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Health & Fitness

What Do You Think of the Current Housing Market?

Home sales around the country, some good news locally. Are homes selling? Yes, because the market is local and unlike stocks, homes are also a lifestyle purchase, not an investment alone.

As we look at the year in review, November was the seventh month in a row that posted higher sales in 2011 than 2010. While many are concerned about the European markets and such, I want to remind everyone that real estate is local!

I was recently chatting with a client who is wary of the market – I suggested he might think about the following: Real estate will continue to sell despite what happens in Greece or Italy. 

The young couple who just married want a place of their own – should they rent or would they rather buy when the monthly cost is the same or perhaps LESS – in whose pocket do they want the investment to be held – theirs or their landlord. 

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For the family who owns the two-bedroom Cape and has their third child – how long before they need to move or add on to make the property work for their family? How about the empty nester who would rather be in Sarasota than Westwood? Should they put their dream on hold until the market reaches what they MIGHT have made several years ago? Some Florida markets are starting to make gains - waiting could price some buyers out of the homes they dream of buying!

I was recently reading an article from CNBC.com and I think the author has some valid points we need to remember: In some metropolitan markets, the prices have bottomed, according to CEO of National Association of Home Builders, the vast majority of markets are ready to turn around.

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“Residential rents have now risen enough to consider buying, existing home inventory is falling to the lowest in the past five years, new home construction is at a 40 year low, affordability is at a record high, consumer confidence is on the rise and job growth is accelerating,” according to NAHB.  

Not a bad combination for a good market in 2012! For sellers, that is welcome news. For move up buyers, the time to buy is now – before prices start moving up again.

What do you think?

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