Everybody wants to know how the housing market is doing, especially if they own Butte real estate. I try to keep the newsy pieces to a minimum and spend most of my Internet space on helpful pointers, but a lot of readers have asked about the market. In response to high demand, here’s a peak at the current national foreclosure trends:

Foreclosure Trends

It’s a wonderful thing to own any kind of real estate (although I’m partial to Butte real estate, of course). Unfortunately, many people have lost their homes due to foreclosure since the housing crisis started; there have been over 7.8 million since 2007. California, Florida, Arizona, Nevada, Illinois and Michigan have been topping the count for foreclosures, adding up to 62% of the nation’s foreclosures.

California’s numbers reached 349,435 foreclosures last month, and it was feared that those numbers might escalate. However, there’s some good news there. Even though homeowners are still teetering, lending institutions are caving in under government pressure to work with those homeowners. For that matter, they may even be working with the government to stem the deluge of foreclosures.

HousingPredictor.com conducted a survey of homeowners that shows we may have as many as 25 million foreclosures before everything is said and done, mainly due to homeowners who are tired of watching housing prices fall. Such a glut of the market could cause some serious repercussions for the economy. However, again, there are some positive points.

For instance, current mortgage interest rates are ranging from as low as 4% to 5.5%, cut almost in half from the “housing boom” years. While housing prices may be dropping, the fall is slowing down. As well, lower prices mean more affordable homes. While this may not be a good thing for homeowners, it’s an excellent thing for home buyers.

As prices drop and homes become more affordable, the glutted housing market of foreclosed and for sale homes is slowly shrinking. As the reserve market (the number of houses per capita that are for sale) shrinks, consumer confidence will build up (something we desperately need). Housing demand will rise, surplus will shrink, and prices will stabilize.

Of course, in the meantime, while you’re waiting for things to stabilize, hold on to your Butte real estate. Take advantages of the tax breaks available to upgrade your existing property, maybe get the renovations done you’ve always wanted. There are still opportunities in this market – you just have to find them!

If you’re a buyer looking for a great home, act now to find amazing bargains. I can help. Call me at 406-491-5777 or email me at judy@montana.com for more information.

Links:

Stem the deluge

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-foreclosures21-2009oct21,0,5605171.story

HousingPredictor.com

http://www.housingpredictor.com/epidemic.html

slowing down

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a6f3TaKJxPAQ