It seems no matter what news station you are watching or what radio station you are listening to; they are all claiming that the housing market is awful right now. We have not seen the bottom and that it is going to get worse.
Yet, interest rates are at record lows. Home affordability is at the highest it has been since World War II. Buyers have a wide range of choices availble to them out there right now. Buying a home in most cases right now is less expensive than renting. So why are the news people portraying it so negatively?
During the past two weeks I have been involved in six different situations that leads me to beleive that the housing market is not as the media is portraying it. I had two listings go to a multiple offer situation in under 30 days. I had four different buyers get involved in a multiple offer situation on a home. If the housing market is as bad as the media is making out to be...where are these buyers coming from?
Buyers do have a good selection of homes to choose from. The question is are they willing to make the leap to home ownership. In the cases of the individuals and families I have presented offers on behalf it was do to simple economics. They realized they could afford the home they want. They did not have to drive down the street and dream of one day owning that home. They could make it a reality. Truth is that for half of them the homes they are looking at will be less expensive than what they are paying in rent currently. Based on that why would you not be out looking at homes?
The econimists are telling us that the bottom has hit in most markets and that inventory levels are coming down. Sales had risen year over year through August. September (the last month reported) showed a decline. But there will always be bumps in a road. A steady month over month growth is unsustainable. We have witnessed the effects of housing prices increasing month in and month out for an extended period of time. Do we really want to go through that again?
One constant I seem to have noticed is that there are home buyers out looking to purchase a home. They may not be out in the vast amounts they were a few years ago; but they are out looking at homes. They are taking longer to buy; but again they are buying homes.
If you are reluctant to look for a home or to put your home on the market; think about what the market has avaible right now. For buyers interest rates hovering around 4% and home prices at 2007 levels which has made home affordability at an all time high. For sellers, motivated buyers looking to buy a home and take advantage of the great rates and find that special place they can call home.
Dave diCecco
Realtor/Broker
www.davedicecco.com
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