Housing Overload to Farmland Boom...

Look at this amazing graphic from the New York Times. According to the census department vacancies are running about 10%. Our neighborhood is seeing vacancies and some people walking away from their homes. The for rent homes don't seem to be on the market for long though.

This is another article from the New York Times finance pages. Food production is so dependent on the cost of oil that investors are looking to "monetize" every step of the food chain.

Food Is Gold, and Investors Pour Billions into Farming June 7, 2008 12:32 PM - , Organic Consumers Association Huge investment funds have already poured hundreds of billions of dollars into booming financial markets for commodities like wheat, corn and soybeans. But a few big private investors are starting to make bolder and longer-term bets that the world's need for food will greatly increase - by buying farmland, fertilizer, grain elevators and shipping equipment. ..rest of story here...

p.s. I just tested the links and realized that you have to register to view the NYT articles. Sorry about that - but - the registration is free!