Is it a buyer’s market or a seller’s market right now? I had someone ask me that during a long car ride the other day and I wanted to instinctively say it is a buyer’s market because for the most part, it is. However, as with anything in life, it really depends on your situation.
Right now interest rates are at record lows,
home prices have come down and there are much more homes to choose from!
A few years back you might find your dream home and learn that Jimbo
from down the street had outbid you but you
couldn’t afford to outbid him…and the search starts all over. If you
have been wanting to buy, definitely do it now if it is within reach for
you. Don’t wait until interest rates start moving up and home prices
start skyrocketing again before you jump in the game because you want to
“wait it out” right now. By then it is too late.As for sellers, you probably won’t be getting the price you picture your home to be worth. There have been many properties sitting on the market for over a year because of pricing. Unfortunately prices have come down from the height of the real estate market boom of 2005-2007 yet many homeowners won’t accept that reality which explains why many home prices aren’t going down more than they already have even though the amount of inventory out there today warrants a decline in prices. However, if you MUST sell, do it now in case more foreclosures hit the market which leaves buyers with even more to choose from and you struggling to get your home noticed. Also, don’t forget that the longer you wait means more property taxes you will be paying on a home that you want off your hands.
Be sure to take a look at the article below.
Americans Eager to Buy, Sellers Aren’t Happy?
DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2011
Nearly 80 percent of home buyers say now is a great time to buy a home, but sellers say it’s not a great time to sell, according to a new study, “The Great Recession and Attitudes Toward Homebuying,” released this week by the Mortgage Bankers Association. In fact, homeselling sentiment has fallen to record lows.
As for home buyers, they certainly have plenty to be happy about -- housing prices have fallen and interest rates are at record lows, pushing affordability to record levels and allowing buyers to snag great deals on housing.
But sellers, on the other hand, are getting discouraged that they can’t find buyers for their homes at a desirable sales price as well as the large overhang of mortgages past due or in foreclosure, according to the report.
"In economic terms, as market values have fallen, potential sellers have not adjusted their price expectations downward fast enough to bring buyer and seller sentiment in line with one another," Gary Engelhardt, a professor at Syracuse University who authored the study, said in a statement.
Sellers still can’t accept that their home values have fallen and they are no longer able to get the prices from the past, according to the study.
Meanwhile, “despite high unemployment and slow economic growth, the bulk of American households believe that now is a good time to buy a home,” Engelhardt said. The strongest positive sentiments toward buying was found among young, educated, white, and Hispanic households, according to the study.
“The pattern of home-buying sentiment during the current recession looks very similar to that of past recessions,” Engelhardt notes. “Home buyer sentiment falls as the unemployment rate increases, and improves as job growth returns and housing becomes more affordable. What distinguishes the current recession, though, is the dramatic decline in home-selling sentiment. From 1992 through 2005, positive home-selling sentiment fluctuated between 40 and 60 percent. Since 2005, sentiment has dropped precipitously, to around 7 percent currently, even while home-buying sentiment remains high.”
