Housing Boom Pretty Much Over

on Oct 15 in News by Don Silver

Washington, D.C. Residential real estate markets across the U.S. have softened significantly in recent weeks, as interest rates continue to rise and uncertainty over the economy grows.

“There’s starting to be a lot of properties available in almost every city,” says Justin Fromley, a broker with Coldwell Banker, “and the ones that are for sale are staying on the market a lot longer.”

The only exceptions to this trend appear to be Crawford, Texas and Kennebunkport, ME, where scores of Americans are bidding for even the shabbiest properties.

“After Katrina, we know where we gotta be if we want to be safe,” said Morris Milton, a welder from Cincinnati. He and his wife Mathilda were successful out-bidding a retired couple from Arizona for a 6 x 9 foot U-Store-It container outside of Crawford, Texas.

“With the Avian flu announcements, we’ve gotten calls with people wanting to bid on grassy lots above Dick Cheney’s bunker, except we don’t know where it is,” said Fromley.

Florida Governor Jeb Bush said he doubted Texas or Maine would replace Florida as the fastest-growing regions in the U.S., although records indicate that he’s rented condominiums in both states for each his children to go after rehab.

“We’re even seeing a market for parking spaces in Kennebunkport,” Fromley said, after silencing his cell phone.