Navigate the New Rules of Real Estate

Posted on April 22, 2013 | Leave a comment

The Housing Horizon
One thing is certain, says Jed Kolko, chief economist and head of analytics for real estate site Trulia.com: “The rebound is real.” After U.S. home prices hit rock bottom in the first quarter of 2012 (plummeting nearly 30 percent since early 2008), they rose over the next nine months, according to the Case-Shiller home price index. The National Association of Realtors recently reported that the median existing home price in February was $173,600, up 11.6 percent from a year ago. And fewer listings are languishing, which means buyers are making choices faster. The median time it took to sell a house in January was 108 days, down from 119 days in January 2012, per realtor.com.

“When any housing recession recovers, it goes like gangbusters,” says real estate mogul Barbara Corcoran. “But this is the fastest comeback I’ve seen.”

Have values rebounded in Southern California?  Contact the appraisers at www.scappraisals.com for your value questions.

Celia Chen, a housing analyst with Moody’s Analytics, expects to see continued growth for the next few years. If you’re ready to buy a home, this is a good time to do it, she says. But in today’s post-bubble market, how should we define “ready”?

“Home ownership makes sense only if you can buy toward the future you want for yourself and your family,” says Ilyce Glink, head of the financial website ThinkGlink.com and author of Buy, Close, Move In! “You shouldn’t buy a one-bedroom condo if you want to have kids in the next five years. If you’re looking to retire but the thought of monthly payments keeps you up at night, you’re far better off skipping the mortgage—even if interest rates are at 3 percent. And whoever you are, you should plan to be there for a minimum of 10 years.”That means staying not just in your home but also in the town and region. Think about the area schools and amenities, and how they’ll align with your needs over the next decade. Consider the stability of your current job, as well as your career prospects if your company were to close or lay off employees. In today’s job market, many workers find themselves having to relocate for new opportunities. In that scenario, a home—especially one that’s underwater or tough to sell—could become a millstone. During the Great Recession, the number of long-distance moves sank to record lows in part because many job seekers were trapped in a frozen housing market.

Read more at: http://www.parade.com/4295/katerockwood/navigate-the-new-rules-of-real-estate/

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