Two years ago I wrote this post... And it is almost embarrassing... I was SO wrong. So wrong.
Or maybe I was right, but just a couple of years too early (nope, I think that saying I was wrong is closer to the truth).
In effect, my opinion was the real estate was poised for a recovery. The prices were cheap, and mortgage rates were almost impossibly low.
Prices are lower... and so are interest rates. There are still deals out there (but at least there is a fight for some of them). But the fact remains that I misread the market, then. I tend to be a little more cynical about it now...
But, all of the same forces that were lined up pointing to a recovery, like the media talking it down, investors like Warren Buffet looking at real estate, etc., are still there.
What I hadn't banked on was unemployment and how it would affect the real estate market. Unemployment is up about 30% from where it was two years ago. Despite the bailouts, government takeovers and TARP, people aren't working. Until that happens, we won't see a real estate recovery... But when it happens, it will happen in a big way. I still believe that. It won't wind back up as fast as things unwound, but the best deals will vaporize from the market.
As mentioned, I have had buyers that have had to compete for properties at the entry level. It is a glimmer of hope...
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