I know that as a real estate professional, I'm supposed to put a positive spin on everything in hopes I'll convince you to get moving. I think we all know the polish is off the apple.
But wait......it all depends on where you are in your real estate cycle.
OK, if you're trying to downsize, sell outright or are dealing with an estate sale, you have my sympathies. Prices have been driven down and there's so much competition that it can sometimes be difficult to get noticed.
However, if you're a first-time buyer, why are you sitting there? Interest rates are still at historical lows and prices have been rolled back to turn of the century. Seriously, stop wondering if you should and just do it!
Got a better job and want to move up? Afraid of the "hit" you'll take on your current home? 10% loss is 10% loss accross the board, so when you lose that money off your $100k starter and are looking in the $200k + range, guess who wins...YOU!
So you're still wondering if the time is right. Can it get worse? Of course it can, we could have another September 11th, the next president could be worse, a meteor can hit us. However, barring a total collapse we're pretty close to bottom and once the market starts to move up again, you'll be faced with even more strict lending, higher interest rates and lower inventories.
Be smart about it. You can't get into as much trouble with bad lenders as you could a couple of years ago but enlist trusted professionals, listen to friends and family (the ones who make sense), do your homework. Remember it's a Buyer's market, not a fire sale.
