Economic Indicators?

Judging by the prices that guys are asking for tractors on this web site,you wouldn't know that there is a recession. Asking prices are stable if not higher than normal. What do you guys think?

Latest is bankers are buying quality tractors. Banks paying in the 1 to 2% range.

Well... There"s ASKIN" prices, then there"s GETTIN" prices. I"m not seeing tractors or anything for that matter selling any higher or any more frequently than they were a couple years ago. In fact, I"ve been finding a few bargains lately where people just get tired of something sitting in the yeard with a for sale sign on it. As is usual, the really good stuff and the really rare stuff sells OK. Average to junk isn"t moving as fast, at least around here anyway.

I would agree with the asking price ppart of it. I would think the average "getting it sold" price's will actually be a bit lower. There is a peice of land adjacent to mine that I would like to buy, I have made an offer on what I will pay for it, but the guy keeps trying to sell the entire property rather than just the peice I want. He had a appraiser come out 2 years ago and seems to beleive that it is still worth what the appraiser inflated it to when the real estate market was still in that imaginary appreciation phase. I am also guessing he does not have the equity and the lender will not release the land I want from his leined deed. If he gets what he was told it's worth, then I stole my place when I bought it. I will say that the "for sale" sections of papers sure are filling up with atv's, snowmobiles, boats, and just about anything else you can imagine. I have one friend that is liquidating everything he has so he can make his mortgage and other bills. Most of the stuff he is selling he bought by refinancing his house to 0% equity. His kids still are wearing Holister clothes and $100 shoes, so I dont feel sorry for him. Sure hope I dont get in that boat.

What Dave and poor said are true. No question locally, many items are for sale, many business are closeing and things have slowed. People seem to be thinking in terms of essential needs. One guy owed me some money and gave me 1/2 or a pig as payment. No joke on that, no complaints on the pig either!!

I Saw a Economic Indicator last night! My brother came over to use the garage, I have been drinking Busch beer for 20 plus years, everyone all ways turned their noses up ( Until the were out) he didn't have his usual Budweiser, but instead had a Milwaukee Best said it's much cheaper!

The collectable tractor bubble has not burst yet. However I did hear that Barret Jackson sales were down.

My observations are mixed. I've bought and sold (spelled Jockey) tractors since I was 17. The nice, clean desirable tractors are still bringing the money and havent gotten any easier to buy. That being said, they dont generate the traffic or phone calls that they did a year ago. The common tractors gotta be priced low or they dont move. Still hard to get a seat in a cafe on the weekend for morning breakfast or evening dinner. My son has worked for Target for going on 10 years and says sales are down and that it's getting to be a tough place to work. All in all, it appears to me that there still is a lot of room for belt tightening and we haven't hit bottom yet.

You can ask whatever you want, but the phone isn't ringing either !

If you had a 700 billion dollar bail out you could buy the tractor of your dreams too. LOL, but I guess it ain't really funny. We get to pay for ours and theirs, too. It's a good thing we're a civilized country. Anywhere else and they'd be hanging in the streets by a noose. Also,where else could someone scam folks out of 50 billion dollars and walk around cocky as ever and act like nothing ever happened.

Irv*

What I think is happening is people are beginning to get real hard up for money so they are trying to sell their toys for what they have into them, or what they perceive they are worth. I think in reality, most of the tractors for sale have actually depreciated in value and in many cases are worth less than folks have into them (kind of like real estate). I expect to see prices down this spring at the auctions, which will provide a better indication of what they are really worth. I plan on being in a decent cash position to pick up a few of the rareer ones. I think the "average" tractor market will be down, and since the scrap market has also collapsed, we shouldn't have to worry about being out bid by the scrappers either. Either way, I think it a terrible time to have your hopes on getting out of debt tied to being able to sell your tractor for big $, it should be a buyers market in most areas.

Money is getting tight just bought a super nice Ford Ranger XLT for $500 the guy almost begged me to buy it.
REAL economic indicators are as follows
Recession--Your neighbor looses his job
Depression--You loose your job
Panic--Wife looses her job

Check the auction results from Wieman's Auctions. They are the largest auction service in the area with regular consignment auctions. They have the results from Dec. back till 2004. The results are just models with prices, no descriptions, so it is hard to tell price versus quality. Most tractors are farm fresh with some repaint restorations. Newer models may be from dealer inventories also but they say their sells are in the 90+ % range of the listings. Their next sell is Wed.

The link: http://www.wiemanauction.com/auction_results.htm

I will say we are in a recession when I can find tobacco help. Till then, things might be bad in some places but not here. People around here don't need money so they ain't hungry yet.

Dave

Theres alot of very wealthy people that collect old tractors and nothing is slowing them down.The common tractors arent selling as good as the rare ones.

Lately on craigs list, I"ve noticed lots of people trying to sell those gawdy 22 & 24 inch rims off their cars...cracks me up every time!!

I don't know about that. I have a rare 350 Case that I have been trying to sell and All I have had is a few bites. When I e-mail pictures they don't even e-mail back and say thank you. I guess they just want to look and the pictures. And it is not a bad looking tractor either. I just thought it was the economy. Until now, ever tractor I ever posted on yesterdays tractor adds sold in a week or so.

"One guy owed me some money and gave me 1/2 or a pig as payment. No joke on that, no complaints on the pig either!! "

I hear you on t hat one we may be coming back to the barter days,, I actually had two steers "given" to me for payment duee on some snow plowing,, one is 1 yr old,and the other about 6 months,,

just holstein / jersey mix,, but should eat good,,

but not sure who got the better deal hahaha,, 100 lb heifer feed 16 bucks,, I think I got stuck again,, at least I will feel that way until its in teh freezer . pat