Foreclosure and Real Estate Blogs

The Anderson Center for Economic Research is predicting recession for 2008 in both California and the U.S.

” Much of the recent increase in consumer spending has been financed by households cashing out a portion of their home equity gains by refinancing their loans. But total home equity cashed out is estimated to decline by almost $60 billion in 2007.”

But that’s not all.

“We are projecting an additional decline of $130 billion in 2008. The resulting negative hit on consumer spending will be considerable, especially when it is coupled with the impact of higher energy costs on reducing spending.”

The full report should be a “must read” for anyone considering purchasing a home, either for use as a personal residence or as an investment property. The days of just buy it and you’ll make money are over, the fundamentals are critical now and you have to consider the very real prospect of losing value.

You can find the press release of the report here.