Here is an excerpt from an interesting article by James B. Stewart in The Wall Street Journal:
"Last week, Standard & Poor's reported that its S&P/Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price index of real-estate values increased this past quarter over the first quarter of 2009, the first quarter-on-quarter increase in three years.The week before that, the National Association of Realtors reported that sales volume of existing homes was up 7.2% in July from June.
In short, the data suggest that real-estate prices hit a bottom some time during the second quarter, and have now begun to rise. There's no way to be certain that this marks the end of the long, painful correction that followed the real-estate bubble, but clearly prices are no longer in free-fall. That means if you've been sitting on the fence, it's time to act.
Ordinarily I'd never try to time the real-estate market, but I can understand why buyers have been cautious. Few want to buy in down markets, just as stock buyers avoid bear markets.But with real-estate prices nationally now down about 30% from their 2006 peak and showing signs of turning up, the prices aren't likely to go much lower. Every real-estate market is local, and so there may be a few exceptions. Overall, though, I can't imagine a better time to buy than now."
The full article can be found here:
WSJ: "Yes, the Housing Market Has Rarely Looked Better"
Statistical Analysis of San Francisco Market Trends as of 8/31/09
Homes = houses, condos & tenancy-in-common units (TICs)
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All information from sources deemed reliable, but not warranted and subject to omissions and errors. Median prices are fluctuating generalities which may be impacted by other factors besides changes in value (such as changes in buying trends), and may or may not reflect values for specific homes. Only a detailed comparative market analysis is useful in estimating the value of any particular property. Sales not reported to MLS (such as many new-development condo sales) are not reflected in these statistics.
