Some people will tell you that the real estate market is still thriving. Some people will tell you that it’s leveling off, that the real estate market is only correcting itself in much the same way as the stock market does: that after steady growth, there has to be a slow down just to keep everything balanced and alright. Others are projecting doom and gloom.
What does the state of the real estate market mean for you?
If you have a home and are not sure whether or not to sell, it means that you’ve got some thinking to do: are you willing to take a lower price; can you afford your mortgage if interest rates continue to climb and the value of your home falls?
If you have investment real estate properties, the current state of the real estate market should lead you to do some thinking as well: what is the likelihood that you could earn more with a different type of investment? If the odds look good, it may be time to look into making other investments before you lose money by holding onto a property with a declining value.
If you are a home buyer, however, the state of the real estate market might have you a little bit excited: as more and more homes are on the market, prices are beginning to come down. You have more homes to look at. Your chances of saving big are increasing all the time.
Whatever your take on the state of the real estate market, IHS Realty has tools that you can use to help you make the right choices - and save you money in the process.
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IHS Real Estate Blog
August 16, 2006 – 2:36 pm
A government report highlighted that the number of unsold new homes on sale across the country swelled to a record high of 566,000 last month.
That means a lot of homes are on the market with home sellers who are motivated to sell. That means bargains should be forthcoming.
On Friday, an International Monetary Fund report said that US property prices were “overvalued”, so prices may not have fallen yet, but the more property remains unsold, the lower prices will go.
A short time ago, there were not enough homes being built to meet the demand, now there is more than enough and supply of new homes outweighs the demand for them.
Some Builders and Developers have gone as far as to offer free cars, vacations, furniture, and appliances to new homebuyers.
Now is the time to be hunting for the best deal you can make. That even includes avoiding high commissions to brokers. Flat Fee MLS is becoming more and more popular.
See Also
Given anonymity agents report slow market conditions
Inman News recently opened the floor to real estate agents to report their current market conditions. As incentive for honesty the agents were given complete anonymity if so desired. The responses were nearly uniform from Portland, Oregon to Central Florida, inventory is up and sales are down. While the responses seemed bleak there is no real data that seems to back the slowing market condition. Home sales prices have not suffered as the median home price is up according to the National Association of Realtors and the uptick in inventory is not enough to be troubling. Although David Lereah, the NAR chief economist, is on the record as predicting price appreciation will drop to the mid-single digits. So Walter Molony, a NAR spokesman, has characterized the conditions as "neither a seller’s nor a buyer’s market…balanced is a better word."
See Also
