We are Real Estate Experts that Serve the South Puget Sound Area
Here you will find a wide variety of useful information and resources designed to help you buy or sell a home more effectively in these local areas. From information on the local community, to advice about finding a mortgage or preparing your home to sell, it's all available here on my web site. You can also search for your ideal home by viewing current listings with detailed descriptions and photos. Or you can get help determining the value of your home by requesting a report that includes the prices of similar homes that recently sold or are currently for sale in these local areas. So whether you're buying or selling, feel free to contact us and we will be happy to help you with all your real estate needs.
2010 REAL ESTATE OUTLOOK
Getting Back to
Normal?
The real
estate market has been on a crazy ride over the past decade, with
dramatic booms and busts. However, many indicators seem to show that
2010 could be the first year in a, dare we say, “normal” market cycle.
Home Valuations
In spite of
wild housing valuation swings over the past several years, current
valuations in the Pacific Northwest are 10-20 percent higher than 2004
levels, depending on specific locations and price points.
Affordability
As you can
see in the graph to the right, housing affordability is approaching a
normal level. Though early 2009 saw historically high affordability due
to a market overcorrection, the last two quarters of the year and
projections for 2010 show we are headed toward more normal territory.
Transactions:
The 5 Percent Rule
A study by REAL Trends found that, on
average, 5 percent of households turn over each year. Boom years see a
few more, bust years see a few less, but about 5 percent of Americans
buy and/or sell a home each year. A recent study estimates that 5
percent of Americans plan to buy or sell their home in 2010, which means
2010 should be closer to an average year for home sales.
Absorption rates
Absorption
rates—a percentage that shows the relationship between pending sales
and inventory—were moving toward stabilized levels of 20-30 percent
during the last few months of 2009. In general, rates above 30 percent
signal a sellers’ market, while rates below 20 percent means a buyers’
market. Projections for the early months of 2010 seem to keep us on this
balanced rate of sales.
The
general consensus is that we are now at the tail end of a recession, and
we still have some residual economic factors to work through. But near
historic low interest rates, great affordability, and home buyer tax
credits should help push us through the wake of the past few years’ ups
and downs into a more stable market. |
The Camp Team
John L. Scott Real Estate
Direct: 206-854-1927
thecampteam@yahoo.com
|
