That's right, overpriced RE in the US is now going at auction for up to 60% below prices fetched at the peak of the boom, and those holding the deeds are happy to let them go.
For the last few years I have sat back in amazment as aussies mortgaged their futures for overpriced homes in the greatest RE bubble our nation has ever seen. Well I hope they love those homes they bought, cause in a year or two the new neighbours moving in may well be paying a whole lot less than those who bought in the last 5 years have. Our bubble will pop soon too and all the bubble talk about how were different here wont change that one iota. The fundaments touted here, high immigration, shortage of supply, blah blah blah, they were all used in the US to justify the insane price rises there. And the triggers? Bad loans? Yep, we had em all here too.
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine...tm?chan=search
Discounted Homes, Going, Going…
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Buying a home at auction is not for the faint of heart. Bidding is fast and furious, and you must endure the gentle jibes of the auctioneer. ("Sir, you're quick on the draw, but you're not much for stamina.") At the Mar. 16 auction, several houses came back for sale a short while after being sold when the buyer changed his mind or couldn't get financing. For folks used to bubble pricing, there were some surprisingly deep discounts. A four-bedroom house in Palm Springs that had previously sold for $1.2 million went for $625,000. A two-bedroom cottage in Los Angeles' trendy Silver Lake neighborhood that had traded hands two years ago for $887,000 got picked up for $285,000.
Note to would-be buyers: Bank-owned properties are likely to need work. One three-bedroom Spanish-style house in Los Angeles visited before the Mar. 16 auction looked as if it had been owned by a flipper who didn't finish tiling the kitchen and bath. It fetched $375,000, less than 60% of its previous sale price.