Are we there yet?? When is it time to buy Real Estate
Author: Scott Hurst
Contrary to what many believe, the real estate market is not at rock bottom, still falling, or as the media likes to call it - in recession. Actually, it is back on it’s way up; time to start reading between the lines and get ready for the changes. Just like the MCI debacle and the ENRON scandal, there will be rocky points in any market, the real estate market is no different. For the last year, there have been corrections and interest rate drops and still the market does not follow the trends that Ben Bernanke sets with his 7th interest rate drop of the year, and its just March! No.. The real estate market will correct itself, with no help from the government.
There is more real estate inventory waiting for buyers than we have seen in the past 5 years, this is because the concensus is that the market is going to crash, a recession is looming, and we have no idea who is running the white house. Let me make something very clear - a recession is NOT looming, in fact, our economy is doing better than average. A recession would mean that the economy is in decline, but our country has a lower than 5% unemployment rate, job growth is on the rise, and overall, people are spending money like its christmas!
With so much real estate inventory, owners are lowering prices and giving incentives to buyers that are very inviting. Why then are potential buyers still holding out? Actually, there are growing numbers of people applying for loans, but due to the federal government getting involved with mortgages, the restrictions are making it ever more difficult for people with descent credit to qualify for these loans. In fact, it is more difficult to buy a house now, than it was 10 plus years ago, when the rates were hovering near 15%.
Now, why is it again that people aren’t buying houses - the government! We need buyers to apply for loans, get approval, and try to purchase the properties that are very competitively priced, not just to help build investments, but also to allow the market to correct itself. Without people taking the steps to start getting pre-approved and looking for homes, the public will not know that there is a huge amount of potential buyers that are taking steps toward home ownership.