloud. And here’s what it is – the rush of drastic measures indicates that banks are obviously ready to try something, anything new to bring new life to the Real Estate market. This definitely is a good thing for Laguna Beach Real Estate, and the market nationwide. So in its own bizarre way, bulldozer fever may very well bode well for the future.

If you’re the proud owner of a Laguna Beach home, don’t start listening for the ominous rumble of heavy machinery. We really don’t see the ‘dozers’ rolling this way any time soon. Too much prime Laguna Beach real estate here on California’s glistening Gold Coast. It would be like dumping gold into the ocean. And even if by chance some wild error of judgment sent the dozers rumbling our way, they’d have to get by us first.

So relax. This beachfront paradise is still the place to be. If you’d like to learn more about owning your own Laguna Beach home, We're ready to assist you. As experts in coastal properties, we can help you discover the endless golden opportunities here in the Laguna Beach real estate market. But don’t wait until they’re gone.
Connect with us now at 1.949.922.8490 or email: hillary@thecoastalpropertyexperts.com.

Until next time, keep it classy, Laguna.

Regards,
Hillary Caston & Associates - The Coastal Property Experts