In What Year Are You Going To Acquire A Home

The National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) has noted that there has been an increase in buyers and sellers in the market for houses. This number is independent of actual houses sold. Does this mean that more buyers are stepping in to buy a house and that the inventory of unsold homes is starting to fall?

There are some very interesting numbers I want to share with you before I give you my answer on the question is 2009 the time to buy a house. First time home buyers were responsible for 11% of all home sales for the first half of 2009. The selling price of homes in certain areas rose last month. Real estate agents report that the number of people looking for a home to buy rose from 170 to 203. The number of sales per agent also rose from 8 to 9.

In a recent survey, over 60 industry analysts were asked if now was a good time to buy a house. 60% of those analysts believe that now is the time to buy a house. The main reason they give is that interest rates are very likely to stay low for the remainder of the year. Indeed, low interest rates are the single most important factor in determining the number of home sales. It is both low interest rates and low prices that will continue to pull more buyers into the market.

Of the analysts surveyed, 40% believe that it is too early to purchase a house because prices are likely to fall further. The main reason they give for home prices continuing to fall is that home prices are still high compared to wages. Also, the availability of credit continues to shrink. Some industry experts are predicting house prices to fall even in 2010. JP Morgan expects home prices to fall another 10% before reaching bottom. There is a very small percentage of analysts who think home prices will keep falling until 2014. All the analysts who think home prices will drop further site rising unemployment, a continuation of the credit crunch, and the negative consumer sentiment commonly caused by a recession.

Overall, the consensus is that you should not feel rushed to purchase a house. The country continues to be in a recession and unemployment is continuing to rise. With the banks continuing to make fewer and fewer home loans as they tighten credit, the demand for houses will remain low.

Perception has also changed about real estate. The old cliche that home prices have never dropped by more than 10% in the history of the United States has now been thrown out the window. Houses use to be considered a relatively safe investment as opposed to the volatile stock market. That perception in the market place has forever changed. It is my opinion that even better deals await home buyers in 2010.

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