Real Estate "Dark Age" finally over?

Our economy has finally picked up. Yes, it’s not a statement wrapped in hope but figures are actually showing us that we are indeed on the rise. According to a recent article by The Wall Street Journal, it is great news for us, Realtors – the housing market has turned, finally.

According to S&P’s David Blitzer, most indexes of house prices are bending up made apparent by the first monthly increase in the slow-moving S&P/Case-Shiller house-price data after a seven-month slump.

Nearly 10% more existing homes were sold in May than of the same month last year. Most of the homes were bought by investors who plan to rent them for now and sell them later, an important sign of an inflection point. The number of vacant homes is at its lowest since 2006.

Mark Fleming, chief economist at CoreLogic (housing data-analysis firm), stated that reduced inventory of unsold homes is key. Few years back, house prices have increased in the spring but then slumped onwards. He is positive that this won’t happen again this year as the declining supply of houses currently in the market indicates the trend.

Economists from Wells Fargo Securities have hinted that although the general economy is slowing, the budding recovery in the housing market appear to be gradually gaining momentum.

According to this article, housing is still far from healthy despite the Federal Reserve's efforts to resuscitate it by helping to push mortgage rates to extraordinary lows: 3.62% for a 30-year loan, according to Freddie Mac's latest survey. Single-family housing starts, though up, remain 60% below the 2002 pre-bubble pace. Americans' equity in homes is $2 trillion, or 25%, less than it was in 2002 and half what it was at the peak. More than one in every four mortgage borrowers still has a loan bigger than the value of the house, though rising home prices are reducing that fraction slowly.

Despite the figures not as good as we actually want them to be, we can still consider the upturn in housing a huge milestone, particularly with the unemployment rate we’re facing currently. Though housing has been notorious for being one of the causes of economic weakness, it has now moved to a more positive light.
A lot of other factors can be put into the equation but we can all breathe normally now --- the housing bust is over.

Do you want to work with a Realtor who's always in the know about the latest Real Estate trends and gives his clients essential information about the best ways to deal with the current market?  Call me, Mynor Herrera, today for expert help buying or selling in the DC, MD, & VA areas! I also specialize in Bethesda and Chevy Chase, as well as the subdivisions of Rosemary Hills, Rock Creek Forest, East Bethesda and Whitehall Condominium.