Just read an article on Fertility and Housing and how they go neck and neck. in other words... the easier it is for buyers to buy a house the more the family grows.  This study has been going on since the 30's.  Births are up 1% in this country since the 70's.  Italy birth rate is down because the housing costs and the east of buying have not been favorable.  It will interesting to see what happens in the next 10 years with all of the fear of buying a property now.

 Now is the time to buy for sure.  Mortgage rates are below 5 1/2 %.  Prices of properties are low.  The time is right for sure.  In some areas in my area of Hartford County prices have not declined more than 5%.  When I do my Market Analysis on every purchase for my buyer I always look at the current list price to sell price ratio in the area in addition to the other data that I cover.  Our inventories are low which means we do not have the two and ten year inventories that Florida, California and Nevada have at this time because of all of the over-building.  If you are going to live in the home for a few years then buy now.  If you are going to flip make sure you buy a foreclosed property or a short sale and do your homework on how much you can put into the property before you make that decision.  Get a Realtor to work with so you will know how much your flip will sell for after the improvements.  Then base that number on a percentage for your return on investment (ROI).  For listings go to http://www.Geena.biz and for stats on every town for past and present and more go to http://www.Raveis.com/Geena 

 I am handling a few short sales and love the elimination of the "phantom tax" on foreclosures for my clients, short sales or other discharges of debt on a primary residence. Consider this scenario: A property is worth $250,000, and the mortgage balance is $300,000. Under the old rules, if a lender forgave the $50,000 difference as part of a foreclosure, short sale, refinance or loan modification, the borrower had to claim the $50,000 as income and pay federal income taxes on that amount. The new law eliminates this "phantom tax," and the forgiven debt is no longer treated as taxable income to the borrower as long as certain requirements are met, such as the discharged mortgage balance must be on the taxpayer's principal residence. 

Geena has been licensed and selling Real Estate for 32 years.  Selling in Hartford County mostly. Call for consultation at 860-983-4446 or email at Geena@Geena.biz