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Elaine Abercrombie: Real Estate Market on the Rebound
Phew! After four years of declining home sales across the country, the numbers finally appear to be turning upward — with closed sales and pending contracts at above-normal increases.
In particular, first-time buyers helped buoy the market by taking advantage of low prices and interest rates, as well as the $8,000 tax credit offered by the federal government.
At least for now, home prices remain attractive, and mortgage payments as they relate to income are more comfortable.
All of the information seems to point to the fact that home prices have actually overcorrected downward. What does that mean? It indicates that many markets may experience a price “snap back,” with values increasing a lot more than the historical average of 4 percent appreciation per year.
Our local market has never dropped to lower lows; however, it reaches a higher plateau with each real estate cycle. This stair-stepping value is another reason investors are attracted to our area.
Some factors may continue to make some buyers cautious, mostly declines in retirement savings and a lukewarm economic recovery with unemployment hovering much higher than normal nationally. Now is not the time to hesitate, as mortgage interest rates are expected to rise as the year progresses.
We can expect the momentum of home sales to continue, especially with the extension of the tax credit through April and the fact that qualification is no longer limited to just first-time buyers. Prices and interest rates will rise this year, bringing buyer confidence to an all-time high.
The pressure cooker of pent-up demand is about to blow its top! It’s better to be five minutes too early than one minute late to make one of your most expensive purchases.
— Elaine Abercrombie, a broker with Village Properties Realtors, is president of the Santa Barbara Association of Realtors. She can be contacted at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
Comments
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» on 02.12.10 @ 01:29 PM
What? No statistics or other facts in this article? Where’s the data that justifies the characterization “pressure cooker of pent-up demand”? Where are the inventory numbers?
This isn’t a news article, its an advertisement!
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» on 02.12.10 @ 09:55 PM
Another self-serving article by a local RE agent. Overly optimistic as well…as usual for the industry.
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» on 02.13.10 @ 06:02 AM
Why does Noozhawk permit this column? Is there an advertising swap-out from her real estate agency?
Obviously biased, not based in fact, and not referenced with any reputable sources or databases, this is the sort of promotional garbage that taints any realistic assessment of the housing market…and that helped to fuel the recent housing bubble.
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» on 02.14.10 @ 08:05 AM
This type of poofy, made-up opinion from a realtor is the type of advice that helped fuel the real estate bubble, both here in Santa Barbara and elsewhere.
Haven’t we learned not to listen to them? This column tarnishes all realtors and should be terminated.
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