Real Estate Pro's

The Real Estate media outlet that is Inman News thinks that we are in this market for the long-haul – and I agree. You can see what they are saying RIGHT HERE, but in a nutshell they think…

1. The supply of homes is substantial. Many of these homes are distressed. For traditional sellers, this means you will have competition for the next several years, which continues to put downward pressure on prices (remember those ”supply and demand” lectures from school?).  Thinking about selling? Do it now. Unless you can hold that property for the long haul – according to this article anywhere from 2 – 10+ years – then sell that property before the overwhelming supply of distressed properties erodes your equity further. As has been the case for the last 4 years, this simply is “the market” which we are all subject to.

2. The article addresses the absurd knee jerk reactions that banks have made in response to the loose lending days of our past – and how these new policies have removed the ability of many qualified potential buyers from the pool of credit worthy risks. Further, in our area, starting October 1, we will be reverting from a current conventional loan value of $729,250 to $483,000. Not exactly great news for this market. This topic was addressed previously below.

3. “Jobs” is affecting housing. Really? Wow, that’s insightful. Apparently people without jobs or who have had their hours severely cut back have a hard time with the staggering amounts of money involved in Real Estate. Evidently, this trend will need to reverse in order to spur on housing. Shocking conclusion. Yes, we need a massive economic overhaul to help Real Estate – jobs and consumer confidence among others are big pieces to the puzzle.

4. Within the article, a study of adults concludes that popular belief doesn’t see a housing recovery until 2014. Probably a pretty fair assessment. However, what I find interesting, is that the firm conducting this survey expects the recovery to be more aggressive than most people anticipate. While that would be a welcome relief, I won’t hold my breathe. My personal belief is “post one of the greatest bubbles of all time” it will take many baby steps to work our way back to normalcy and ultimately another prosperity cycle.

So there you have it. More commentary on the current state of affairs. And really, most of the data suggests more of the same. No major tumbles, nor any significant growth in the short term. I think most of us feel this way (as evidenced by the survey above). Thus, as we have been saying “this is the market” and it isn’t going anywhere. However, there seems to be a bright side here – unprecedented low prices? Continued unfathomable interest rates? For those with the means, this is an amazing time to purchase Real Estate.