HouseHunt Survey Says It’s a ‘Great Time To Buy’

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RISMEDIA, Oct. 10, 2008-Encouraging reports from HouseHunt’s latest Current Market Conditions random survey of about 2,000 member-agents-coupled with legislation designed to ease the national credit crunch and Senate passage of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act (EESA) of 2008-suggests that market and price stability might occur sooner rather than later, particularly in hundreds of less volatile housing areas across the country.

Centerpiece of this guarded optimism is last week’s approval by Congress of the $700 billion government rescue of the battered financial industry, which through illiquidity had frozen the ability of large and small businesses throughout the U.S. to conduct normal business.

The Stabilization Act (EESA) requires financial institutions to work with lenders and mortgage servicers to find ways to avoid foreclosures by making more financing available. It would also help stabilize home sales and prices.

Although standards have tightened, mortgage financing continues to be available for qualified buyers, according to a sampling of HouseHunt member-agents.

For example, Mary Mahoney of Nostalgic Homes in Denver, CO, exclusive HouseHunt member-agent for Congress Park, said mortgage loan availability depends largely on the buyer: “It’s not a problem for those with good credit although our lenders are more particular these days. Interest rates are relatively low and it’s still a really good time to buy. Some buyers are more apprehensive and will probably wait until next year but I fully expect my business to pick up this winter as consumer confidence returns. Average home price is $350,000,” she said.

Bill Abbott of Long & Foster Real Estate in the District of Columbia, exclusive HouseHunt member-agent for the Palisades-Wesley Heights-Spring Valley-Georgetown area on the upper northwest side, said his market has slowed considerably but qualified buyers are still able to purchase homes.

“Second mortgage money has gone away but we still have 90% loans for those with decent credit,” he said. “Good properties that are priced well continue to sell.”

Abbott is optimistic that pent-up demand will result in increased sales activity by late spring of 2009. Average home price is $725,000.

New data from the National Association of Realtors is also favorable. It reported that the national inventory of unsold homes dropped by 320,000 in July of this year and stood at 4.26 million units at the end of August. Currently there is a 10.4 month supply of homes for sale across the country. A six-month supply is regarded as balanced.

The third quarter, 2008, HouseHunt survey also found the following:

- Average home prices appear to be stabilizing - and in some cases actually increasing – in any metro and small markets. Some homes in more volatile markets suffered double digit price declines after equally dramatic run-ups earlier this decade.

- Sixty percent of sellers say they are getting at least 95% of their asking prices, up 10% in one year.

- The demand for homes is virtually even between first-time buyers and repeat buyers, increasing the pressure for entry-level homes.

“These results suggest an incredibly good opportunity – possibly the best in more than a decade -for qualified buyers to purchase homes,” said Michael Bearden, president and CEO of HouseHunt, Inc. “Houses are certainly more affordable now and there are plenty to choose from in all price ranges. Plus, there’s a pent-up demand from millions of potential home buyers waiting for prices to bottom out. Currently, sellers outnumber buyers by more than a two-to-one margin, according to our latest survey.”

Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, agrees that now is an excellent time to purchase a home: “Buyers are taking advantage of drastically lower prices-many related to distressed foreclosed sales – and sellers are highly motivated to negotiate,” he said in a recent news release.

With the exception of California, Arizona, Nevada and Florida that saw speculative booms and hard falls in prices, homes in the remaining 46 states have experienced little change in price during the past year.

Yun said sales have more or less doubled in the West Region, particularly in Sacramento, Riverside, San Diego, Bakersfield and Las Vegas. He also included the southwest coast of Florida, where he said buyers are scrambling to buy. Yun also said home sales appear to have turned the corner in Arizona, Northern Virginia, Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Port St. Lucie and Melbourne, FL.

John Tuccillo, a national real estate economist, pointed out that home prices in most of the 150 U.S. metropolitan markets have stabilized. Those based in markets based on the energy business are experiencing price appreciations.

Here are additional samples of survey responses from HouseHunt member-agents around the country:

Kathy Renken of Keller Williams Check Realty, exclusive HouseHunt member-agent along with her partner Charlie Musarra for Prescott Valley, AZ, reports a very quiet housing market even though buyers with good credit have no problem qualifying. “Some people have decided to wait awhile because of problems with the national economy,” she said. Although known as a popular retirement community, Renken said there is lots of interest from first-time buyers attracted by lower home prices and light industry jobs. Average home price is $225,000.

Harrelore Schleicher of Holtzclaw Hermann Real Estate, exclusive HouseHunt member-agent for Corpus Christi, TX, reported a “decent market with more sellers than buyers. If a home is priced correctly, it sells. Our average time on the market for a listing to sell is six to nine months. Average price home is $150,000.” She said that mortgage financing is currently available to qualified buyers. Also on a positive note, Schleicher said the city escaped damage to residential areas from recent hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico.

Jo Kenney of Keller Williams Metro Atlanta, exclusive HouseHunt member-agent for the fashionable Druid Hills area, said listing prices are holding mostly firm and homes are selling to qualified buyers with good credit. “We’ve had lots of bank foreclosures in the Atlanta metro area, in all price ranges, but have had very few in upscale neighborhoods of older homes like Druid Hills. Average price home there is $900,000. We’ve actually had a slight increase in sales prices in the past month.”

HouseHunt, Inc., is a consumer-oriented Internet firm that provides free information to homeowners, home buyers and home sellers in 47 states through about 2,000 member-agents and its primary website, HouseHunt.com.

For more information, visit www.HouseHunt.com.

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