Colorado Springs CO Real Estate Blog

The public is constantly bombarded with conflicting information about the state of the U.S. housing market. Are we experiencing a housing recovery and now is the time to buy a home, or is the real estate market still suffering with no end in site? No one truly has that crystal ball, and the only way to know for sure when the housing bottom happened is long after we are on the way up. Unfortunately for you, the news media makes money through dramatic and often misleading headlines that can only lead to fear and confusion. So what are the experts really saying about the market? Karl E. Case (co-creator of the Standard & Poor’s Case-Shiller housing index – an index that track housing price appreciation and depreciation in many of our larger cities), The Wall Street Journal, and Fannie Mae, have all recently published articles stating that now is the time to buy. So should you listen to the media or the experts?

Carl Case and the Case-Shiller Index is considered by many as the premier expert in the real estate market price trends for the U.S. On September 1st, 2010, The New York Times published the article, “A Dream House After All” by Carl E. Case. Carl states, “It means having a solid and fairly safe long-term investment that is coupled with the satisfaction of owning the house they live in. The dream is still alive… For people with a realistic version of the American Dream, buying a house now can make a lot of sense.”

Fannie Mae also released positive information regarding consumer sentiment of the housing market and price trends in their most recent National Housing Survey. Their results concluded the following:

1.Eight in ten respondents consider homeownership important to the economy. 2.Nearly two-thirds of respondents think it is a good time to buy a house, and nearly 1 in 3 think now is a very good time to buy a house.

3.Nearly three-quarters think housing prices will go up or stay the same over the next year.

4.Seven out of ten respondents said that they believe buying a home continues to be one of the safest investments available.

Finally, the Wall Street Journal recently posted the article, “10 Reason To Buy a Home – Enough with the doom and gloom about homeownership.” Here is the condensed version of the 10 reasons that The Wall Street Journal mentioned;

1. You can get a good deal

2.Mortgages are cheap

3.You can save on taxes

4.It will be yours

5.You’ll get a better home

6.If offers some inflation protection

7.It’s risk capital

8.It’s forced savings

9.There is a lot to choose from

10.Sooner or later, the market will clear

You most likely won’t hear these positive housing market viewpoints in the nightly news or on the front cover of your newspaper. When considering if you should purchase a home in today’s market you should tune out the conflicting media talking points that are not created for your best interest. Instead you should focus on what is best for you and your family along with your local market conditions.   Real estate is very localizes  and  The Colorado Springs real estate market will be much  different than a market like Las Vegas.  Now more than ever, home buyers and sellers need the guidance of an experienced REALTOR to help them navigate the purchase or sale of their home.

No one in the media can tell you whether or not now is the right time for you to buy a home, yet many of the experts believe that right now is an ideal time for many to purchase a home. History proves that we are not often presented the opportunities that we are seeing today for buyers. Lower housing prices, historically low mortgage rates, a lot of homes to choose from, and an edge in negotiating price and terms that benefit the buyer, makes now the ideal time to purchase a home for many.