Historic learning experiences tend to look better from the rear view mirror, so I can’t wait until we are at the moment in time to look at everything in hindsight…  Until then, what the heck does this all mean for the DC Metro area real estate market?  The answer is - probably not much.  Credit has already tightened and the Fed’s recent move to secure AIG indicates no further tightening of the credit market is expected.  Today anyway…  It is the availability of financing that has caused us great pain recently so I think the damage caused by the tightening has already been done.

The volume of real estate transactions is down about 17% from this time last year (depending on which segment of our local market you look at) but inventory numbers are up only slightly.  More foreclosures are selling quickly which is chewing through or excess inventory at a respectable pace.  The recent drop in interest rates has helped spike activity and everyone is cautiously optimistic that an administration change will mean nothing but good things for the real estate market.

Bottom line - nearly everything in the US is on sale right now, including some great deals in real estate.  We don’t know when the sale will end, but like all great sales - they don’t last forever!  Keep affordability in the forefront of your mind and make decisions that are right for your life right now - and don’t worry about the market.  If it makes sense for you to buy right now - based on where you are with your life - buy.  If you want to sell because it will help you move on to something else you want in your life - sell.

We are helping about six people every month sell and buy real estate.  Let us know what we can do for you.

Tags: Buying, DC real estate market, Financing, Selling
Posted on Wednesday, September 17th, 2008 at 11:48 am. Follow responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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