Thoughts 01 Feb 2008 11:01 am
Condo sales
A man here in Vegas has this condo for sale on the beach in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.
It’s one bedroom, two bath and he’s asking $225,000 US.
A year ago he could have gotten his price almost instantly. Now, in spite of the demand for DR property, it’s still listed.
The reason I mention it is because after seeing him, I spoke to a friend who’s floating around the Caribbean.
Old Dude is looking to buy property, but he says that he expects property values to drop even more. Especially in the areas where US citizens own condos and the like, because they’re having such a hard time making the bills back in the world that they need to liquidate their foreign investments.
In the mean time Old Dude’s back in Belize where he has some sort of property and is seriously considering an investment in Miami.
It turns out, that with a couple of other investors, he can buy several condos with an ocean view for about 1/3 the price of a year ago.
I suggested investing in Las Vegas. A $750,000 house here just sold for $265,000 at auction.
But he loves the ocean.
People are abandoning condos in Miami, selling land in the Caribbean for less than they have in it, and having their houses repossessed partly because of the financing and partly because of a “soft” job market. (The market is soft if you’re not the one out of work)
But there is only “some danger” of a recession.
—A recession is when your neighbor is unemployed. —A depression is when you are unemployed.