What is Digg?Sponsored by Travelzoo
All-time Low Fares for Thanksgiving, Christmas & New Year view!
travelzoo.com - Flights $52 and up. Nifty all-airline calendar identifies absolute cheapest dates to fly.
135 Comments
- funkedup, on 02/13/2009, -1/+37Detroit is a billion times worse than all those others on the list. Even if you visit places in California like Compton or Watts, they still are much nicer than Detroit. There aren't thousands of burned down houses or huge sections of poverty, abandonment, and ghettos like there are in Detroit. You can't buy houses in California for $1 and the median price in Detroit right now is $7500 for a house.
It's really a shame. When you look at the Detroit in the 1950's it was positioned to be the 2nd biggest city in the country and probably one of the most prestigious and thriving environments.
The US really needs to look at and pay attention to Detroit, its problems, and history because the entire country will be on the Detroit track if we don't learn from our mistakes and try to act on them. - hbyrne, on 02/13/2009, -2/+18I've traveled to several of these places in the past six months, and it's pretty striking just how hard some areas of these cities have been hit. Hopefully some elements of the stimulus plan will clear out the excess inventory soon, as this is a disaster for many neighborhoods.
- DirtyVicar, on 02/13/2009, -0/+15It's funny when they can't move houses in a certain area but still list them at $225,000. They're the kind of folks who'd be selling Reddy Ice in Greenland for $20 a bag.
- HeDiggMe, on 02/13/2009, -1/+14You can pick up a few homes in Detroit if you have correct change
- richmomz, on 02/14/2009, -1/+13It's just going to keep getting worse until either one of two things happen: 1) job/employment security is restored, or 2) housing prices come down another 30%+ percent. There are still plenty of potential homebuyers out there but with everyone's future job prospects in question few people are willing to take on the huge debt burden of buying a first time home. The biggest category of first time buyers, college graduates, are probably getting hit harder than anyone as many of them have to compete with recently laid-off experienced workers in their field, and many are unable to find suitable employment to make their student loan payments, let alone take on a mortgage.
We live in tough times, and the worst may be yet to come. - falstaff, on 02/14/2009, -0/+10Detroit is essentially a one-industry city. As the auto-makers go, so goes Detroit. The housing market across the country is in pretty bad shape, but most other places have enough employment diversity to avoid the specifics of Detroit's problems.
- SillyRabbits, on 02/14/2009, -1/+11It's hard to clear out excess inventory when it was built for the artificial demand created by every Tom, Harry, and Sally buying 2-3 extra properties while hoping to sell them to somebody else, for a profit, 6-9 months down the road (with zero intention of living a single day in the home).
After changing hands from one speculator, to the next, to the next, eventually it was realized that there aren't enough people that actually live in the area to live in the homes (or want to live in those homes). The stimulus isn't going to fix that. - mediaspree, on 02/14/2009, -1/+9Sadly, the only thing I think of when I think of Detroit is the distopian Robocop future.
- spookyttws, on 02/14/2009, -1/+9At some point after your house is foreclosed and you become homeless, it just seems natural to move back in and squat. I doubt anyone is wasting their money changing the locks on a house they can't sell. It may lack power or water but I'm sure you could Jury rig something. It's better than living on the streets, and a few months of not having to pay rent could give you a chance to get an apartment or even get the house you're squatting in back.
If no one can afford to live in a neighborhood, and the houses are going unsold it would make sense to reassess and lower the price of the houses. No one benefits from having whole cities vacant. It's like those travel sites (travelocity and such) selling a room for a lower price because no one can afford it is better than charging higher for it, and letting it go empty. - inactive, on 02/14/2009, -4/+12PEOPLE SHOULDNT BE BUYING ***** HOUSES THEY CANT AFFORD!!!
- coheedcollapse, on 02/13/2009, -1/+8I still don't know how they can have these lists and not mention Gary. I visit there at least once a week and the buildings that I find that are abandoned are just depressing.
This might be seen as blatant photowhoring, but I think it's pretty on topic since we're talking about abandoned/ghost towns. Many areas of Gary certainly fall in that category. Stuff that can be found in Gary range from churches to seven-story apartment buildings. http://flickr.com/photos/cityeyes/collections/7215 ...
I agree completely with Detroit being up there. It should be the most prominent because that place is pretty much Gary but with a gigantic population. The place that they abandon there is just mindblowing. - AriaStar, on 02/14/2009, -0/+7This is not the problem for all. Plenty of people bought what they could afford, and then got laid off years later.
- AmusedToDeath, on 02/14/2009, -2/+9Un-*****-believable...
Thanks. It's dumb ***** like you that have ruined the economy. Your not supposed to buy a house as an "investment", you're supposed to buy a house because you want to live in it. What ever happened to the old-fashioned concept of actually paying your debts.
My house isn't worth as much as it used to be either, but I bought it at a fair price at the time, and I bought it with the intention of living here for a long time and raising a family here. Even if an appraiser told me it was worth $5, I'd still live here and make my mortgage payments as long as I could afford to, because I gave my word that I would.
Oh well, thanks to the idiocy of folks like you, we'll probably all have to give up our houses soon, whether we want to or not.
I guess honor is dead in America. - edstate, on 02/14/2009, -0/+7Right-on.
All those graphs showing prices down 30% just happen to NOT show the 400% increase that happened before zero.
Everybody wants these prices propped up, by hook or crook. - LowHz, on 02/14/2009, -1/+7You bought it, you own it. Don't think you're the first person to ever be upside down on a loan. If you aren't selling it right now then you aren't losing anything. But if you think you deserve some kind of price protection because the house next door is cheaper then perhaps you should burn your house down for the insurance money, push your car into the lake and abort your already born children because it's so much easier to walk away than to take ownership of your own problem.
- sygyzy, on 02/14/2009, -0/+6Even if Riverside is not a ghost town, it might as well be. C'mon man. It's Riverside.
- JeffBuzz, on 02/13/2009, -2/+8Buy it. Tear it down. Hold the property until they build a Cheesecake Factory next door. Sell it for millions.
- footfwd, on 02/14/2009, -0/+5That's it??? Ever been to Detroit? there are literally miles of abandoned houses, just block after block. They had major issues before the housing crisis.
- inactive, on 02/14/2009, -0/+5Actually the loans, while voluntary, are the only choice. All money in our monetary system exists as debt. The only way to pay off the debts + interest is with money, which can only be created by borrowing new debt. Even if all loans could be paid off, there would literally be no money in circulation, because the loans are the money. As crazy as Nerys' ramblings sound, the fractional reserve monetary system is even crazier.
Its all explained here: http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=money+as+deb ... - edstate, on 02/14/2009, -2/+7A lot of these neighborhoods shouldn't have been built in the first place.
- mediaspree, on 02/14/2009, -0/+5I live here and Miami is doomed. How many people do you know who live in Miami? Maybe a Cousin? An Eccentric uncle? Now build 38,000 "luxury" condos ($500k for an 800sqft. studio with a view ="luxury") in the span of few years and who is going to fill them?
- Nerys, on 02/14/2009, -0/+5Down 30% not enough down to 30% of what it is now MIGHT be enough.
Most of these $200,000 $300,000 homes are not worth anywhere near that much.
the values are SO overinflated that a home that cost $3500 15 years ago in vegas was "valued" at $132,000 last year. THAT'S the kind of "inflation" of price we are seeing. - AManWithNoName, on 02/14/2009, -1/+6I live in Modesto, CA. It's about an hour's drive from Stockton. The houses on each side of my house have been abandoned, as well as three others on the block, and two more which are now bank owned with "for sale" signs stabbed into their lawns. There's loads of entire housing developments that were in construction when the disaster hit, that are now abandoned indefinitely--Not to mention the number of homeless growing by the day. We're just a tiny suburb, but we've got old-fashioned bread lines now for the homeless that go for blocks.
And to know that other places are hit even harder is positively scary. If I had the money to help, I would, but I'm an art student...I can barely afford to keep myself afloat. My heart goes out to the people worse off than me though. - Nerys, on 02/14/2009, -1/+5Yeah but good luck paying the TAXES on them. Insanity.
- StevieJanowski, on 04/02/2009, -0/+4Wow on first thought I was really surprised to see Miami on there but after further review it makes perfect sense
- inactive, on 02/14/2009, -0/+4Very Sad
You need to blame this on the banks and not the goverment. The banks gave people loans that they new could not afford it, that drove the price up and that made all other houses too expensive. - bigteebo, on 02/14/2009, -0/+41. Setup a company called "Omni Consumer Products"
2. Buy ultra-cheap houses
3. lulz - MatthewDuke, on 02/14/2009, -0/+4INFLATION IS 3% PER YEAR
YOUR BANK WILL LOSE 2.5% PER YEAR ON THAT 30 YEAR LOAN @ 0.5%
YOUR BANK SUCKS - AmusedToDeath, on 02/14/2009, -0/+4If you were going to loan $200,000 of YOUR money to someone for 30 years, how much interest would you charge? Over such a long span, some of your gains will be eaten away by inflation by the time you get the full loan repaid. Besides, most home loans have no prepayment penalty, so you can make that number go way down if you just pay an extra $100 a month on your house payment.
- edstate, on 02/14/2009, -0/+4Relax. Home prices are coming down as we speak, and you yell.
- MatthewDuke, on 02/14/2009, -0/+4Who are you to say how people can invest?
- moosethumbs, on 02/14/2009, -0/+3The article says "Inland Empire, better known as Riverside County." Which, for people in Southern California, is completely inaccurate. They are probably grouping San Bernardino county stuff in here too.
- Nerys, on 02/14/2009, -5/+8But thats the problem. THEY DON'T CARE !
Pure unrestricted GREED
When banks can conjur into existance money and then charge you 116% interest on it with no risk to themselves. When our government would rather BUY out money AT INTEREST from the FED when they are able to just MAKE it themselves interest free.
When credit cards are allowed to charge multiple layers of interest upwards of 30+%
When banks commit embezzlement and racketeering on a daily basis to the very customers who can not afford such things.
When property values are 10x what they should be. When auto makers Government and oil companies work together in UNISON and KNOWINGLY to crush electric car technology.
When you can not even OWN property in this country outside of texas because all you can get is FEE SIMPLE TITLE therby you are actually RENTING property NOT owning it which is the ONLY reason they can legally charge property and school taxes require you to have permits and dictate what you can do with your home (namely because its NOT your home your a tenant of the state who is the actual owner of that home ie thats what fee simple title is)
Well you get the picture.
Our Monetary system is purely based on debt. We created the fractional reserve system which allows banks to CONJUR into existance money out of thin are.
WHY DO YOU THINK they spent 700billion on the bail out and want to spend another 900billion on this "stimulus" package which is about as accurately names as the "patriot act" was named. (ie absolutely OPPOSITE of how they are named)
the only way to keep this pyramid or ponzi scheme or whatever the hell it is alive a little longer is to greater MORE DEBT at even LARGER VALUE's so they can WINK into existence MORE money and "get there cut" before the whole house of cards comes tumbling down (and down it will and must come)
Most people can NOT comprehend how our money system works. Not because its complicated or confusing. Not because they are not smart etc.. but simply because the entire concept is SO bizarre and SO illogical and so LUDICROUS that people outright REJECT the idea as IMPOSSIBLE that people would actually allow such a system to exist that they simple refuse to believe that is how its run.
Yet it does.
That's pretty damned scary. - codered1322, on 02/14/2009, -3/+6America... ***** YEAH!!!
- maz2331, on 02/14/2009, -0/+3Still 3X overpriced. Pass.
- lilamae, on 02/14/2009, -0/+3The banks need to let these houses go at a decent price. When all the houses are sitting empty, not one of them is worth $250,000.
- Nerys, on 02/14/2009, -0/+3ahh someone with the link. Good I was wondering if that wad available streaming EXCELLENT VIDEO. Please Amused WATCH that video. It will be quite an enlightening and educational 47 minutes.
NO its not really "optional" unless enough of us WAKE UP. even if you RENT your paying the SAME inflated costs because your LANDLORD has to pay them so they will be handed down to YOU in your RENT.
SO NO its not really VOLUNTARY when the decision is OUR way or the HIGHWAY.
as for the credit card. I did not accept any such thing.
It was 9.8% fixed permanent APR. (0% intro 9.8% regular) or 9.9% something like that.
I transferred all my 25+% interest rate balances to it and was looking to save THOUSANDS of dollars.
NEVER missed a payment NEVER a late payment ALWAYS a larger payment than required (usually triple the minimum) Never screwed up my other cards had a pretty good credit score at the time (just shy of 790) which is VERY good well above prime.
Then one day POOF the interest rate is 32% I could not even make the minimum payment at that rate ! Suddenly my TRIPLE payment was not even HALF the needed payment.
I called them up. There answer and FINAL answer was simple. The terms of our contract permit us to do this so eat it. I stopped paying.
You see they ALL have this wee little clause in them. We can change the terms of this contract any time we please for any reason we please. (this was when wachovia was really starting to hurt so I guess they decided to "pinch" there customers in a vain effort to save themselves)
so NO I did not agree to no ***** 32% I was not even aware such an INSANE interest was even LEGAL ! - LemonHerb, on 02/13/2009, -2/+5As someone who is in Riverside California as a type this, it is anything but a Ghost town. Sure, there's lots of houses to buy, but there are a TON of people around here. If you don't believe me just try taking the 91 into Riverside from Orange County around 4 today (friday) and see how well that works for you.
- bigtoes, on 02/14/2009, -1/+4Welcome to so called " free trade " . Not really free is it .
- AriaStar, on 02/14/2009, -1/+4Now's the time for poor people to start squatting.
- Chompy, on 02/14/2009, -0/+3Make sure you're in a state where the lender can't come after your other assets. In many states, they can raid your 401k/etc if you walk away from an upside-down house. Which is the way it should be, IMO. You bought it, you own it.
- absurdist, on 02/14/2009, -1/+4When, exactly, did the unions start running the companies and telling themselves to build the kind of crap that killed the Big Three over the last 40 years? Wait, that's right. They didn't. That was management flushing the company down the ***** in the pursuit of short-term profits.
- AmusedToDeath, on 02/14/2009, -2/+5There's one thread that runs through all of your ridiculous ranting here and elsewhere: all of these loans are voluntary. In other words, people read these loan agreements and sign them. No gun is held to their head. You do realize that you can buy a house, car, etc. with cash right? You don't HAVE to take out a loan. And you sure as ***** don't have to accept a credit card with a 30% interest rate. But people do, because people want it NOW.
THAT, my friend, is more the root of America's problems than the banking system ever will be. - spookyttws, on 02/14/2009, -0/+3I live in Huntington Beach, CA (the OC...uhg) and the situation is just sad. Several of the areas listed are within 40 miles of me, and up until a year and a half ago or so they were the wave of the future. Real estate was cheap and everyone truly believed that within 10 years houses in the Inland Empire and North LA would double in what they are worth. It's sad to see that speculation has so much power over cost that middle class people trying to get in on the ground floor can't even afford some of the cheapest land in southern California.
- coheedcollapse, on 02/13/2009, -0/+3Detroit has been dead for quite a while and most definitely didn't die shortly ago from the bubble burst. It's been home to massive amounts of abandoned buildings for quite some time.
I guess I do understand what you're talking about though. I mean it was ***** before, now it's *****. I don't know if the same thing is happening in Gary, but I know the median price of homes there has dropped to even more insane levels after this whole thing. - persephoneia, on 02/14/2009, -0/+3Who will fill them? Certainly not the people who invested in them at the low pre-construction prices, trying to flip them once construction was finished and the prices had gone up, only to find that the prices were too high for most anyone to afford them.
- wezults, on 02/13/2009, -0/+3This is a list of places that were "booming" just a short time ago as part of the real estate bubble, and have only recently faced these dramatic changes due to the meltdown. Gary died many years ago.
- Chompy, on 02/14/2009, -0/+2Indiana.
- Technopundit, on 02/14/2009, -3/+5It's all Reagan's fault.
- MatthewDuke, on 02/14/2009, -0/+2ARR is 6.7%
Inflation is 3%
Interest to bank customers is 3.5% (the bank uses their money to loan to you, has to pay to use other people's money)
So 6.7 - 3.0 - 3.5 is a 0.2% gain per year on their investment...which is about right for your correct assertion of very very little risk.
If you could do better, start your own bank. -
Show 51 - 100 of 139 discussions
Browsing Digg on your phone just got easier with our enhancements to the 
© Digg Inc. 2009
— Content created and posted by Digg users is