Current Housing Indicators |
| CURRENT | PREVIOUS | ||
| Existing Home Sales | 4.49m | ▼ | 4.74m |
| New Home Sales | 309,000 | ▼ | 344,000 |
| Housing Starts | 583,000 | ▲ | 477,000 |
| Building Permits | 547,000 | ▲ | 531,000 |
| HMI | 9 | UNCH | 9 |
| Existing Home Prices | $170,300 | ▼ (annually) | $199,800 |
| New Home Prices | $201,100 | ▼ (annually) | $232,400 |
More Videos
- The Battered Businesses Behind Housing
- Watch Foreclosures, Seriously
- Home Buyer Tax Credit Expansion Heads to Obama
- Congratulations America, We're All Landlords Now
- Wells Fargo Bets on Housing Recovery
- Home Buyer Tax Credit Done: Does it Matter?
- Better Times for Mortgage Banking
- 'Beleaguered Big Builders' Sitting On Piles of Cash
- Home Buyer Tax Credit: Final Deal?
- A Compromise on Home Buyer Tax Credit?
MOST SHARED
- Obama Sees Strains Unless US, China Balance Growth
- European Commission Objects to Sun Micro-Oracle Deal
- Can Apple Top Microsoft as Most Valuable Tech Firm?
- Mad Mail: Buy the Berkshire Hathaway Split?
- Cramer: 5 Stocks to Play the Next Bull Run
- JPMorgan Lifts Salary Freeze Amid Recovery
- Peak Oil Closer Than IEA Forecasts Show: Report
- GM CEO Starts Opel Charm Tour in Germany
- Yankees Team Signed Ball Selling For $3,500
- Pociask: In The Electronics War Does The Consumer Really Win?
- Why are Options Bullish on This Smartphone Maker?
- Is 10% Unemployment Good for Stocks?
- Moon Hopes To Complete Amazing Story
- Why Google is Paying $750 Million for Ad Mob
- Warren Buffett to Sell Stakes In Union Pacific & Norfolk Southern
- Nov. 9: Unusual Volume Leaders
- The Battered Businesses Behind Housing
- New Lows for Stocks Next Year: Equities Bear
- Peak Oil Closer Than IEA Forecasts Show: Report
- Yahoo Is in Expanding Mode, Hiring: CEO
- Tyco International Profit Falls Less Than Expected
- Justices Poke Fun at Patents for the Abstract
- UK Most at Risk of Losing Top Credit Rating: Fitch
- GM CEO Starts Charm Tour at Opel in Germany
- Vodafone Extends Cost-Cutting Scheme, Hits Targets
- Bad Debt Weighs on Barclays Earnings
RSS FEED
Realty Check
Text Size 
 |
CNBC.com |
The idea is that instead of trying to sell your home in a down market, waiting perhaps months and months and lowering the price, thereby lowering your potential buying power for the next home, you simply find someone who has something you want, and you trade.
Some of the websites now available to facilitate the swaps (and charge you a small fee):
www.pad4pad.com
www.goswap.org
www.onlinehousetrading.com
www.domuswap.com/home.ds
www.daytonahometrader.com
All the sites seem to brand themselves as online real estate “communities” and harp on the fact that market is just too tough these days to be a generic buyer or seller. And they appear to be doing well, with hundreds of properties listed by want-to-be swappers. You can swap one home for two or a home for a boat, or a piece of land for a home. It’s up to you.
The sites seem to me to be a return to the very very olden days of bartering. Much like Craigslist (which also lists home swaps), we are getting back to basics with everything these days. Technology, ironically enough, is returning us to the very root of all commerce: Trade. So why shouldn’t we do it with homes?
I’m interested to hear if any of you readers have had experience with these sites, good or bad. Please write in to the blog, and I’ll post some replies.
Questions? Comments?
Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes