Buyer’s Choice Realty blog

The National Association of Realtors® reported today that their forward-looking statistic, “Pending Home Sales Index“, based on contracts signed on previously owned homes, is down nationwide. With the economy going down the drain, huge job losses in many sectors, and consumer confidence very low, this number is no surprise.

Here in the Northeast, the numbers are the worst. The index dropped 7.2 percent to 63.2 in November and is 14.6 percent below a year ago.

Is there light at the end of the tunnel? Perhaps. The NAR’s “housing affordability index”, a complicated relationship between prices, mortgage rates, and family income, is approaching record highs not seen since 1972. Housing is actually becoming affordable again.

Real estate prices in Massachusetts show few, if any, signs of increasing for the moment. That could change by the end of this year if soon-to-be President Obama and his team roll out an effective stimulus package that focuses on housing. Financing a home purchase is as cheap as it was in the 1950s & early 60s thanks to the Federal Reserve, but if foreclosure numbers do not decrease soon, prices will continue to fall.

Is now the right time to purchase real estate in Massachusetts? For a free consultation to discuss your particular situation and goals (and to answer any and all questions you may have about the home buying process), call me at 800.25.BUYER (ask for John) or email me.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 6th, 2009 at 2:33 pm and is filed under Housing Statistics, Market Trends, Buyer Knowledge, Boston Real Estate, Foreclosure. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.