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Who is saying it's a good time to buy real estate?
June 15th, 2011
Despite the onslaught of attention grabbing negative news the media pours out, some of the big boys are starting to tout now as the time to buy real estate.
Maybe it's because I eat, sleep, and breath real estate, stay on top of developing and historical trends, and understand the COST of owning (instead of focusing on price) that makes this such obvious news to me. But for those who are not routinely submerged in real estate, here's a bit of news coming from some major national media outlets:
 The Wall Street Journal: Why It's Time To Buy- Ratio of home prices to income is 20.9% lower than the 15 year average through 2010
- "Whatever the excess supply of housing is, it is shrinking pretty fast." A virtual standstill of home building along with the number of new households on the rise will lead to demand outpacing supply; buyer competition will lead to rising home values
- "The regular marketplace (non-foreclosure homes) is hanging tough"
Forbes Magazine: 9 Reasons To Buy A House- Lowest housing prices in years
- Interest rates at 50 year lows are expected to go up
- Builders, banks, and sellers are motivated to sell
National Public Radio: For Many, It's Still A Good Time To Buy A Home- Low, fixed interest rate payments stay the same while the alternative option your rental rates will go up
-Mark Zandi, Chief Economist of Moody's Analytics, says "like any asset - after a crash, after prices have fallen very quickly - everybody is very nervous and reticent to dive back in, but it's the people who do that (dive back in) who benefit in the long run"
It can be difficult to look past the headlines to see the bigger picture. For some people there may never be the right time to buy, but for those who envision homeownership as part of their future, well, there just may never be a better time than now.
- Robert E. Wasser - Bellevue and Seattle real estate market trends, statistics, news, and blog
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