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Hampton Roads Housing/Real estate/and Economy


urbanvb

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I was reading a report last night, I don't remember what magazine (ill try to find it again and scan it into the computer). It was about residential and condo demand. Basically it stated that we have not seen the increases that other area have in home values. Some of the larger metros, are seeing 100% increases, while we were only at 34%. The reason that this is important is that we are having all of the same benefits of all of the large cities, housing demands and shortfalls, but without the huge increases in cost of living. Basically the reason that people are finding this area as home and the pent up demand for housing is because it is such an inexpensive place to live, but has all of the amenities the larger cities have. It went on to say that larger metro areas will probably mellow out in the near future because of such expensive housing, but that this area will continue to be undersupplied for many years. There just arn't enough homes, condos, apartments for people to live in. Basically, people who don't live here are buying homes as second homes, there is short supply anyway, so the consensus was that this is only the tip of the iceberg.

I got the feeling that these condo projects are only the tip of the iceberg. I think they were just the catalyst to get the ball rolling, and its all downhill from here. I think Charlotte will steady in the next few years, but you will see our area just steamrolling because of this demand. Let's see, 5,000 new military jobs coming to southside, a new terminal opening, the airport continues to have gains in traffic, shipping headquarters continue to move here, out of town developers are getting into the game. Yea, I only think this is the tip of the iceberg.

Whaa? Have you looked at home prices in our region? They are easily up 100% in some areas over a period of 4 years. Many of the condos are rediculous. Land is mega expensive, and commercial property is mega expensive. Fuel is expensive too. Everything is increasing, except wages.

I'm all for logical development but to be honest, the longer the bubble expands the louder the pop. The median household income in Virginia Beach is something to the tune of 53k.

What is going to happen is that that real estate is going to crash. It's going to wipe out a ton of jobs (construction, mortgage brokers, financial, agents, kill some ad revenue). Then that should lead to more forclosures, which you know... might bring the affordability level down.

Sure people can get stupid loans now, but the debt levels are crazy.

I'd like to see buildings full of $150k condos.

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Coastal locations tend to be more expensive as well.

40% of job growth since 2001 is real estate related. The cooling of RE will eliminate much of this employment.

Speculators make up _AT LEAST_ 20% of the market. This doesn't include people who casually buy 2nd homes. The reason all of this is attractive is because the returns are greater than the stock market, and real estate is the in thing. Once RE cools and people have to maintain their 2nd properties, they will want to sell. But now they will have to sell at a loss if they bought in recently. Speculators are going to try to bail.

The gov't passed new bankruptcy laws on the 17th of October. How convienient, eh? Now if someone tries to use bankruptcy to get out of a loan, they may have to continue to pay off the loan (?and loose the house?) for a very long time.

Boston is crashing, AS I TYPE. Check out some of the headlines.

San Diego is crashing, AS I TYPE. Check out some of the headlines.

Pheonix is crashing, AS I TYPE. Check out some of the headlines.

I personally don't feel housing is affordable in HR. According to the stats, I make more than most. To get in a not-ghetto hood, it would cost a rediculous amount of money. I've been looking at commercial real estate as well, it's thru the roof.

I've looked at various condo projects, and pulled the records for the property values (in Norfolk). Some appear to be on the market for 60%-70% profit once all units are sold. Yikes.

Northern VA is headed for disaster as well. They are building like CRAZY up there. So some might say, HR won't crash even if other markets will. Then why would any one want to stay in HR and overpay versus move to a nice place in Northern Virginia?

The one site I look at shows property in Norfolk on the market is up 28% over last 2 months. Let that continue to climb. If they gotta sell (divorce, funky loans) and they bought recently then they could be in trouble.

Also, here is something interesting that I personally was wondering about that someone else discovered the infos on. You see, home builders are in the business of building homes. So they need supplies. Land is one of these supplies. It is often said that there is a huge shortage of land, and such. The truth is, the top builders (Centex, TOL, etc) already own or have options on a MASSIVE amount of land. One top builder has room for over 300,000 SFH's. Another was over 500,000.

The part of the market that is crunched is the low end. Builders want to maximize their profits (as any business does) so they push to build more expensive properties. Meanwhile people looking to make loads of cash take out HELOCs on their newly inflated properties and buy up all the cheap properties, forcing the lowest class of people to have to resort to riskier, more expensive loans to try to enter the housing market.

So really, the rich used to play on the stock market and play with themselves. Now they are basically screwing over the lower class people.

BUT, they are about to get theirs.

Sorry for the doom and gloom, but some time ago I was looking to purchase a house similiar to the one I was renting as I decided to finally push my employers for better salaries... then low and behold, whoosh up went the housing prices. There was nothing really different about the properties now versus 2 years before, other than perhaps they needed more maintenance. So then I started to look into housing bubbles, and what exactly caused this sudden demand of property. The more I read, the more I became fascinated with it all. I quickly found that those that were bullish on real estate really couldn't explain their place. Real estate never goes down, it's undervalued, and other such things are spewed. The quotes in the media come from Realtors, or the NAR, or the mortgage people. But the bears, they had numbers, examples of previous problems, pointers to statistics and more logical explanations.

It's a shame that the energy didn't go towards job creation, new means of transit (mmm maglev), or something else constructive. But then again, it's mostly debt. Trillions and trillions and trillions of dollars.

In the end, it's irresponsibility that led to this. The thing to remember is if the gov't tries to bail out people who have made really poor decisions on the taxpayer dime, FIGHT THEM. Don't let them bail out the people drunk on HELOC loans and bad mortgages. It's a slap in the face to those that are responsible and aren't debt abusers.

Also, Granby towers... anyone know how many units are sold? I need to stop in there and bite my lip. I'm afraid I'll slip up and say the b word and they will throw me out. Perhaps I need a Mr Housing Bubble tshirt.

Also, EVERY market is different. If you look, there is a "our market is different" line for EVERY market. Including those that are currently tanking.

Good resource is http://thehousingbubble2.blogspot.com

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ODU's State of the Region Report

The most visible evidence of defense-related research in Hampton Roads has been the modeling and simulation activity conducted in Suffolk for the U.S. Joint Forces Command. Defense contractors, academic institutions and others involved in this work generated more than 4,000 jobs in the region last year and contributed more than $400 million of economic activity, according to a report compiled earlier this year by the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission ; the Virginia Modeling, Analysis and Simulation Center; and the consulting firm ANGLE Technology.

Pilot article

Interesting. I worked there but left because the salaries were too low. I know a number of other people having issues because the salaries aren't high enough to really support their mortgages on their starter homes that they recently purchased.

The one thing that scares me is what if the gov't decides to cut back on this stuff? They are running up a pretty big bar tab with the fake war and all.

The issue on the HR tip is that the money hits the hands of the gov't contractors. I would imagine a large bulk of the money ends up in the hands of Lockheed or SAIC or CSC or whomever around the beltway or San Diego or wherever the company is located at.

I might be negative, but I channel almost all of my spare money into actually driving a "technology startup." So I can say I put my money where my mouth is.

I appreciate the money I made working for gov't contractors, and to be honest it's where the money is in HR... but I can see the gov't cutting back as they get out of control, and I value real innovation more. The gov't thing is basically wealth redistribution.

I am confident once we make more progress on some of my ideas we will become the google kids of Hampton Roads.

Meanwhile, if you see me rolling around in my tech truck. be sure to honk or say hi! (Picture at http://tinyurl.com/dbfy6 )

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The one thing that scares me is what if the gov't decides to cut back on this stuff? They are running up a pretty big bar tab with the fake war and all.

Not commenting on the second sentence, but I've seen some comments recently that suggest the high increases in defense spending on items not directly attributable to the cost of the current conflicts is coming under pressure. That would mean salary increases for the military and other development projects could experience smaller growth. That's a worrying sign for the local economy, but not cause for a crisis.

The reason people are/were speculating, refinancing, etc. is/was because of long-term interest rates, which when accounting for inflation, are still .25-1% for a majority of borrowers. So in effect the cost of borrowing money until recently was negative. Also, real estate is viewed as a safer investment than stocks because the likelihood of a house and property losing a majority percentage of its value is virtually zero (baring some large unforeseen event, such as a terrorist attack... or New Orleans), and historical trends point to this as being fact. To a lesser degree of reasoning, the U.S population is also still growing at a healthy margin, and those people will have to live somewhere.

You're right when you say there are some places that are further out there in terms of being on a bubble than others, such as Boston and New York. However, Virginia as whole is in a better position than some of those places because of high government spending and a girth of large companies around the state that do not experience the large degree of volatility of the economic cycle. HR will likely within the next 12-18 months experience a downturn in the single family housing market, but I would however, expect demands for condos to not be as affected by a downturn, because the demographics and reasons for their purchase are different than the single family home buyer. As well, one of the reasons the fed is moving up rates in a very openly communicated and predictable manner is because they are trying to deflate the bubble in some areas without popping it. Of course, if inflation were to continue to accelerate due to high-energy prices, the fed's hand could be forced and they might have to make some larger increases.

Also the issue of debt is an interesting one you point out. Consumer debt is at an all-time high in absolute terms, but if you look at the total debt burden (government, individuals, and non-financial companies) to GDP ratio, the U.S has approx. the same as it did 20 years ago. Higher interest rates will also encourage saving, and/or paying off of debt, specifically things like credit cards, student loans, etc. As well, the percentage of Americans who own a home is about 70% now, the highest it has ever been. So its not a matter of poor people getting shafted as you assert, because a: they still rent by-in-large, and b: if you meant to say lower-middle class are getting priced out of the market, then that is 'quasi-true'. What actually happened is that lower interest rates induced many lower-middle income people into the housing market from renting, and some got in by assuming variable rate and riskier type loans. But if someone takes it upon himself or herself to buy a house under risky terms rather than rent, then it’s the responsibility of the person buying to make sure they can afford it in the long-term. Will some of them be forced to sell their houses when the interest rates go up? Sure, but again, unless they were seriously stupid and paying multiples of 5+ for their homes, the rates of increase in payable interest on a monthly bill will not result in the majority having to sell. It will however, mean they will be in an unenviable position with regard to other budgetary considerations, but that’s the sacrifice they choose to make for owning a home. Finally, those who did refinance or purchase with a variable rate mortgage or some other more risky type still only make up a moderate percentage of the total lending market (though that percentage has grown in recent years), and for another year or so will still be paying less than most fixed rate borrowers.

The lesson there is not to buy a home costing more than 3 times your total yearly household income. If you pay anything more than 3x, then your having to cut back other things, like vacations and other property. And if you haven't by now refinanced to more favorable terms, now would be the time to do so, though you'll likely loose a couple grand in the short-run. In fact, the recent increases in long-term rates might be a reflection of people doing just that. If on the other hand however, you do nothing and proceed to lose your house because you were spending 50% of your paycheck on the mortgage before the interest-rate rises, well then that's your fault for doing something really stupid, and then failing to correct the mistake when you had ample opportunity.

Edited by Glassoul
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Not commenting on the second sentence, but I've seen some comments recently that suggest the high increases in defense spending on items not directly attributable to the cost of the current conflicts is coming under pressure. That would mean salary increases for the military and other development projects could experience smaller growth. That's a worrying sign for the local economy, but not cause for a crisis.

The reason people are/were speculating, refinancing, etc. is/was because of long-term interest rates, which when accounting for inflation, are still .25-1% for a majority of borrowers. So in effect the cost of borrowing money until recently was negative. Also, real estate is viewed as a safer investment than stocks because the likelihood of a house and property losing a majority percentage of its value is virtually zero (baring some large unforeseen event, such as a terrorist attack... or New Orleans), and historical trends point to this as being fact. To a lesser degree of reasoning, the U.S population is also still growing at a healthy margin, and those people will have to live somewhere.

You're right when you say there are some places that are further out there in terms of being on a bubble than others, such as Boston and New York. However, Virginia as whole is in a better position than some of those places because of high government spending and a girth of large companies around the state that do not experience the large degree of volatility of the economic cycle. HR will likely within the next 12-18 months experience a downturn in the single family housing market, but I would however, expect demands for condos to not be as affected by a downturn, because the demographics and reasons for their purchase are different than the single family home buyer. As well, one of the reasons the fed is moving up rates in a very openly communicated and predictable manner is because they are trying to deflate the bubble in some areas without popping it. Of course, if inflation were to continue to accelerate due to high-energy prices, the fed's hand could be forced and they might have to make some larger increases.

Also the issue of debt is an interesting one you point out. Consumer debt is at an all-time high in absolute terms, but if you look at the total debt burden (government, individuals, and non-financial companies) to GDP ratio, the U.S has approx. the same as it did 20 years ago. Higher interest rates will also encourage saving, and/or paying off of debt, specifically things like credit cards, student loans, etc. As well, the percentage of Americans who own a home is about 70% now, the highest it has ever been. So its not a matter of poor people getting shafted as you assert, because a: they still rent by-in-large, and b: if you meant to say lower-middle class are getting priced out of the market, then that is 'quasi-true'. What actually happened is that lower interest rates induced many lower-middle income people into the housing market from renting, and some got in by assuming variable rate and riskier type loans. But if someone takes it upon himself or herself to buy a house under risky terms rather than rent, then it

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Whaa? Have you looked at home prices in our region? They are easily up 100% in some areas over a period of 4 years. Many of the condos are rediculous. Land is mega expensive, and commercial property is mega expensive. Fuel is expensive too. Everything is increasing, except wages.

I'm all for logical development but to be honest, the longer the bubble expands the louder the pop. The median household income in Virginia Beach is something to the tune of 53k.

What is going to happen is that that real estate is going to crash. It's going to wipe out a ton of jobs (construction, mortgage brokers, financial, agents, kill some ad revenue). Then that should lead to more forclosures, which you know... might bring the affordability level down.

Sure people can get stupid loans now, but the debt levels are crazy.

I'd like to see buildings full of $150k condos.

First of all I personally have never seen a housing bubble BURST. And as soon as you can show me where or when it has happened than I will stand with what I said. After all this was an article written a while ago now. The only time any time of real situtation happened was when the great depression occured. We have absolutely none of the signs of the great depression. Show me the evidence of a housing bubble bursting and causing devastion in the market and I will believe. Do I believe that it will cool? Yes. Do I believe people are living beyond there means? yes. Does this mean that once interest rates rise higher and demand starts to fall that the real estate market is going to fall off the edge of the world? NO. To me it is nothing more than rederick, much like the media continuing to say that the country is in terrible shape despit the continued rise in home sales, stock market continuing to rise and interest rates rising. You don't raise interest rates if the markets aren't doing well, you only raise them because they continue to do well. If the housing market starts to cool, the fed will continue to do what it has always done (lower interest rates) in dificult times to offset any problems. You people act as if the world is going to end. It's not. We have checks and balances built into our country to help to deal with these types of issues.

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If you could please show me some evidence of home values rising 100% because of the market that would be greatly appreciated too. Let me clarify, home values that have risen 100%, that are not surrounded by developement, because we all know that development surrounding a home usually causes the homes value to skyrocket, unless its a terrible development. Across the board, I have seen that homes generally have risen anywhere from 35% to 50%. I'm sure that if you continue to pull the years back yes they have risen 100%. Homes tend to increase values year after year. That is to be expected. Therefore, you have to account for the amount your home would have risen in value anyways.

Edited by urbanfan
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I don't know if this is what you're looking for, but this is my 4th year in my house that I paid $95K for. I had it assessed early this year and it came to about $170. Not quite 100% but close. The closest development is the Super Walmart to be built at the corner of Little Creek Rd and Tidewater Dr. I'm sure I'm not the only person in this situation.

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Boston is crashing, AS I TYPE. Check out some of the headlines.

San Diego is crashing, AS I TYPE. Check out some of the headlines.

Pheonix is crashing, AS I TYPE. Check out some of the headlines.

I personally don't feel housing is affordable in HR. According to the stats, I make more than most. To get in a not-ghetto hood, it would cost a rediculous amount of money. I've been looking at commercial real estate as well, it's thru the roof.

Where are these headlines? San Diego's market has stagnated, not crashed. Phoenix led the nation in annual home value growth for 2nd quarter 2005 (over 2nd quarter 2004) at 47% according to the National Realtors Association. (Money article on home price growth) San Diego's is 7% year-over-year growth while Boston stands at 8%. LA is about the same. Even Las Vegas has cooled off to only 11% growth. Miami, however, is still at 31% growth. All these numbers are still better than the stock market.

As for HR, it had 24% growth bringing the average home price to $192,000. That brings it into the range of Richmond and Raleigh-Durham, both of which experienced modest growth. It also means home prices in HR are equal to those in Charleston, SC which experienced no growth in home prices. I don't expect home prices in HR to rise that much again because they've hit the level of other regional markets. It will level off. But this crash you keep talking about isn't going to happen. Some deflation is possible, but no pop of the balloon. Take your Chicken Little ideas somewhere else.

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Whaa? Have you looked at home prices in our region? They are easily up 100% in some areas over a period of 4 years. Many of the condos are rediculous. Land is mega expensive, and commercial property is mega expensive. Fuel is expensive too. Everything is increasing, except wages.

I'm all for logical development but to be honest, the longer the bubble expands the louder the pop. The median household income in Virginia Beach is something to the tune of 53k.

What is going to happen is that that real estate is going to crash. It's going to wipe out a ton of jobs (construction, mortgage brokers, financial, agents, kill some ad revenue). Then that should lead to more forclosures, which you know... might bring the affordability level down.

Sure people can get stupid loans now, but the debt levels are crazy.

I'd like to see buildings full of $150k condos.

Why don't you try Cuba? You want subsidized condos, because that's what it will take to build $150,000 ones. I used to think home prices were inflated based on newspaper ads and new construction, but you start actually looking around, you'll find good deals in good neighborhoods. $50k household income is adequate for $200k home prices. It's a multiplier of 4, which is fine. The only way the housing market will crash is if the economy tanks like it did in LA with aerospace in the early 90's, in San Jose with tech in the late 90's, and in Boston in the late 80's. Prices may retreat as speculators off-load homes, but home-owners will find ways to hold onto their investments.

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There is nothing I can really add to this conversation because most of it has already been said. I too refuse to subscribe to the 'sky is falling' scenario. I believe a slowdown is coming in the future, but to paint that slowdown with the brush of great depression complete with dustbowl is disingenuous. This is not the 1930's and the economy can handle far more now than it used to in terms of housing price deflation.

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There is nothing I can really add to this conversation because most of it has already been said. I too refuse to subscribe to the 'sky is falling' scenario. I believe a slowdown is coming in the future, but to paint that slowdown with the brush of great depression complete with dustbowl is disingenuous. This is not the 1930's and the economy can handle far more now than it used to in terms of housing price deflation.

Also we are just catching up with the market. This isn't some huge inflation of a housing bubble ready to burst. Also if people weren't paying 20k over the market value it wouldn't be this bad! People are driving this and I don't see it going anywhere until the demand goes down. We don't have enough housing for people to buy

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Exactly. It is a simple issue of supply and demand. The Nova area has a much higher demand and that's why housing is skyrocketing even much more there than here.

Actually I was thinking about the supply and demand issue. People have said there is a good amount of growth in terms of population. Is this from people in other regions cashing out of their properties and taking advantage of our cheap property?

I've heard that real estate sales in HR have slowed, but don't have the connections to really see. I know there are some heavy cuts up at NASA Langley.

A huge portion of GDP is consumer spending, and a large portion of recent money has come from people cashing out of their properties. When this slows obviously consumer spending will slow.

The markets I mentioned haven't crashed, but RE sales in Boston are DEAD, Pheonix inventory is skyrocketing, same with San Diego. Sellers are starting to cut selling prices, and properties still aren't moving.

It's all a hurd mentality. The greed and feeling of "I'll never be able to own if I don't buy now" will change to "The longer I wait, the cheaper it will get."

RE declined heavily in Cali in the 90s, Texas as well. In some cases it took 10 years for properties to reach the previous sales price.

But the truth is there has never been this type of situation before. It's not just the US, we were one of the recent ones. Look at .au and .uk.

The house I was renting went from about $170k in sales price to $300kish in a period of 3 years or less.

On average, houses appreciate about 3% a year. I'd offer 4% a year max over the 1998/1999 values max.

Bidding wars are dumb, when the whole thing blows up people are going to go back and look at the bidding wars and perhaps question, "was I really bidding against anyone else?" I have at least one friend that was "outbid" and when they said they didn't want to bid any higher the "higher bidder" changed their mind and backed out. Ho ho ho. Thank goodness they backed out of that deal.

Exactly. It is a simple issue of supply and demand. The Nova area has a much higher demand and that's why housing is skyrocketing even much more there than here.

But how much of the demand is caused by the quick gains that one can make by buying, holding then reselling real estate? Once that demand is removed, what will really be left?

The past year housing construction has been like twice that of the population and replacement rates (not counting katrina damage). Plus once the boomers kick it that will free up their primary residence and their vacation homes.

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I don't disagree that the growth in home values is crazy. It's unprecedent in history. Home prices go up then down then back up. Going back to 1900, home prices barely appreciated adjusted-for-inflation until the current boom. Even with all the exotic loans out there, unless there's a strong downturn in the economy (i.e. a real recession) then I don't believe there will be a bubble burst. Home prices will remain stagnant for many years to come and may even retreat slightly as some people default and it becomes a buyers' market, but only mass bankrupcy or economic disaster will cause prices to dive. And if either one of those scenarios do occur, we have a bigger problem than sinking home values.

A lot has been said of L.A. home prices losing 20-30% of their value between 1990 and 1994 and taking until 2000 to return to 1990 levels. This drop was the result of the early 90's recession which hit L.A. particularly hard when the aerospace industry tanked. Now, the L.A. economy is diversified, so such a scenario is doubtful. If there are major defense spending cutbacks in HR, a similar event will occur. However, there are no signs of cutbacks just yet. Therefore, home prices should be fine.

Edited by hoobo
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Hoobo - the last time similiar easy financing was popular among the lower classes (IO, Neg Amort, etc) was right before the Great Depression. It is my understanding that the mistakes that shoved us into the Great Depression have been well studied and this will most likely be avoided.

It's a credit bubble. The minute the easy financing is gone, then no one can buy. People jumped in so they wouldn't miss out on the riches, and they wouldn't be left behind. It's already happening. People can't qualify to refinance their home on fixed rates since the mort rates went up. Their funky loans will continue to ratchet up in cost. Bankruptcy is under new laws. Congradulations, you got served. Indentured servant fo' life.

I shouldn't complain because I supposidly make more than the average Virginia Beach household. But I just can't get over the fact that so many people are jumping into this nonsense. And the effect that will happen when it stops. This is so much worse than the .com stock market bubble.

In a slight way, I'm anxious to see it happen. Oh man, and the lawsuits. From what I've read there is ALOT of mortgage fraud, fraudulent loans. People are going to be sueing their realtor for saying property doesn't decrease in price. The whole bidding stupidity. What's even crazier is I believe as the boomer generation dies, the population will decrease in the US... meaning as us younger people grow older, there will most likely be less people looking to buy houses.

But hey, Miami has something like 20,000 extra housing units in the pipeline.

Another neat thing is the reports from alot of housing markets that all these houses were sold so the cities planned for new students to show up in schools, but it never really happened. Bought for speculation since it looks to return more money than the stock market.

Anywho, I could go on and on. Good links at thehousingbubble2.blogspot.com and patrick.net/housing/crash.html (click links).

Just makes me think... thank you fools for the damage you've caused to the economy.

The one last interesting thing is.... once the gov't decides to do something about waste and cut spending, we're going to loose a whole lot of good paying jobs here in Hampton Roads. Those people could go all work at the resort strip in the summer, but no, Richard Maddox and friends all import their labor from Brazil and other countries.

Sorry if I'm a downer to the party :-) I'm just more for actual progress. Build things, create things, advance mankind. As a country we just can't sit around reselling real estate year after year. Once the RE party is over and people stop feeling rich over their house appreciation, consume spending is going to slow down a bit (something like 13% of consumer spending was funded by home equity loans last year!? HFS!). Not cool.

PS. MAGLEV TRAIN, GOOOOD!

PS1 - MIPSR3000 - But in the end, if Hampton Roads has reached a new peak... that means all the young professional people can continue to flee the area like they already do, and get nice homes at good prices in the Northern Virginia area. They are building like crazy, and the market is tanking already...

PS2 - MIPS CORE - Someone said the last to rise is generally the earliest to fall. Pretty interesting. HR rose towards the end (USA was behind many other countries in the run up as well). Crazy stuff.

PS3 - NO IDEA - Pheonix inventory is up some 150% in the past 2 months! AND THIS IS THE SLOW SEASON! Look out below! Spring time comes, there is gonna be bloodshed!

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This is GREAT news for our area from an article of this week's edition of Inside Business. Our neighboring city of Raleigh has 5 universities/colleges churning out a highly workforce for their biotech companies. Their ecomomy is booming on a large scale. These types of programs are what our area desperately needs and I am glad to see ODU is stepping up to the plate.

INSIDER NEWS

Research park will strengthen ODU, economy

Michael Schwartz

Inside Business - Hampton Roads

Monday November 14, 2005

Old Dominion University announced last week the first phase of the Innovation Research Park, which will house both university research programs and private companies.

The initial phase has plans for two identical buildings with a price tag of $80 million. A groundbreaking for the first building of the initial phase will be held Tuesday at the Ted Constant Convocation Center. Townsend Capital, a Towson, Md.,-based real estate investment firm, has a contract with ODU for development of the five-story, 100,000-square-foot building, which will be on 43rd Street at Monarch Way, just behind the parking garage of the Constant Center. It will be part of the 75-acre, 13-block University Village. ODU faculty and research offices will occupy about 40 percent of the first building, while the remaining space will be leased to private companies.

The multi-phase project has the potential for up to four buildings with an estimated cost of $350 million. The city of Norfolk has approved the design for the first two buildings and ODU said it has parcels available to accommodate two more.

link

Edited by guynvb
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Here are a few headlines from the Raleigh forum just to show the impact of having research universities and available jobs right in the same region. I am not trying to compare our area with Raleigh but am showing what the impact can result in.

Swiss drug giant Roche has identified the Triangle as the top location in North Carolina for the construction of a $750 million plant to produce Tamiflu, an anti-viral treatment for the flu.

Capital Bank may move 150 employees downtown Raleigh, and that they will need about 50,000 sq feet. Most probable location is 333 Corporate Plaza.

RBC Centura is moving its HQ to DT Raleigh and building a high-rise as high as 30 storeys.

MORRISVILLE - Chinese computer maker Lenovo is expected to announce it will move its principal U.S. operation to Morrisville after finalizing an incentives deal with North Carolina, Wake County and Morrisville town leaders. Lenovo has chosen Duke Realty Corp. to build a $70 million campus at Duke's Perimeter Park on Airport Boulevard. The deal will assure continued employment for Lenovo's 1,800 workers in Research Triangle Park, and it's expected to lead to the creation of up to 400 additional jobs by 2009 with an average pay of $75,000.

The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants plans to relocate 360 jobs to Durham from New York City and Jersey City, N.J., in a cost-cutting move. The jobs will be a variety of positions, including CPAs, writers and programmers. They will pay an average yearly salary of $53,500 plus benefits.

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I don't know if we can get past our military stereotype. I hope that this will help us one day! I think the state and the city need to push more research facilties for ODU and they should expand some of their campus to Vabeach as well since Norfolk is running out of room.

This would be a great excuse to run light rail from Norfolk to Vabeach

Also we need ODU to become a lot larger cause look at the size of the Universites you are comparing it to. It would have to grow to the size of UVA or Tech.

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I don't know if we can get past our military stereotype. I hope that this will help us one day! I think the state and the city need to push more research facilties for ODU and they should expand some of their campus to Vabeach as well since Norfolk is running out of room.

This would be a great excuse to run light rail from Norfolk to Vabeach

I think we can get past the stereotype if if the the proper conditions existed - the research universities will attract the jobs. This can create a synergy attracting more research and more research dollars and new industry.

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This is an ENORMOUS investment and could really be the major catalyst for other universities jumping on the bandwagon.

My dream for local colleges would be for the University of Virginia system to construct a new satellite campus, like the one at Wise, Virginia. Maybe if they built a research-oriented one somewhere in HR... that would be nice... but unlikely. We can depend on NSU and ODU in the meantime.

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