America's Housing Boom Slowing Down?

Authored By: Jeanette Joy Fisher

It's still too early to tell for certain, but America's housing boom may be showing signs of slowing down significantly. One indication is that U.S. consumers have been acquiring less debt in recent years and seem to be more nervous about acquiring more debt in the near future, judging by the results of a recent Experian-Gallup Poll.

That debt doesn't include first mortgage debt, which is unavoidable and has continued to increase significantly over the last few years due to rising prices. Some of those price rises have been dramatic, and even startling, such as a doubling of the median price of homes in Los Angeles County in the four-year period between 2002 and 2006. For the first time in history, the median price in LA County rose above the half million dollar mark, hitting $506,000. Although the rises in most areas of the United States have been far less spectacular, the fact remains that most home buyers are paying significantly more for their mortgages than they would have just a few years ago.

The poll, called Experian-Gallup Personal Credit Index survey, indicated that more than 70% of American consumers surveyed thought the country’s housing bubble is due to burst within the next year. In an interesting twist, however, more than two-thirds of those same consumers (68%) didn't think the bubble would burst in their own area during that time. Those conflicting survey results are an indication that most Americans are also conflicted about what the future may hold for the country’s economy over the next twelve months.

Another sign that American consumers are nervous about an impending housing price collapse could be found in the fact that only 2% of respondents told the Experian-Gallup poll that they planned to tap into the increased value of their homes through home equity loans or lines of credit during the next six months. Another very small percentage (only 2%) said they were planning to refinance their homes during that same time period.

Those figures would seem to indicate that a large number of American homeowners don't believe that now is the time to take on any more debt. But does that mean the overall economy is slowing down and that the home price boom are over? Not necessarily, but it would seem to indicate that American consumer confidence has waned significantly. Either way, it's a safe bet that economists will be keeping a close eye on the market for trends.

Copyright © 2006 Jeanette J. Fisher

Jeanette Fisher teaches beginning real estate investors how to find, finance, fix, and sell houses for top dollar. Find out how to make more money using interior design AND marketing psychology strategies. Free ebook, The Truth about Making Money Flipping Houses. www.doghousetodollhousefordollars.com

Article Source: http://www.FinanceNook.com
Your One-Stop Quality Finance Article Source

Home | Real Estate

Read Additional Related Articles from the Real Estate Category

Listed below are more articles related to the above article.

People interested in the above article "America's Housing Boom Slowing Down?" are also interested in the related articles listed below:

Take A Real Estate Course And Change Your Life - By : Tomas Morkenson
Ecuador - A Booming Real Estate Market - By : Michael Russell
Home Sellers: How Much Should You Spend to Get Your Home Ready to Sell? - By : Jeanette Joy Fisher
How to Convert to a Primary Residence after a 1031 Exchange - By : Jeanette Joy Fisher
Can You Do It By Yourself? - By : Kevin Co
Selling Real Estate - 1st Impressions: Ten Keys to Maximizing Profit - By : Jeff Morrow
Miami Money Talks - By : Jason Atilia
An Industry Of Real Estate Foreclosures - It's Not What You Think - By : William Teleo
Can I Still Make Money If I Buy Real Estate Right Now? - By : Tomas Morkenson
Ever Wanted A Farm? - By : Analeese Burnabaker

Read more related articles in Home | Real Estate

Return Home

FinanceNook.com Home

Featured Sites

Internet Marketing
Website marketing strategies and tips for promoting a business online

Small Business Marketing
How to get more customers or clients than you ever dreamed possible

Social Bookmarking

Bookmark on del.icio.us

Popular Articles

RSS Feeds

FinanceNook.com Home | Top of Page

United States of America . United Kingdom . Canada . Afghanistan . Albania . Algeria . American Samoa . Andorra . Angola . Anguilla . Antarctica . Antigua & Barbuda . Argentina . Armenia . Aruba . Australia . Austria . Azerbaijan . Bahamas . Bahrain . Bangladesh . Barbados . Belarus . Belgium . Belize . Benin . Bermuda . Bhutan . Bolivia . Bosnia-Herzegovina . Botswana . Brazil . British Virgin Islands . Brunei Darrusalam. Bulgaria . Burkina Faso . Burundi . Cambodia . Cameroon . Cape Verde . Cayman Islands . Central African Republic . Chad . Chile . China . Colombia . Comoros . Congo . Congo (Dem. Rep.) . Cook Islands . Costa Rica . Côte d'Ivoire . Croatia . Cuba . Cyprus . Czech Republic . Denmark . Djibouti . Dominica . Dominican Republic . East Timor . Ecuador . Egypt . El Salvador . Equatorial Guinea . Eritrea . Estonia . Ethiopia . Falkland Islands and Dependencies . Faroe Islands . Fiji . Finland . France . French Guiana . French Polynesia . Gabon . Gambia . Georgia . Germany . Ghana . Gibraltar . Greece . Greenland . Grenada . Guadeloupe . Guam . Guatemala . Guinea . Guinea Bissau . Guyana . Haiti . Honduras . Hong Kong . Hungary . Iceland . India . Indonesia . Iran . Iraq . Ireland . Isle Of Man . Israel . Italy . Ivory Coast . Jamaica . Japan . Jordan . Kazakhstan . Kenya . Kiribati . Korea (North) . Korea (South) . Kuwait . Kyrgyzstan . Laos . Latvia . Lebanon . Lesotho . Liberia . Libya . Liechtenstein . Lithuania . Luxembourg . Macau . Macedonia . Madagascar . Malawi . Malaysia . Maldives . Mali . Malta . Marshall Islands . Martinique . Mauritania . Mauritius . Mexico . Micronesia (Federated States) . Moldova . Monaco . Mongolia . Morocco . Mozambique . Myanmar (Burma) . Namibia . Nauru . Nepal . Netherlands . Netherlands Antilles . New Caledonia . New Zealand . Nicaragua . Niger . Nigeria . Niue . Norfolk Island . Northern Mariana Islands . Norway . Oman . Pakistan . Palau . Palestine . Panama . Papua New Guinea . Paraguay . Peru . Philippines . Poland . Portugal . Puerto Rico . Qatar . Reunion . Romania . Russia . Rwanda . Sahara . Saint Helena . Saint Kitts and Nevis . Saint Lucia . Saint Pierre & Miquelon . Saint Vincent & The Grenadines . Samoa . San Marino . São Tomé & Príncipe . Saudi Arabia . Senegal . Serbia . Seychelles . Sierra Leone . Singapore . Slovakia . Slovenia . Solomon Islands . Somalia . South Africa . Spain . Sri Lanka . Sudan . Suriname . Swaziland . Sweden . Switzerland . Syria . Taiwan . Tajikistan . Tanzania . Thailand . Togo . Tongo . Trinidad & Tobago . Tunisia . Turkey . Turkmenistan . Tuvalu . Uganda . Ukraine . United Arab Emirates . Uruguay . Uzbekistan . Vanuatu . Vatican City (Holy See) . Venezuela . Vietnam . Yemen . Zaire . Zambia . Zimbabwe

Template Design by Larry Lim | Powered by Article Dashboard