Why This Is A Good Time To Buy A Home

I. Perspective on a Buyer's Market - Don't Believe the Headlines

• Today's sensational headlines ("Subprime Mortgage Meltdown", "Housing in the Tank") place an unduly gloomy picture of the national (and local) housing market.
• Despite the dire headlines that have appeared in the news, most Americans have reasonably good expectations that the economy will remain on their side for some time to come.
• A closer look at conditions in the housing market provide further grounds for optimism among prospective home buyers, and some of the negative developments in the marketplace can actually work to their benefit.
• For example, housing prices on a national basis have been losing some ground -- a development that sounds far worse than it actually is.
• At the height of the housing boom, home prices were rising at their fastest pace in history. In the hottest markets, prices doubled in a matter of years.
• Clearly this pace was unsustainable. And it didn't take too long before prices rose to unaffordable levels in many other parts of the country. MORE