I saw an interesting poll on AOL real estate today. There no evidence to say the people taking the poll are actually active house hunters, or which area of the country they are from, but it’s an interesting poll none the less.
Every home buyer I meet seems to be price sensitive and looking for a deal. According to the survey almost half respondents are willing to pay a premium for move in ready.
An article today on the AOL blog was titled ‘Best Time Ever’ to Buy a Home? Best-Selling Author Says Yes
Many people find the prospect of buying a distressed property daunting. Is it really a good idea?
This distressed market presents the greatest buying opportunity. At the same time, it’s also the most difficult market. You can become very rich. The housing market won’t recover for years, but if you buy a place and live it, you likely will have enough equity over time so that it becomes an asset in your retirement. I believe prices will continue to drop for another couple of years.
Sounds a bit contradictory to say that now is the best time to buy a home but at the same time saying prices will drop for another couple of years. But I think in some ways it makes sense because even though the broader market numbers may continue to slide lower there are some deals out there right now that are priced below market price. When those deals are all finally gone the supply of distressed properties is finally at a normal rate the normal rules of supply and demand will kick in fast.