Article Written By: Jamie Harris
There is no doubt that the current economy and the housing market are in great struggle. But there is good news. Reports that are coming out of the National Association of Estate Agents show home buying and selling are primarily improving from improved interest rates, although only slightly. Yet there is a seen increase in people looking to buy, as well as new homes on the market, this news is encouraging.Unluckily, first-time buyers have had a hard time buying homes in recent years for the reason that prices are high. And the fact, studies simply shows that this group accounts for only 10.8% of homes sold.Many people are still asking whether 2009 is the right year and time to buy a home, even if with encouraging numbers. In order to determine the answer, the Financial Times conducted a study consisting of 50 economists. 60% of these professionals stated that 2009 was not the right time to buy and the remaining 40% disagreed but only if property was purchased during the fourth quarter.Of the 40% of economists that felt buying a home in 2009 was safe, the primary reason that supported their decision was that getting people to buy real estate would help protect and even boost a declining financial market. Mortgage lenders agree that interest rates look optimistic for the entire year and some believe that at the end of 2009, more credit will become available for buyers, especially with the government's aid.But then you will also find economists that expect to see falling real estate prices throughout the remainder of 2009 and into 2010. As a matter of fact, many respected companies have put numbers to their forecasting. Like for instance, Capital Economics believes housing prices will go down an additional 20%, And the Insight is predicting 15%, and JP Morgan is going with 10%. Though it is difficult to hear, these economy experts are expecting an end within a short amount of time.For these and other experts to make such predictions, numerous factors come into play such as rising unemployment, high debt-to-income ratio, restrictions on credit, slow economic growth, and others.To sum it all, people are not making fast decisions. It is because of the unemployment numbers that the demand of real estate will continue to go down. No doubt that some people that prefer to purchase a new home, which comes with many benefits. Though buyers do exist, yet almost have lost faith in the concept of real estate being a sound financial investment, a great way to build equity and get a return on investment.
This Article Has Been Published on Fri, 20 Nov 2009 and Read 189 Times