I read an interesting article that talks about “the bottom” of the real estate market. During the last year or so, buyers have been standing on the side lines waiting for the inevitable “bottom”. During that time, interest rates fell to all time lows and inventory has shrunk. Most active buyers would agree that “incredible deals” of a few years ago have all but disappeared. So what’s left to buy? Well, if you are looking to purchase a home in Westwood, Beverly Hills, Brentwood or surrounding areas, you will be purchasing in a 35 percent depressed market. The current buyer mentality tells me that the problem is more psychological then ever. Buyers want the bottom because they will feel good about buying at a pronounced time in the market. As I’ve said before, the danger is that sellers will know it’s the bottom as well. The only place to go from the bottom is back up and sellers will take advantage of the slowly rising home prices.
According to Fiserv, the analytics company the publishes the Fiserv Case-Shiller Indexes, after all the dust has settled we will be in a 35 percent depressed market from 2006 peaks. “We expect that home prices, which generally lag changes in sales activity by nine to 12 months, will stabilize by the end of this summer and then rise at an annualized rate of 3.9 percent over the next five years”
