totally agree JD,
that agreement include's Catcher's post above.
and those in the OP mentioned "values" of US currency valued properties over here, that's an other bunch of 'artificial' value/calculation. just because somebody purchased a while back a few acres beachfront and paid in US currency does not mean that he will find a buyer who is willing to buy in US currency or in an other currency but with a exchange rate compared to the strong dollar. just take a look on highly overprized and bancrupt Cap Cana. if you get your property valued over here that paper will show Dominican Pesos, anything else would be just a paper from a real estate agent printed on his laptop on the backseat of his unpaid Jeepeta.
and by the worldwide actual economy's situation i would not await that many buyers are on our roads to purchase much. there is at this moment no cash out there on the globe, so fabulous property values will not feed a hungry stommack or convince a bank for a overdone loan.
right JD,
absolutely right, we will feel the full power of the global crisis over here, too.
we don't have to wait for the start of that feeling,
it already started.
overlooking the movement of several 100% turism dependent businesses i would say that we have in the reservation books for dec08, jan09 and feb09 compared to the same time period 12 months ago a at least 30% deficit, from now til summer i await a 50% downslide compared to 12 months prior, and there's no fast solution in sight, because we are not talking about some small local problem like fixing some pothholes in a damaged street, we are talking about a worldwide financial crash. people will still go on vacations, but they will spend much less money than prior for extras other than the all inclusive package.
those jeepetas and properties with the still overvalued price expectations will go down a lot in their expectations, many will go down under what they costed when purchased a short while ago (on credit of course), and they still will not find a buyer, because there's no buyer with the needed cash at hands, and those sellers need cash to keep up with the monthly payments for their now unfueled Jeepetas or no more effordable properties.
as an non american i see Obama as the best which could happen after decades of clearly non appreciated behavior of an huge powerful country, but that's just my own opinion, not meant as a start of a discussion about it, we have other threads for such open. he seems to be willing to turn that steering around by decisions prior presidencies would not even have considered because it may have showed them in an unpopular way. as a matter of fact that american "business" is a bancrupt one with urgent need of an makeover. i really hope that Obama and his guys get that sinking ship into the right direction, a bettering of that american situation would also be a bettering of our Isle's situation, the whole world is sitting in the same boat on such matter. nobody on board will reach land with dry feet alone or on it's own, but sinking all together could easily happen.
that the russians are pi$$ed of?
who the heck cares?
Mike