well, didn't spend so much money today after all.

The Big 5 was a bust and I think we'll keep an eye out (the sleeping bags on sale were of very cheap quality - I just didn't like them. Also, no shoes in my size).

Oh but I did buy a pair of sports sandals, since I don't find I can walk very far with a pair of flip flops. I have an old leg injury and if I don't have proper foot support, I pay for it. I am skeptical but the shoes were only $16 on sale. I probably spend a good $10 on cheap flip flops anyway. So we'll see. Love the shoes.

Since I have a difficult shoe size I may just pay a premium and order the same walking/workout shoes again - -online. They have been perfect. (I bought from zappos.com I believe which have pretty good reviews about how shoes tend to run - wide or narrow and stuff - and found it a great way to buy online. First time was the charm). I have no patience to run to 100 stores with the luck a shoe is on sale in my size. No way.

Oh yeah, we didn't get to lunch until almost 2 and the place was jam packed. This is one reason we had stopped eating out in this neighborhood. Many of the restaurants have really died down with the economy, but we walked into the new Japanese buffet today and it was a COMPLETE madhouse. We stuck it out but the prices were a little more expensive on the weekend and the food wasn't so good. Hell, I was impressed they had as much food as they did. Complete mad house. We probably ate around 2:30 and it was starting to clear out. At least we had decent service at that point.

I'd say the place was a hit. Everyone kept pulling up to the restaurant and looking at the crowds and saying, "But it's so good. I think we should wait."

Never again, on a weekend. !!

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Anyway, in real estate news I have no qualms about the long term. The short term I am not so sure about.

I have read a couple of articles that said prices in Sac had dropped to $100k. HUH? So I perused the MLS the other day.

Most of the people who live out here live in the surrounding suburbs. There is not a lot of good property in the city itself. But since we do actually live in Sacramento I was looking at the MLS there, probably where the cheapest houses would be. I didn't see anything in the $100k range except for condos and townhouses. Sure, they are homes, but in this area they are highly undesirable. We started in a condo back home and they appreciated faster than homes for a time, since houses were so unaffordable. Out here whenever I mention starting small in a condo, people look at me like I have a third eye. I know few who would consider it. Likewise, there were plenty of homes with 0.01 acres available for $200k. But that is about in the realm of townhouse anyway. I didn't see much below $200k but manufactured homes and attached homes.

Nothing I would invest in, personally.

So I take the national publications with a grain of salt. Yes, house prices have dropped 25% - 40%. YES! But affordable housing? Not so much. IT had been insanely unaffordable before the drop. Now just slightly unaffordable. I can't tell you where it will be tomorrow. I don't expect any decent homes in the $100k range. But I guess we'll see!

Anyway, when perusing I actually saw our neighborhood had the least amount of homes for sale and the highest prices. Go us. I have always said that my home was not looked at as an investment per se. But if I am going to shell out $200k-$300k on something, well um, it better be something that holds its value. So I certainly look at it as an investment in that sense. I don't think we thought how our house would fare in the short term in this kind of economy. But I am pleased overall with our neighborhood.

There are areas of Sac with hundreds of homes for sale priced under $200k. So yeah, there are some pretty hurting areas. I am pleased not to live in one of those areas right now. I can't say we'll sit so pretty through this whole mess though. who knows.

Likewise, I didn't think any of the comparable homes in our neighborhood were sitting on the market at all (snatched up fast after bank owned). BUT I noticed one for sale the other day. I just looked it up and it is still sitting for sale. Then again the bank is on crack - they are asking $450k after it has sit for 130 days? ???? They've been selling in minutes if priced $350k-$400k.

So I Was surprised to see one sitting. I just hadn't noticed - I think it had been pending sale because I wrote it off as sold way back. & I just noticed the sign again recently.

Likewise, we have an AWESOME neighbor who has apparently moved. We noticed he moved out and I looked up the house out of curiosity to see what he was asking for it; if it were for sale. I didn't see it listed anywhere. I looked a couple of weeks ago when he packed up and left.

I just typed in his address and nothing popped up BUT when I type in our street and "for sale" into google a house on our street, same size, pops up as foreclosed/bank owned. 7 days ago.

The satellite picture of his house (no address). I was just FLOORED.

Asking price $321k - it's the smallest model. These smaller houses have not been selling at all in recent years. Could sit on the market for years, like some of the others. I guess we'll see... I think banks have a pretty short time limit they can own real estate though.

He was the nicest guy you ever met and one of the originals who got in at the ground level.

He paid $245k for the house in 2001. Lord knows where he went wrong from there. I found that to be very sad news. A good guy, but something apparently went very wrong for him.

well, we will really miss having him as a neighbor. He used to be a football player and was just a big teddy bear. I appreciated having almost a personal body guard in the neighborhood. He looked out for us unlike any neighbor we have ever had. & the kind of dude no one would want to mess with. So I always felt very safe knowing he had our back. He was the one who organized the neighborhood watch and instead of calling the police when he saw suspicous people would just go outside and stare them down. Worked pretty well...

He also kept meticulous care of his yard. now it is covered in long grass and weeds. MAkes me sad every time I go outside.

Considering he didn't try to list the house and they are asking $321k, I have to say at face value it looks like another house=ATM story. Yikes!

Likewise, if more of our neighbors face this kind of hot water, it won't bode well for us. So far only the people who bought at the peak (very few) were foreclosed. So it's trickling down. IT will be very apparent who has been living beyond their means, with time. IT could get real ugly from here...

I guess this makes it interesting because it is the first neighbor (in our section of the neighborhood - 1000 homes - maybe 7 sections) - this is the first one to foreclose who bought before the last couple of years. But this will probably be the next wave. People who had affordable houses but borrowed against them a bit too much. !!!! This is just #1 for us...