Happy March! It’s hard to believe that it’s already time for spring pruning – how the time flies.
I was out in the yard this weekend, pruning the dead branches and leaves and I thought about how my yard is kind of like the Phoenix area real estate market (I know, I know – but bear with me, I’m going somewhere here). I have to prune off the dead branches and leaves to allow my beautiful flowers and shrubs to flourish this spring; without pruning the dead stuff, the new stuff won’t grow.
In the real estate market we had an overgrowth of new homes (because builders got caught up in the real estate boom and ramped up production to meet the over-inflated demand, which is now gone). Now we have more vacant new homes on the market than we have buyers. But once that extra supply is gone – like the dead branches and leaves – the market can once again flourish.
(See, I told you the analogy would make sense!)
To top off my rather clever analogy, if I may say so myself, analysts are now suggesting that the real estate market could turn around this spring – right when all the plants come back into bloom!
To hear a complete outlook on the real estate market, check out my video: http://realtytimes.com/vnc/BobStahl.
Here’s the gist:
1. According to the most recent National Association of Realtors report, resales were down 0.4% in January. But sales of single-family homes were up 0.5%. The overall figure was down because of condos and town homes – sales were down in those markets.
2. According to Realty Times, “Maybe we’re at the bottom; maybe not, but sales are not falling off the charts” as some media outlets would lead us to believe. The news isn’t overwhelmingly positive, to be sure, but it’s “hardly as dramatically negative as the scare headlines had it.”
3. According to a Wells Fargo/ National Association of Home Builders poll, homebuilder confidence is up; they think the future’s looking brighter, too.
4. A report published by the Conference Board, a research group representing a broad spectrum of U.S. businesses beyond real estate, came right out and said that the market correction is about over. Gail Fosler, the Conference Board’s chief economist, said “January and February are not big months for housing, but increasing affordability, plus favorable demographic trends bode well for the overall outlook.” The turnaround could well start this spring, she said.
5. Overall, according to Realty Times, “the numbers are better than they’ve been in months; they’ve simply been drowned out in the national media by all the gloom-mongering.”
Along with my flowers, the real estate market seems poised to re-bloom.
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