I came
across a very good article in regards to the 2013 housing market that I think
is very accurate and offers good tips for both buyers and sellers. I added some of my thoughts into the article pertaining
to our local market area.
Overall
the housing market has stabilized and there is no reason to be fearful of
further large declines in property values.
There should be an increase of
buyers looking, trying to take advantage of the continued low interest rates
and low house values. This does not mean
that sellers can get all excited and think they can get a lot more for their
houses. There will be several of you
that still will have a difficult time breaking even. It will take a few more years before we will
see the values increase to levels of 2005-2007.
Pricing
property is still very important. The majority
of people buying are getting mortgages and the appraiser that is hired by the
bank will have the final say as to the value of the home.
If you
want to buy, you have to be ready to make an offer. If it’s a new listing a low offer will not be
beneficial to you. However, if a home
has been on the market for a while you might be in a better position to
negotiate. It all depends on the property and the seller’s
motivation. Your buyer’s agent will
research the situation and guide you along as to the best way to proceed.
Here are a few things to watch in 2013
that could change the housing market:
Fed chairman Ben Bernanke is lifting housing by buying bonds to
keep mortgage rates low. How much longer can he keep that going?
The loss of mortgage deductions. Should the tax break on mortgage
interest get cut, it would throw cold
water on the real estate recovery.
Sellers sit on the fence. Homeowners could remain on the sidelines
as the ranks of buyers grow. In that case, the inventory of homes would shrink
even more, lifting prices faster than expected.
Homeowners get bullish. A spate of home construction is already
taking place in several major markets. In those regions, the housing stock is
likely to stabilize, keeping price gains modest.
Banks loosen their grip. If tight lending standards return to
historical norms, realtors argue, the market could see an additional 500,000 to
700,000 home sales next year.
Employer confidence rises. Since jobs are the engine of the housing
market, a pickup in hiring later in the year, which economists are predicting,
could accelerate a real estate rebound in the second half of 2013.
This information
is taken from the article - Real estate: Find opportunity next year
By Carla Fried, CNN Money
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