A View into Economic Realities

Lest anyone think that the meltdown over junk mortgages and other factors was not real, there are examples very near to my house. Take, for example, a subdivision that never quite made it out of the starting gate. This project has sat dormant for the past couple of years - enough time for pine trees to reach about 3 feet high in some places. The grass is like a nice wheat field and when I walk through the area I can hear the scurrying of mice and what not in the grass.

It always makes me a little sad when I see it. There are 4 model homes partially completed. They long ago removed the office trailer though the railing is still there. The houses are framed, have windows and roofs and look like they would have been nice homes for someone. There just were to be no "someones" who could have bought them due to the economic timing; they now sit lonely as a reminder that this economic downturn is all too real.

What is the story? I'm not sure. Was this a small eager developer who got caught over leveraged and is now out of business? A large developer who decided to cut their losses? (Probably, given how large the development was.) This represents loss of work and income for countless craftsmen, truck drivers, real-estate agents, and vendors who sell the parts that make a house a home.

See the photo album here.

Field of Dreams...shattered