I've got a great idea: How about putting time and energy into rehabing existing homes and building modest size houses? The cities need to quit giving out building permits to greedy contractors. Look at all the new construction everywhere along the Wasatch. Let's sell the homes already in existance. Stop the madness.

McMansions and SUV's. Too big for most uses other than status seeking. High profit and lots of people wanted them...until they didn't.

Good luck unloading them.

BTW: This isn't turning around for YEARS and this year's spring selling season is halfway over.

These contractors deserve all the misery they get, and then some. Anyone with a brain could forsee the disaster developing before it ever unfolded. The saddest part is that now these contractors have bailed out (closed shop) the homeowners sucked in to the loans and homes they bought have no recourse to repair or fix contsturction problems in the homes they built. And they are whinning about the financial crisis they took part in by overpricing and inflated apprasial values on homes not fit to occupy. Contractors never take a loss or lose, they are just as criminal in construction as the loan companies were in sloppy lending. The next crisis will be for those living on crdit cards and the developers who speculated on their land grabs. The only good thing to come out of the crash is that the pressure has been releived on utility companies and our water shortages. It's time the economy started living within its means and not on borrowed money. The homeowners on marginal income will be the biggest losers but they took part in the greed too and must suffer their fate. Greed never wins and nobody bothered to think about consequences.

It’s hilarious how you people blame the contractors for this problem. They build homes that people want and will buy. If they built late 1940s type homes with two or three bedrooms and one bathroom and a car port, people wouldn’t buy them. The consumer wants a castle that they can’t afford so when the market delivered what they want and now they can’t pay for, blame the contractor for doing his or her job. People always have to have someone to blame for their own decisions. When the run up was in full swing and home buyers were in a feeding frenzy, they loved contractors, lenders and developers. Now it appears that they don’t want to take responsibility for their actions. This is a typical immature human trait. Bob G is full of hot air in saying the contractors never take a loss. They always do when a market shift takes place or there is a correction. A conservative contractor tries to project what the market is going to do but nobody has a crystal ball. His argument isn’t based on logic.

Come on Bob G. Greed on the part of the homeowner who thinks that he needs, or can afford, a $300,000 home on a $50,000 salary has to be taken into account. The consumer should live within his means.

This cleansing acton was long, long overdue. How long do people think they can live in a fantasy world? This is a real good dose of reality for #1 the buyers, #2 the GREEDY financial people, developers, real estate Co's, and contractors. Just who couldn't see this was going to happen? I hope this serves as a good lesson for all involved the rest of their lives.

All this after everyone kept on saying, "we have a different economy than the rest of the country...we won't see this happen here." The only difference in our economy is that this is all happening a couple years behind the rest the country. If you still don't think your home values are going to drop substantially from where they maxed out about a year ago, then be ready to be disapointed. If builders are selling for $120,000 less than apraisal, then all the houses around there are now only worth $120,000 less than where they would have appraised before. Welcome to the down turn everyone, I hope you can afford your homes. As for me, I'll be looking for some great deals in the rampant forclosure market we will see during the next year or two.

Congress Needs to Help these people and the homeowners who are hurting from to high morgage costs. If Congress doesn't help, then property prices will drop and people won't buy as much. Also, real estate agents and others who contribute to our economy aren't going to be able to contribute to the growth. We all need to do our part to make sure that the housing prices do not go down much more. Otherwise, we will all feel the pain.

Does anybody remember when President Hinckley strongly advised, during the height of the housing boom, to avoid debt? Those contractors who ignored this advice are ruing their decisions. Those who banked their savings, living within their means, declining to build spec homes, were able to amass small fortunes in just five to 15 years. Remember what spec home means -- it doesn't mean a home built to specifications. It means a home built for speculation -- on the hopes that it can be sold for substantially more than it costs to build. Contractors should not delve into businesses about which they know very little, and speculative investment is one business they should avoid unless they can afford to lose their entire investment. That's like putting all of your retirement account into one company's stock.

Recession?
What recession?
So says our conservative brothers and sisters led by their guru, George W. Bush.

I don't think blame should be put totally on the builders. I can't believe the ridiculously high price for dirt. Are people really paying $150,000 - $200,000 for less than a 1/3 of acre. There's part of the problem.

Consumers are to blame along with banks and the builders. They are all getting what they should. Just ask a contractor to come do a project at your house and the bid will be out of this world. They all want to make $25 hr. So do I. So Sad that the greedy and stupid have now priced themself out of work. maybe they will give an honest bid now.

Many contractors are in trouble now because they built these homes on speculation... meaning they anticipated being able to find a buyer after the home was completed whether than wait for a buyer before building the home. Whether this was based on greed or just foolish assumption that the bubble market of the past few years would continue is irrelevant.... these contractors made bad business decisions and like any business person should and will suffer the consequences of their actions. That is just how our free market economy works.

This is for all of you who have been priced out of the housing market by all the greedy builders, realtors, brokers, and buyers.

Just about everybody involved with the Utah housing market was greedy and is getting or going to get what they deserve.

If this guy had even paid a little attention to the nation housing crisis then he might have thought twice about building a bunch more homes this time around. There was plenty of warning for those who had a little bit of common sense.

The real clincher in my opinion is that those mentioned above said this would never happen hear. And even today we have Baghdad Bob Realtors running around with a fist full of business cards with bad head shots claiming that you had better buy now or "be priced out forever". They just don't get it.

The Utah housing market is crashing and the worst is yet to come.

Yes, greed for too much house is a part of it. But how about that other kind of greed - the greed of developers who have been trying to "juice" the market and their own profits by supporting the import of millions of illegal immigrants?

They like the illegal immigrants not only because of their cheap labor but because they also increase the market for homes. It did for the market what steroids does for the human body.

They claimed illegal immigrants would be good for the market, but you DON'T improve your economic situation by importing millions of illiterate peasants. When the houses those peasants bought with no money downed turned out to be worth less than they owed, or more than they could aford, the illegals ran. And native Americans' salaries just couldn't keep up with the price increases that were occurring, so they ended up overextending themselves (and ruining their credit) for the "American dream."

Some dream.

So don't just blame "greedy Americans." They were trying to get into a home before the prices were even further beyond their reach.

The fact of the matter is contractors PREFER to build larger homes due to the exponential increase in profits. I am approached all the time from contractors wanting to buikd the biggest home possible and only for one reason: increased profits. Contractors need to focus on affordable housing. Its a myth that there are no loans out there. BUT the days of easy money for jumbo stated inocme loans are gone. But there is plenty of easy qualifying for conforming and FHA loans.

*** "Also, real estate agents and others who contribute to our economy aren't going to be able to contribute to the growth." ***

Real estate agents don't contribute to economic growth. They merely sell houses that other people have built. Our economy needs more people producing goods for foreign markets in order to balance the trade deficit and get us out of the trillions in debt we owe to foreign lenders.

Send those real estate agents out to work in the oil fields.

*** "We all need to do our part to make sure that the housing prices do not go down much more" ***

Brilliant - then you go out and pay morefor a home than its worth, in order not to let housing prices go down "much more."

Home prices are going down now because they went up way too much for years. If some significant number of American families can't afford homes TODAY, then the prices increase significantly faster than wages, well guess what? Even more American families won't be able to afford homes TOMORROW.

An economic "boom" predicated on rapidly rising home prices is a house of cards.

$300,000 dollars for a house. Have you seen cheaper for a multi beroom house in a neighboorhood that doesn't look like a demilatrite zone. Reality is these idiot homebuilders have driven up the home prices so high that Utah's have to get more house than they can afford if they want a house.

The crash happened because of overspeculation in the real-estate market which artificially raised the prices. Now the homebuilders have priced themselves out of the Utah market. Same thing happened during the stock-market crash and with the .com bubble. Overspeculation. These people got what they deserved. Congress absolutely does not need to bail these people out.

I fear that people like Bob G won't let facts get in the way of their animus. The facts are that there are MANY people who can afford the more expensive homes that have been built in the valley. They are applying for loans on a daily basis to take advantage of the bargins that are out there. The big banks have been taking in large stashes of cheap (taxpayer supported)cash but they are reluctant to fund loans, even for qualified buyers. When the buyer picks up a home for 54% OF appraised value they will part with some of their hoard, but usually at a higher interest rate. The builders and the public pay the price. The lower Fed rates were supposed to benefit our economy; but so far only the banks are profiting.

Here's the deal. It's the FEDs fault. Not the home buyers--they couldn't buy a starter home for a decent price because prices were so high.

It's not the contractors' fault--they don't dictate the price of lumber and cement. They have to pay market value for their supplies and the home prices reflect that plus their take. After all, they took the risk to build it, they should make a profit.

Why were prices so high? Because the FED created billions of dollars out of thin air. The government then borrowed these dollars, for interest, et voila, inflationary practices that make the roaring 20s look mild.

This is not a recession, this is a depression. And the last thing we need is for Congress to bail us out. That's what happened in the 30s and that's what made the Great Depression last 5 times longer than it needed to last. The macinac center has some great short reads on the issue. Study up and save yourselves some grief.

If there weren't billions of new dollars created every year, then how could a home sell for $500K?

If there's no money, you can charge a Million/hour, but you're not going to get it cuz it's not there.

However, if you have a wheelbarrow full of one million dollars, then you can pay a million for whatever you want.

If you home increases in value 100% over 5 years, that means your dollar is worth 100% less than it was 5 years ago.

More dollars in print means your money is worth less.

People, please understand how money works and stop blaming everyone else for your economic woes. Nobody can save you but yourself.

This is great news for me. I can't wait for prices to drop just so I can finally buy a decent house.

The era of Greenspan-Bernanke has created and is creating speculative bubbles in the economy. Any time a bubble starts to form, speculators and investors flock to them in an attempt to make hay while the sun shines. The less-informed jump in without realizing that every bubble has to pop eventually, so they get burned when it does. You are never going to rid the world of greed, so forget about it. But you can rid the world of economic bubbles by just getting rid of the central banking system which creates money out of thin air.

Yippee!!!! I'm crossing my fingers that the prices REALLY crash BIGTIME! I've been living in an apt. just waiting for this to happen as opposed to jumping on the band wagon during the last few years and buying something ridiculously overpriced.

The contractor said he can't sell the one house for $120K under appraisal... should be a slap up side the head. It's because even at -$120K the house is STILL overpriced.

*crosses fingers* for 50% drop in house prices! :)

I am very sorry and saddened to see what predicament that housing has come to. It is amazing to see how many friends and family that we have that work in one of the real estate markets and how much this effects them and us. Real estate agents, mortgage brokers, builders, subcontractors, developers, title companies, insurance companies....and even if we don't belong to one of those fields those people are the ones buying from our local businesses, not to mention what its like trying to sell a home. I hope that things turn around.

I hope home prices take the biggest fall they have ever seen. There is nobody (other than the realtors and government) that would want home prices to stay where they are or go up. The ONLY thing that does is ruin affordability. Not only do you pay more for the house, but you pay more in taxes, insurance, commisions, fees, and everything that goes with it. It makes it harder for first timers like me to get in to a home, and makes it even harder for my kids to get into one when they start looking. Home prices need to take a big fat squat to get back in line with reality. The government needs to get their big nose out of it and let reality fall where it should. Only then will things work back in favor of the people (and incomes). Why people jumped on the bubble bandwagon thinking this was a good idea is beyond me. If you fell for it, you can deal with it. This includes buyers, builders, lenders, realtors, etc. Take your lumps and lets get back to reality. You should have put some of your windfall stockpile away for a rainy day.

These are the same contractors who were building houses and selling them for twice what they cost 1 year ago. I don't fell sorry for these idiots.

As an employee of a home building company, some of the prior comments are just uneducated. Builders can make good money, but there is also a lot of risk involved. Construction has the second highest failure rate behind resturaunts in all of the industries. One of the major components of home pricing is based on demand. I worked for a builder in Utah for a summer and there was an 8 month wait before the home would be started. Why would a smart person keep the pricing the same if you could charge more? Nobody complains about paying $100 for a pair of shoes that cost $5 to make. If you don't want to pay the high price, then don't. No one is forcing you too. Don't say that all of the builders are evil for charging what people are willing to pay. My last point is that builders do have liability. One of my college professors was tried for manslaughter because one of his workers died on the job due to the worker not following the safety procedures. Not his fault, but hey it sounds like everyone doesn't like builders all of a sudden.

I also don't feel one bit sorry for the idiot home builders who are losing their shirts. For one I hope Ivory Homes tanks hard. Their smug attitude needs to be brought back into line with reality.

I too hope the market crashes. I was never able to afford a home because of the hyperinflation and over valuation of home prices. I was responsible consumer and didn't get too far into debt. I didn't buy something I couldn't afford.

Now I don't feel too bad when other less-responsible people lose their homes. I don't want the government to step in because that will encourage this process to repeat itself.

Just like Arizona and Nevada's housing market crashed. Our market needs to correct itself. A 44% pricing correction is appropriate. So that 160,000 home now sells for 180,000 instead of 340,000

I would caution those who cry "Depression" to wake up and realize that the sky is not falling. Certain sectors of the market are in a recession; however, the market as a whole is still strong and robust. Recent reports show strong growth in the energy, tech and health care sectors. The housing market in Utah was inflated and the bubble was destined to burst. Those who are now in trouble should have erred on the conservative side. These guys took a gamble and lost. The Houston area has seen modest appreciation that correlates with the job growth. Texas also prohibits banks from providing Home Equity Lines of Credit that exceed 80% of the equity of the home. This more or less forces each home owner to maintain at least 20% home equity. A similar law may help in Utah where "Keeping up with the Joneses" and living beyond one's means has become the status quo.

I sold my home the same day I planted the sign in the ground in front of it. I didn't ask a fortune for the house I built new 6 years ago. I paid 152 K to build and sold for 243K.

I have to fork out 11K for commissions and closing costs but still doing just fine with that net price.

I don't have any sympathy for homeowners near me (dozens of them) who are so over extended on credit they are nearly starving. Perhaps the new SUV, 4x4 pickups, boats, camp trailers and 4 wheelers helped push them over the edge.

I'm glad i didn't buy any new vehicles prior to building house i just sold. I live within my means.

In my neighborhood mixed with farm land, really old homes, 1970's ramblers and $500,000+ homes there is a house for sale. It sits on a narrow 1/2 acre (about) lot and it is a small 1970's rambler with a recent remodel and a small single car garage. It sits on a main road destined to be widened soon.
Some think I should buy it because it looks "affordable". They want $339,900 for it! Five years ago it would hardly be worth $125,000. This house is overpriced because land prices are too high not because of the 30 year old roof that is falling apart.

People from NV, CA, and AZ who had a lot of cash in their pocket from the sale of their $800,000 home that they bought 3 years prior for $250,000 were the ones buying the homes. Also, the UT sellers who gained from this immigration bought homes. CA, AZ, and NV started slowing down a couple of years ago, now we slow down too.

More compassion needed for anyone suffering even if their own mistakes are the cause. We all make mistakes. We all favor justice until we need the mercy. No congressional action needed, just help the neighbors.