I don’t care too much about home sales numbers – I have my niche and I do very well, so the overall market, while extremely important, doesn’t take up too much of my time.
Having said that, it’s disappointing and a bit worrisome that home sales have fallen, and a bit confusing that home sales prices continue to rise. In a free-market economy, shouldn’t one affect the other?
My only fear, truthfully, is that the cooling off in the real estate market will have an effect (great usage of affect / effect, don’t you think?) on the general economy, and that would upset me (and my lifestyle). However, I just read somewhere that the economy is still showing strength, and growth estimates (measured as GDP, maybe?) were just raised. (The rate is still only about 1.6%, though, I hear, so that’s not too great, especially when inflation is probably 3-4%.)
If someone’s buying to own, then do it now. Do it when you need to do it. Yes, I’d be annoyed, myself, if I bought now, and in six months lower prices means I could have bought the same place for $10,000 or $20,000 less, but do I want to wait six months? Do you have a crystal ball? Will you even be alive in six months?
Make a financial plan – a budget of what you want to do, and do it, based on best information available now.
Massachusetts house sales plummeted 21 percent last month, stoking fears that the housing bubble may have burst and could send shock waves across the economy.
It was the biggest year-over-year sales drop in almost 11 years – as Realtors recorded the slowest January since 1996.
What’s more, one of the worst fears of homeowners appears to be coming true: House values have dropped nearly 8 percent since August.
The screeching slowdown “has ramifications far beyond the real estate market,� said John Bitner, chief economist at Boston-based Eastern Bank.
Read more: Roof collapses on housing boom – By Jerry Kronenberg, The Boston Herald
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