Archive for May, 2012
Is The “Perfect Storm” In Real Estate Coming To An End?
Is The "Perfect Storm" In Real Estate Coming To An End?
For a long time the news was full of stories about residential real estate values and the downward spiral they were in.
Things have changed recently and the news is becoming full of stories about real estate prices stabilizing and starting to rise and how houses listed for sale are now receiving multiple offers with escalation clauses.
It appears the the "Perfect Storm" in real estate with a combination of low home prices and low interest rates is coming to an end.
Recently The Washington Post ran an article titled "How to buy a house in D.C.’s sellers’ market" The article states "Sellers are in heaven; buyers are feeling the stress. These days you can go to any open house of a home in good condition in a desirable neighborhood, and you’ll find you’re one of a steady stream of potential buyers. Sleep on it before making an offer? Too late; houses that are in good condition and well-located (especially walking distance to Metro or major bus routes) are under contract in one to two days."
Home prices in many area have started to stabilize and some are even showing appreciation. Now a recent article in USA Today is predicting that home prices will start rising 4% per year for the next 5 years.
In another recent Washington Post article stated that "Home prices increased by the greatest amount over the past year since 2006, according to a report released Thursday by Real Estate Business Intelligence.
“Pricing in the D.C. metro area continued recent positive trends with a year-over-year median sale price gain of 11.2 percent, the highest annual gain in more than six years,” the firm reported. RBI suggests this might mean all the talk of a shadow inventory of to-be-foreclosed homes didn’t impact home prices much."
Here's what huffingtonpost.com said recently "Rising Home Prices: Coming to a Market Near You." "Not only are rising prices starting to look like a real trend, they're also coming to a market near you -- if they haven't already. Asking prices increased year-over-year in 44 out of the 100 largest metropolitan areas, with Miami and Phoenix leading the charge." Bethesda-Rockville-Frederick, MD was listed as number 9 in Top 10 Metros With Largest Price Increases.
Again, back to The Washington Post in an article titled "House hunters find it’s a jungle" stated that "For in-demand properties, bidding wars are common. For Redfin’s listings, 53 percent of homes for sale had multiple offers in D.C. last quarter, while in an area such as Atlanta, that only happened 31 percent of the time."
So what does this mean to home buyers looking for their first home or for people looking to move-up? Now may be the time to get off the fence and into the market.
Home prices are stabilizing and starting to move up and mortgage interest rates are at historic lows. You can't expect interest rates to stay this low for long. With rising rental rates it appears to be a god time to buy a home.
What do you thing? Leave your comments below.
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