Why is the Real Estate market down right now and what will it take to make houses sell faster again?

Answer 1

There are a lot of reasons that the real estate market took a dive. In 2004/2005 all Media reported how great it is to invest in Real Estate and how much money can be made in "flipping" properties. That caused "small" investors to take equity out of their homes, tranfer IRA accounts into Real Estate, took high mortgages out on the investment properties with pretty "adventureos" loan programs. Now all the sudden the Media turned around reporting about a "housing bubble" about to burst. Investors lost their confidence and try now to get rid of their investment property, a lot of first time home buyer got lured into adjustable rate or interest only loan programs, interest went up and those homes came either back on the market and/or went into foreclosures.

Point is that Real Estate is still the safest investment, people will always have to live somewhere and our population is growing.

As soon as investors and buyers gain confidence again and with the housing prices that low, the market will pick up again, in some areas sooner as a lot of people expected it to happen.

What needs to happen to make homes sell faster again? Tell all people you know that now is the time to buy, prices are low, interest rates are not to bad yet either, Real Estate will always be in high demand. And Real Estate is always a good investment.

Buyers and seller need to gain confidence again.

For you, in trying to sell your home faster, you probably have to lower the price below the price of the lowest comparable home in your area. Look at other homes comparable to your in the same area and see how they are "staged". Check into sold properties in your area and try to figure out why they did sell and yours did not.

Answer 2

The real estate market is down because the American public has been led astray and, like sheep, they followed the masses and jumped in feet first. Yes, a lot of people have made money in real estate. Ask a realtor when is the best time to buy, The answer is now. Why? Because they are salesmen. They make money when you sell or buy. When applying for a loan, the loan officer will not say " you do not make enough money to buy this house," they will say" can you get someone with more income to cosign." The botttom line is , if a coulple can't pay a 20 or 30 year fixed mortage with a weeks pay, either the house is too expensive or you don't make enough money to buy it. There use to be the term also three times your gross is all that you can comfortably afford. Also, if your payment is more than the rents are, then you loose the option of renting the property and not loosing it. Remember, interest only loans are a gamble and are not much fun in a declining market. People, from their own greed and stupidity have driven up this rediculous market and the politicians love it because the tax base has gone up and they have more money to waste.

Answer 3

in 2004 and 2005 there was a real estate "mania" or bubble, where a significant percentage of buyers were buying houses strictly as investments. Many markets appreciated 25%-45% between 2003 and 2004, and that kind of appreciation only added more speculative investers into the buying pool. People were actually commiting to buying houses sight-unseen. It was considered a "sure thing" money-maker.

However, all good things must come to an end. Therefore, in about October-November 2005 (at least in my market area), investors began unloading their properties, and the rush to the exits was on. Meanwhile, homebuilders were building new inventory at a absolutely frantic pace, and they were caught off-guard.

Things that have exacerbated the slowdown: One builder locally thought that the slow-down would be over in six months, and so he foolishly started over 400 spec houses at once, thinking that since other builders had drastically cut back on taking out building permits, he would have "the only game in town." That was the spring of 2006. He probably still hasn't even sold half of those speculative houses. And even if he's managed to sell them, I bet he took significant profit hits due to freebie upgrades.

People who had been thinking about "cashing in" and selling their house saw the slow-down in sales, and, thinking prices may drop, put their houses on the market, with the historically high price tag as the sale price. As buyers decided to wait and see if prices went lower, the houses sat.

Now we have the subprime loan mess, with the people who had poor credit histories were granted mortgages, and too many people with those types of loans are defaulting. Those houses are added to the already glutted market of homes for sale.

Many homes and few buyers in a free market is good for holding home prices down. So if you're going to be in the market to buy a house soon, you will be able to buy the house you want in six months to a year for the same prices you see today (maybe less).

The only thing that make houses sell faster again is for the amount of inventory on the market to decrease. The time it will take to equalize the number of buyers and sellers could be anywhere from one to three years. Nobody can foretell the future with certainty, but most agree that it will be at least another year at minimum.

Answer 4

The simple law of supply and demand...a few years ago demand rose sharply so costs skyrocketed...and then when supply caught up to demad...and then passed it...the "Bubble Burst"..thats what that means...to many houses for sale and not enough buyers for them all.
Which is the exact opposite of 3 years ago
To make houses sell faster agian, there will have to be a price correction to entice buyers to buy for bargains...which will eat up all the extra houses on the market and then the curve will go up again...and prices will rise agian....back and forth..up and down...Not withstanding outside forces like interest rates and cost of shipping building materials because of fuel increases, etc..... I gave you the big picture simplified answer but there are other factors like the few mentioned, but they can be drowned out by supply and demand...

Answer 5

Working as a Lender, everyday the first thing I go to is CNN to watch just what the local banks are doing and what is possibly going to happen for the day. There are many things that effect what is going on in the market. Jobs, Money, Markets, New Investors, everyday spending, and so forth. I suggest to get nosy and go straight to the source.
CNN Money

Answer 6

I were an agent/Broker for thirty years. I suppose the most important predicament with so much residence dealers is that they "shoot themselves of their possess foot". When you first record and feature the estate equipped you'll get a "rush" of very encouraged and certified consumers. After that you're going to get a way smaller quantity of showings and the showings you get will probably be a lot much less encouraged. Also in so much locations of the US there's a quantity cycle of truly property earnings. Most occur from the opening of Spring till approximately a month earlier than university begins. Then it falls off somewhat till simply earlier than Thanksgiving or so then it falls off much more till Spring. Some locations have one other cycle and of path there are properties offered day-to-day of the yr. I suppose your agent is attempting to support you.