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The Domino Effect - How Our Market will Rebound?

By
Real Estate Agent with Realty Executives
The domino effect occurs when a small change causes a similar change
nearby, which then will cause another similar change, and so on in
linear sequence. The domino effect also relates to a chain of events.
How does this relate to our local real estate market?
I am convinced that we are waiting for the first dominos to fall,
therefor setting the stage for the rest to follow.

The Puget Sound's economic outlook is good. It's hard to pick up a
paper that doesn't have positive forecasts for some of our major
employers be it Microsoft of Boeing. We also have the advantage of
limited land for building. The Growth Management Act had a hand in
keeping things under control.

However, with the national news of the mortgage meltdown and
foreclosures throughout the country, our local buyers have been sitting
on the sidelines.

Take note that I only mentioned the buyer's sitting it out. Sellers
have been putting their homes on the market hoping to be the exception
to the sluggish market trend. Hence the supply has outweighed the
demand. Many of these sellers are also going to be buyers once their
house sells. Up until last year the trend was to use the equity of your
home to make the next purchase, but with homes not selling as quickly,
the risk of such a move has risen considerably. The chances of owning
two homes for an extended amount of time has made that option less
desirable.

What's it going to take to shake things up in our market? The Feds
reduction of interest rates is one step in the right direction. With
more buying power and housing prices that have found there way back to
2004 levels in some cases, buyers should have the motivation they are
looking for. Seller's be prepared for anxious buyers who are looking
for houses price "right" and rightfully feel they are in the driver's
seat.

In our own business we have more people ready to buy or sell than ever
before. That must be some indicator that the dominos are ready to fall.
2008 ought to be a great year in real estate! 

Show All Comments Sort:
Thomas Santore Lic Associate Real Estate Broker
Coldwell Banker Realty/Coldwell Banker Commercial NRT - Yorktown Heights, NY
RealtorĀ®-ABR-Land, Residential & Commercial Sa
hope we get to play dominos soon!!!!
Feb 01, 2008 12:51 AM