[UTROD03]

i'm a mortgage broker, and despite what you hear, things down here where i'm at are just fine. there were a few months that sucked, mainly nov-jan, but things are definitely looking up. my phone has been ringing off the hook. the 10 yr bond yield has helped lower mortgage rates and people are buying and refinancing like crazy down here. granted, austin, tx is probably one if the 5 safest places to buy a home right now, but it's still very encouraging to see something other than a ton of people foreclosing and selling 'cause they can't afford their home.

phelan, as far as the home prices go, "money" is generally cheaper when the economy is "bad." right now, the economy, in quite a few pockets of the country, is horrible(ask our friends in michigan). the feds will encourage people to borrow money and keep the economy liquid by lowering rates and the high home inventories will keep prices low for quite some time. i just feel sorry for the people who either maxed out their equity, are in some ridiculous option arm they handled irresponsibly, or who now live in neighborhoods that look like ghost towns 'cause everyone's gone. the last of the three are really screwed. those are the ones who weren't in it for a profit, and now they couldn't sell if they wanted to. their home depreciates daily.

oh well. everything's cyclical. bad cycles in the economy are necessary to weed out the garbage and keep things efficient. everything will be fine.

gamma, i assure you, a bowl or bowlS will be smoked for you in tx tonight. haha.

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