Well another month has gone by and it seems that the National real estate market is starting to turn around.

This summer is proving the truth of that old saying “All Real Estate is local.”  Some markets have hit bottom and are starting to rise in values while others are falling. 18 States are showing appreciation in their markets and an additional 10 States are showing signs of a stabilizing real estate market. Further more, 25 major metropolitan markets are reporting appreciation between 9.1% and 5.2%. According to Housing Predictor 56% of the nations 250 major housing markets have either stabilized or are appreciating. This could show that the worst is over for most of the U.S. real estate markets.

Over all nationally the median price of a home this year is expected to fall 1.3% according to  NAR’s chief economist Lawrence Yun.  But for most buyers that reduced purchase price of their home will NOT prove to be much help as 30 year mortgage interest rates have risen and are expected to hover around the 6.6% range by the 3rd quarter of this year and through 2008.
Mean while 2008 home prices are expected to climb 1.7% nationally, more than compensating for the small decline in 2007.
Sales Volume for 2006 was 6.48 million units sold in the U.S.
Sales Volume for this year is anticipated to drop to 6.18 million units but
The forecast for 2008 shows a rebound to 6.41 million units almost matching the boom high of 2006.

The general consensus about real estate these days is that the day of flipping to make a fast buck is over. The markets are starting to show signs of stabilization and investing in real estate should be for the long term not the short term.  Sanity has finally returned to real estate. This makes it a better market place for the first time home buyer who now has a real selection and are not forced to grab at anything that meets their budget. It also has created a much better environment for the repeat home buyer with the numbers of units in any given price range offering increased inventory and a selection of quality and value that was not available during the past years in a high pressure Sellers markets.

Economic indicators are looking strong for 2008 with a projected gross domestic product increase of 3%. Unemployment is expected to stay a health 4.8% and inflation is anticipated to be stable at around 2.5%.

According to the National Association of Realtors homes purchased just 10 years ago have increased in price on average 88% nation wide. According to Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies the number of new households nation wide will increase by 15% in the next 10 years. These are strong indicators for the U.S. real estate markets.

The major Mortgage Companies are reporting that repossessions will reach 2 million units spread over the course of the next 2 1/2 years which is the highest they have been since the U.S. Savings and Loan Fraud Crisis. This means that the selection of resale housing will continue to be greater than normal and possibly continue to curtail the number new housing starts until these additional units are once again absorbed.  But keep in mind that as the local real estate markets continue to stabilize and appreciation once again begins, fewer repossessions will result from these exotic or 100% loans resetting their interest rates. People are far less likely to walk away from a home in which they have equity, so more people will find a way to make their payments or refinance their loans with a more conventional mortgage product.

Even in some of the hardest hit real estate markets in the country like Las Vegas their are areas that are currently appreciating with in the market. This comes back to my first statement of this report. “All real estate is local.” It not only is local to the State but also the city and even down to the neighborhoods within the city. 

Now is the time to buy so that as the market continues to recover and appreciate you will benefit from the gain in value on your investment.  Keep in mind you need someone in your corner to help you find the property that fits your needs, goals and desires. You need a real estate agent that works in your market full time and understands which properties are great buys for that particular county, city, zip code and neighborhood.

Thanks to the web their is a lot of great information for buyers to learn from. Keep in mind that many of the web sites give far to general information and sometimes this information is outdated or inaccurate because they are trying to cover such a wide scope such as national and regional information.
Only your local expert real estate agent with their firm understanding of the current market place in their geographically specific area can give you current accurate information.  Use the web as a general guide but go to your agent for specific up-to-date information.

Now is the time to purchase while the prices are at an all time low. Don’t wait as the market is changing and it’s changing rapidly.