Real estate exec looks for growth during downturn

The head of one of the nation's largest real estate firms said while housing sales are down in the greater Akron area, his company remains healthy and is growing market share.

[A Great Idea]

I feel better already. Buy a house, save America. But please, only if you are qualified. Isn't Hobby not Hoddy?

[dan]

I dont get why we always have to be 'growing' in order to be prosperous.
We are building and sprawling out at a rate at least 4 times that which we are growing in population. Add up higher transportation costs, higher costs for everything really, and it seems foolish to continue the same way we have for the past 15 years.
Time for new blood and ideas. The old school shows that it cannot adapt.
Get out of the way.

[Connie Rockey]

Interesting -

[FSBO Watch]

I just love how all four names together,

"Howard Hanna Smythe Cramer"

equate to: "Can We Be Your FSBO?"

("For Sale By Owner").

HHSC has 'acquired' so much overhead, you might as well be hanging a "Going Out of Business" sign in your front yard, their signs are so prevelant.

BY THE WAY:

When the new home heating spike of 54 percent and HIGHER hits this winter, both commercial and residential markets here in NE Ohio are doomed.

[rootvg]

dan wrote:

I dont get why we always have to be 'growing' in order to be prosperous.
We are building and sprawling out at a rate at least 4 times that which we are growing in population. Add up higher transportation costs, higher costs for everything really, and it seems foolish to continue the same way we have for the past 15 years.
Time for new blood and ideas. The old school shows that it cannot adapt.
Get out of the way.

That's easy. If you're not growing, you're stagnating.

And if you're stagnating, someone's gonna come along and eat your lunch.

That's how market based economies work.

Or, if you don't want to deal with that, you can move to Europe where they believe in stability over growth. There's nothing inherently wrong with that but it has costs of its own...including a VERY high cost of living. Northern California and Massachusetts are the same way. Even with the real estate mess, you still can't touch a decent house here within commuting distance of SF for less than seven hundred grand.

[Jabarten]

dan wrote:

I dont get why we always have to be 'growing' in order to be prosperous.
We are building and sprawling out at a rate at least 4 times that which we are growing in population. Add up higher transportation costs, higher costs for everything really, and it seems foolish to continue the same way we have for the past 15 years.
Time for new blood and ideas. The old school shows that it cannot adapt.
Get out of the way.

There is a concept called reality, which is heading our way. Personally, this real estate collapse, to me, signals the end of the "suburb" era for this nation. No market for homes, and way too costly to commute for the overwhelming majority of this nation's people. Realistically, it's going to be many years, before we see any alternatives to the car, as we know it today....

We will, in my view, see a reverse "White Flight" where the whites move into town (at least along public transport routes), and displace the minorities out to the suburbs, not unlike in Europe....just my views...

[Ed Haas]

Jabarten wrote:

<quoted text>
There is a concept called reality, which is heading our way. Personally, this real estate collapse, to me, signals the end of the "suburb" era for this nation. No market for homes, and way too costly to commute for the overwhelming majority of this nation's people. Realistically, it's going to be many years, before we see any alternatives to the car, as we know it today....
We will, in my view, see a reverse "White Flight" where the whites move into town (at least along public transport routes), and displace the minorities out to the suburbs, not unlike in Europe....just my views...

I could see this. It's happening in a lot of other places I've visited or have family in, like Chicago and D.C.

[Spirit of Reagan]

rootvg wrote:

<quoted text>
That's easy. If you're not growing, you're stagnating.
And if you're stagnating, someone's gonna come along and eat your lunch.
That's how market based economies work.
Or, if you don't want to deal with that, you can move to Europe where they believe in stability over growth. There's nothing inherently wrong with that but it has costs of its own...including a VERY high cost of living. Northern California and Massachusetts are the same way. Even with the real estate mess, you still can't touch a decent house here within commuting distance of SF for less than seven hundred grand.

and Europe has much higher gas prices and unemployment. Our system works when we allow it.
Liberals prevent drilling for 30 yrs and act surprised that we have dramatically increased imports. DUH. Now they say we can't drill our way out and their proposal is to "windmill our way out of it". Yeah right.

[Ed Haas]

Spirit of Reagan wrote:

<quoted text>
and Europe has much higher gas prices and unemployment. Our system works when we allow it.
Liberals prevent drilling for 30 yrs and act surprised that we have dramatically increased imports. DUH. Now they say we can't drill our way out and their proposal is to "windmill our way out of it". Yeah right.

Oh get off the drilling, even if ALLOWED, it wouldn't even get us 5% of what we're already importing. Remember why we stopped drilling? Because it cost too much for one thing, there wasn't as much oil being produced, and we had one spill after the other ruining our coastlines for decades. Oh, and Europe gas prices are only a buck more than ours these days. We're catching up to them awfully fast.

[Jordan Fogal]

Once again our government stoops to help big business and disregards it's citizens' welfare.

We the people are hobbled by arbitration clauses, bad builders, mortgage fraud, credit card greed and now the government wants to reward them? Our government has lost touch with the public and hears only what big business would have them believe... which they seem to accept as truth. These are the perpetrators. Our government wants to assist big business for literally destroying the middle class and our economy?

We the people have suffered the tax burden, credit card gluttony, mortgage fraud, renegade builders, arbitration clauses and now they want us to pay for what these companies literally stole from us?

Please read my testimony to the congressional sub committee. Google my name. I told anyone who would listen over three years ago what was happening and how horrible the fall out would be. I said Enron would look like a parking ticket compared to the rampid mortgage fraud. I wrote the president over 300 emails in the last four years, hand written letters and numerous faxes. I have yet to get a response. I wrote to Kay Bailey Hutchson and she thanked me for supporting the 1996 telecommunications act. I do not even know what that is? I went to Austin and walked the halls and passed out fliers.

I have been to Washington three times now. I am just a grandmother. I am not educated like the people who have allowed big business and greed to have this country on the brink of financial ruin. What should happen is the absurd bonuses should be returned. That would be enough to cover the approximate 11 billion Fannie Mack and Fanny May are whining about. Yes make Big Business pay back what they have been siphoning off the public. We have no voice. Our government has turned a deaf ear.

Yes Senator McCain, today you said we are a nation of whiners...but the biggest of them all is big business. We are to busy trying to pay our bills and yours. We do not have time to whine.

Please google my name for the truth without the spin.
Jordan Fogal
[e-mail]

[San Jose Transplant]

rootvg wrote:

<quoted text>
That's easy. If you're not growing, you're stagnating.
And if you're stagnating, someone's gonna come along and eat your lunch.
That's how market based economies work.
Or, if you don't want to deal with that, you can move to Europe where they believe in stability over growth. There's nothing inherently wrong with that but it has costs of its own...including a VERY high cost of living. Northern California and Massachusetts are the same way. Even with the real estate mess, you still can't touch a decent house here within commuting distance of SF for less than seven hundred grand.

$700K is just a basic shack for the price. It would equate to a $130k Heslop home on Graham Rd in the falls.

[rootvg]

San Jose Transplant wrote:

<quoted text>
$700K is just a basic shack for the price. It would equate to a $130k Heslop home on Graham Rd in the falls.

But here I have a job. There, I wouldn't.

The house we're living in would go for $1.2M but that's before all the gyrations in the market. I suspect I could buy it in the nines right now. If Fannie and Freddie go out, it would be in the fives or possibly less.

[Sammy]

Reading this made me feel like I was listening to my grandfather repeating the same story for the 500th time.

HEARD IT !!! Like 10,000 times in prior news stories...?

But here's where Hoddy fits into the story:

* Hoddy and other trust-fund kiddies gave a fortune to GOP campaigns to save himself a few bucks in taxes.
* Hoddy's GOP had control of everything and screwed up more than any other presidential administration in the history of the USA.
* Iraq's oil now is offline thanks to Bush & Co, and now Bush's Saudi friends are taking advantage of the situation by holding our dollars hostage.

You can see who Hoddy donates to by looking him up on Open Secrets dot Org. Hoddy supported Santorum !!! hahahahahahahaha

[dan]

rootvg wrote:

<quoted text>
That's easy. If you're not growing, you're stagnating.
And if you're stagnating, someone's gonna come along and eat your lunch.
That's how market based economies work.
Or, if you don't want to deal with that, you can move to Europe where they believe in stability over growth. There's nothing inherently wrong with that but it has costs of its own...including a VERY high cost of living. Northern California and Massachusetts are the same way. Even with the real estate mess, you still can't touch a decent house here within commuting distance of SF for less than seven hundred grand.

By not perpetually expanding we are stagnating?
You are from Cali, look what you are doing to yor once beautiful state. Entire communities going under, raging wildfires - a natural event to be sure, but enhanced by our policy of containing fires rather than allowing them to burn out.
In your rush to avoid stagnation, was any thought put into how growth would be maintained? Certainly not.
Market economics for sure, and we are seeing the effects of those who try to take advantage of this system.
Why is it that a home in the hills of CA is valued at 700G, while the sme home in the midwest may go for 150?
Lets see, plenty of water here, no chance of dying in a horrible firestorm, loads of easily accesible transport infrastructure...if the folks in charg would care to tend to it properly.
The focus has been for too long on the market system - old school - ways of doing things.
Igore what the land is tellng us in the name of progress and to show the world ours are bigger and we arent stagnating.
Hope thats working for you out there. I shll head off to the 9th largest body of freshwater in the world now and be happy.

Enjoy those Santa Ana's.

[dan]

Jabarten wrote:

<quoted text>
There is a concept called reality, which is heading our way. Personally, this real estate collapse, to me, signals the end of the "suburb" era for this nation. No market for homes, and way too costly to commute for the overwhelming majority of this nation's people. Realistically, it's going to be many years, before we see any alternatives to the car, as we know it today....
We will, in my view, see a reverse "White Flight" where the whites move into town (at least along public transport routes), and displace the minorities out to the suburbs, not unlike in Europe....just my views...

Certainly dont disagree with that.
I live in the city now. I think the reverse white flight theory is sound, but local officials have their heads in their arses and continue to spew the same stale old message about loss of manufacturing jobs and all the other tired rust-belt arguements.
We are about to begin a mega-billion dollar rebuild and expansion of I-90. We just expanded capacity on I-71 and I-77.
Meanwhile, we are losing populatin at 20,000 per year and cutting bck on public transport availability.
Brilliant. What worked in the 50s/60s/70s/80s/90s does not work any more.

[rootvg]

dan wrote:

<quoted text>
By not perpetually expanding we are stagnating?
You are from Cali, look what you are doing to yor once beautiful state. Entire communities going under, raging wildfires - a natural event to be sure, but enhanced by our policy of containing fires rather than allowing them to burn out.
In your rush to avoid stagnation, was any thought put into how growth would be maintained? Certainly not.
Market economics for sure, and we are seeing the effects of those who try to take advantage of this system.
Why is it that a home in the hills of CA is valued at 700G, while the sme home in the midwest may go for 150?
Lets see, plenty of water here, no chance of dying in a horrible firestorm, loads of easily accesible transport infrastructure...if the folks in charg would care to tend to it properly.
The focus has been for too long on the market system - old school - ways of doing things.
Igore what the land is tellng us in the name of progress and to show the world ours are bigger and we arent stagnating.
Hope thats working for you out there. I shll head off to the 9th largest body of freshwater in the world now and be happy.
Enjoy those Santa Ana's.

A home in the hills (in southern Cal, northern Cal doesn't build on most of the hills) is seven hundred grand because we have an abundance of professional jobs and you don't. That's why the same house there is a hundred and fifty grand.

Having plenty of water doesn't absolve Ohio of its economic sins. Northern Cal has plenty of water also, and the economy here is fine other than the real estate mess. If you didn't get into debt over your head, you're fine. If you did, you've got problems but that would be the case no matter where you live.

We ride BART every morning into the city. It's a little crowded these days but it still works for us. It works just fine, actually.

Santa Anas are a southern Cal phenomenon. The fact that you think you "have something" by mentioning them argumentatively tells me you don't know squat either about this place or about economics in general.

Your serve.

[Crystal L Cox]

The Real Estate Industry is seriously hurting the real estate consumer. Know More to protect yourself from what the Association of Realtors is doing to you in the name of Consumer Protection, there is No Consumer Protection in Real Estate - SavvyBroker.com

[San Jose Transplant]

rootvg wrote:

<quoted text>
A home in the hills (in southern Cal, northern Cal doesn't build on most of the hills) is seven hundred grand because we have an abundance of professional jobs and you don't. That's why the same house there is a hundred and fifty grand.
Having plenty of water doesn't absolve Ohio of its economic sins. Northern Cal has plenty of water also, and the economy here is fine other than the real estate mess. If you didn't get into debt over your head, you're fine. If you did, you've got problems but that would be the case no matter where you live.
We ride BART every morning into the city. It's a little crowded these days but it still works for us. It works just fine, actually.
Santa Anas are a southern Cal phenomenon. The fact that you think you "have something" by mentioning them argumentatively tells me you don't know squat either about this place or about economics in general.
Your serve.

Actually NoCal has a water shortage and some communities have put bans into effect.

[rootvg]

San Jose Transplant wrote:

<quoted text>
Actually NoCal has a water shortage and some communities have put bans into effect.

NorCal doesn't have a water shortage as much as it has a political problem inside EBMUD, which is the water authority for East Bay. The drought was far worse in the seventies before all the population growth but they didn't ration then and they probably won't ration now. It has to do with southern California wanting to take more water from the Sacramento river and northern Cal saying no...that's it.