Posted Friday, June 3, 2011 | The Biker Blog
Realtors Hope Home Prices Have Bottomed Out
MADISON, Wis. -- Faced with a "double dip" in the nation's housing market, buyers and sellers are hoping home prices have finally bottomed out. Thursday, June 2, 2011.
Home prices have hit another new low, down to levels not reached since 2002.
For Realtor Leslie Blum, the housing market has been a roller coaster over the years, but it's still a market in which she believes. "We are seeing more short sales and foreclosures, which will bring the prices down," said Blum. "But I personally have buyers and investors that are willing to buy these."
Jackie Grande has been looking for the right home to buy. "It's been really tiring because I'm looking at a lot of different places," said Grande. "But it's at the same time, it's really exciting because I have so many options."
Those many options are driving prices to levels lower than 2009's recession prices.
Morris Davis, a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business, said the hit on housing prices in the area isn't as bad as the nation's average.
But local areas aren't immune to the double dip. "It's true that, on average, our house prices have been less volatile than the average house in Las Vegas or Miami or Phoenix," Davis said. "But there's certain segments of the housing market in Madison where I believe house prices have fallen quite a bit -- 20-25 percent."
Experts said the homebuyer's tax credit offered in 2009 helped only to speed up transactions and did little to create new ones. "There was a huge spike in sales prior to the tax credit expiring," said Davis. "And then after the tax credit expired, there was almost an equally sharp lack of sales."
Realtors such as Blum are noticing a shift in how people view buying a home now -- as less of an investment and more of a dream.
"I believe when everybody was in a market to flip, it wasn't a house; it was just a profit," said Blum. "Now I see people more, that's their sanctuary, it's their home. And they plan on staying there. They know it's going to take a while before things move again. So they make it what they want."
Home prices have hit another new low, down to levels not reached since 2002.
For Realtor Leslie Blum, the housing market has been a roller coaster over the years, but it's still a market in which she believes. "We are seeing more short sales and foreclosures, which will bring the prices down," said Blum. "But I personally have buyers and investors that are willing to buy these."
Jackie Grande has been looking for the right home to buy. "It's been really tiring because I'm looking at a lot of different places," said Grande. "But it's at the same time, it's really exciting because I have so many options."
Those many options are driving prices to levels lower than 2009's recession prices.
Morris Davis, a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business, said the hit on housing prices in the area isn't as bad as the nation's average.
But local areas aren't immune to the double dip. "It's true that, on average, our house prices have been less volatile than the average house in Las Vegas or Miami or Phoenix," Davis said. "But there's certain segments of the housing market in Madison where I believe house prices have fallen quite a bit -- 20-25 percent."
Experts said the homebuyer's tax credit offered in 2009 helped only to speed up transactions and did little to create new ones. "There was a huge spike in sales prior to the tax credit expiring," said Davis. "And then after the tax credit expired, there was almost an equally sharp lack of sales."
Realtors such as Blum are noticing a shift in how people view buying a home now -- as less of an investment and more of a dream.
"I believe when everybody was in a market to flip, it wasn't a house; it was just a profit," said Blum. "Now I see people more, that's their sanctuary, it's their home. And they plan on staying there. They know it's going to take a while before things move again. So they make it what they want."
