It surely seems as though this is where we are heading with the real estate market:
Here’s the brief version:
- Home prices in major metropolitan areas fell 1.3% from September to October
- Many economists believe that the gains from Spring 2009 will be wiped out by declines in 2010
- Unemployment rose to 9.8% last month
- Demand is non-existent
- Supply is still growing
- Mortgage rates are increasing slightly
- NAR claims that 30% of sales have come from distressed situations
- Given the supply, Wells Fargo projects that prices will drop by 8% in 2011
- The simple truth is that people feel poorer when their home value declines
- “The Conference Board, a business research group, said Tuesday that its confidence index fell to 52.5 from 54.3 in November, as consumers’ views about job availability worsened” – reported the WSJ
