It is now about 3 years after the real estate market crash. Many things have happened since then (ex: crappy jobs market and our country’s leadership in a downward spiral). Not only is the foreclosure rate still very high (which i expected and believe will continue for at least another 2 years) but, with the continuation of high unemployment rate, the salary base of most new jobs being less than they were 10 years ago, and the remaining uncertainty of lay offs or downsizing, the real estate market is still bad.
Yes, houses are selling. Yes, people are buying.
I’m not going to talk about house values/prices increasing or decreasing because it varies depending on community and the price range (ex: the higher priced home values are pretty much holding steady but the lower priced homes seem to be decreasing slightly… mostly because this is the main price range of the foreclosure homes).
Buyers are still leery. Those that have jobs are worried what would happen if they lost their job. The bank are still making it incredibly difficult to get loans (Bank of America cleverly covered up the closing of their mortgage lending doors with the $6 a month increase in debit card fees…. did you know they abruptly stopped mortgage lending a couple weeks ago?)
But, buyers can get GREAT deals!!! This is one of the negatives for sellers. Because there are so many foreclosures and homes selling for well under market value, sellers are dealing with the reality of “low ball” offers.
We are moving into the holiday and winter season (which is historically slow) but i have not yet seen a slow down in buyer traffic. This is good news for everyone.
The news tells us the market is horrible one day and the next they say that it’s in an upturn. The data they feed off of varies and is generally nationally driven. Each local market is going to be different. Contact your local Realtor (which is me if you are in Dane or Dodge County WI) to find out what your local market is doing.
So, that is just a quick update. Please note that my viewpoints are just that…. it is what I see in my local marketplace and are based on my experience.
Have a great day!
Susan
Filed under: Real Estate Market
