Place your bets. Some big homebuilders will start reorganizing or just fail.

[Neshanic]

[Deja Q]

1. Go into repair rather than building structures from scratch

That'll help their field.

[MADem]

2. Get into the affordable housing game--apartments, rentals, that kind of thing.

Empty nest rentals, out of college rentals, "affordably upscale" rentals....

Repair is definitely a good gig, if they can make THAT affordable, too.

[madrchsod]

7. perfect storm

they built crappy houses now they can make money fixing their mistakes!

[phantom power]

3. There will be some combination of huge downsizing and consolidations.

A lot of people in the housing industry are going to be laid off. I assume some of them will find work as repair/handymen, but overall the housing industry will become much smaller, which implies that a lot of people are going to be out of work.

[bbgrunt]

4. good. Maybe I can now find someone to do some repairs.

[marions ghost]

5. No kidding...

& maybe they'll stop paving the landscape with doll houses on steroids.

[marylanddem]

6. doll houses on steroids?

brilliant description - if it is original, a tip of the hat to you. If not, it's still a great characterization of these hideous mcmansions

[marions ghost]

13. ha ha that's the more polite description I use...

I've called the mcmansions a LOT of things ever since they started springing up. Disturbed Barbie's Dream Bunkers is another. I also like the term clusterhoods (which I didn't invent) instead of neighborhoods.

I don't understand anyone who doesn't see these houses as physical expressions of decadence and greed. They scream "I got mine." Architecturally these are big bruisers all made up to be cute. The lie is that one can still cling to picket fence fantasies while living in a fortress shielded against the barbarians. Sadly that appeals to people these days.

I studied architecture but it doesn't take that to see that these monsters don't answer the housing needs of most Americans, either aesthetically or practically. They are not sensitive to the environment nor their surroundings. They cost a lot to maintain. There are some going up near me that really could be hotels rather than single-family homes.
Some of these builders can probably make some money retrofitting them for multi-occupant condos.:evilgrin:

[bbgrunt]

15. dollhouses on steroids--perfect!! LOL

[marions ghost]

16. thanx

:toast: :toast: I can see there are some other non-appreciators of Mcfuglymansions around here today:toast:

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

8. A lot of carpenters are going to find out that "Restructuring" isn't an architectual term.

Not to mention the plumbers, electricians, ditch diggers, cement workers, and all the folks who supply, transport, and make the materials that go into home building.

[grasswire]

9. I saw today on craigslist an ad for office stuff -- a mortgage lender

....closing up shop.

[trof]

10. Yeah, it's already started:

The bad news continues to mount for public builders as Pulte Homes and The Ryland Group, Nos. 3 and 8 respectively in the 2006 BUILDER 100 report second quarter losses. Pulte reported a second quarter loss of $507.6 million for continuing operations. This compares with the prior year second quarter income of $243.9 million from continuing operations. The enormous difference is a result of approximately $749.4 million of impairments and pre-tax charges from land-related transactions along with another $40 million in restructuring charges. Pulte's home building pre-tax loss is approximately $803.2 million, compared with 2006's pre-tax income of $380.8 million.

The Ryland Group is reporting a consolidated net loss of $52.4 million during the second quarter, compared to earnings of $94.8 million for the second quarter of 2006. Ryland says their decrease was primarily due to a "decline in closings and margins" along with inventory valuation adjustments and write-offs. Both companies released their second quarter numbers (ending June 30) shortly after the Wednesday afternoon close of the New York Stock Exchange and both will hold teleconferences Thursday to address their quarterly numbers.
http://www.builderonline.com/industry-news.asp?sectionID=26&articleID=542660

[dollie300]

11. My advice is to invest in senior housing development (condos, apartments)

They are springing up all over Maryland. Folks will be bailing out of their homes in favor of elevator comforts, spacious condo-apartment living, in senior communes with extraordinary amenities.

[TX-RAT]

12. All ready have.

We bought a Condo in Sun City Center, 4 years ago.

[ThomWV]

14. It would be better to worry about the banks that have financed this oversupply

Because homes that were built with borrowed money that aren't sold don't pay back those loans. Builders are dropping like flys around here, so are real estate agents and appraisers.