From the Boston Globe:
Suburbs flush with homes for sale
A decline in house sales last fall has left a January glut of unsold properties in suburban Boston as the big spring selling season approaches, according to data released yesterday.
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Some real estate agents expect this large supply of housing to be compounded by new sellers entering the market for the first time in February and March, which typically begins the busiest season for sales.
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Real estate agents are split over what the sizable jump in inventory will do to buyers and sellers — and the impact it will have on sales and prices. Campos is banking on a lowering of price expectations among buyers and sellers, who have witnessed years of rapidly rising prices amid a feeling housing supply was limited. But now prices have softened, he said, and if sellers drop asking prices to more realistic levels, buyers are poised to move in.
”Last year was a real awakening,” he said. Now, ”buyers and sellers know the market’s changed. Last year, nobody knew.”
But Bill Wendel, a broker who represents only buyers as owner of Real Estate Cafe in Cambridge, does not see buyers coming out of the woodwork to snap up bargains and shrink bloated inventories. Many first-time buyers or renters have indicated they will continue to watch the market, hoping prices fall further, he said.
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Seems that buyer psychology is shifting rather quickly these days. These buyers on the sidelines that are hoping for price declines will not jump in to catch the falling knives.
Caveat Emptor,
Grim
First time buyers.(The Generation priced out of the market due to insane lending practices) Remember this. The housing market is one big Ponzi Scheme. The move up house buyers need to find a first time buyer to sell to so they can step up. But they need to get a high price to buy that expensive step up home.
Do not be a bagholder.
Tell’em to shove it.
This one is a bit older, but I just came across it..
Condo plan worries neighboring town
In what they call a good-neighbor gesture, Riverdale officials have arranged a meeting with Pompon Lakes officials and residents, some of whom have concerns about a 425-unit condominium complex proposed for development in the flood plain of the Pequannock River in Riverdale.
Does anyone know the outcome of the meeting that took place on this?
jb
I’ve been watching the Montclair market and have noticed that there are many more houses for sale now than there were last January. Many houses have come on the market in just the last couple of weeks. It’s as if the realtors have convinced sellers to list their houses now for fear the spring market will not be good for sellers. Of course, the more houses that come on now, the greater the inventory will be in the spring, the more likely prices will fall (or at least stop rising). Sort of like a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Inventory is up over 6% so far this month. We’re seeing levels of inventory increase that are more typical of the ‘hot summer months’.
grim
this is the most candid statement I’ve seen in print yet from a realtor.
“The housing market is one big Ponzi Scheme. The move up house buyers need to find a first time buyer to sell to so they can step up.”
I think this crash is going to mark the end of the trading up strategy.
look at your grandparents— how many times did they trade up on houses, if ever?
this strategy worked over the last 25 yrs, but this was an aberration.
the average length of ownership will grow much longer as wages remain stagnant and house price appreciation trends flat to negative over 10+ yrs.
people will stop referring to their homes as “investments,” and just consider them places to live.