Is That the Bottom I See?

Hold on to your hats, but we may be finding the bottom of our housing market, or at least a suggestion that a bottom is coming. While prices in most areas continue to decline, the pace of the decline appears to be slowing. Is this just a seasonal adjustment? Is this a reflection of First Time Homebuyers taking advantage of the tax incentives or buyers taking advantage of low interest rates? That has yet to be determined.

I believe that this further emphasizes the importance of getting in on the right side of the curve. If you are in the market to buy, you would be wise to do so before the bottom has been established as you'll have less leverage working with a seller who thinks the market is rebounding.

Of course, you should consult a qualified realtor to see how home prices are performing in the specific area that you desire.

For more details on today's report from Ruth Mantell with MarketWatch, read the excerpt below:

U.S. home prices did fall in April, but overall annual declines are slowing, according to the national Case-Shiller home price index released today.

On a month-to-month basis, prices in 20 selected cities fell 0.6% in April, with declines in 11 cities, compared with a decline of 2.2% in March. The overall annual pace of decline has slowed, said David Blitzer, chairman of the index committee for Standard & Poor's, which compiles the Case-Shiller index.

"Thirteen of the 20 metro areas also saw improvement in their annual return compared to that of March. Furthermore, every metro area, except for Charlotte, recorded an improvement in monthly returns over March," Blitzer said in a statement. "While one month's data cannot determine if a turnaround has begun; it seems that some stabilization may be appearing in some of the regions."

Blitzer added that it will take time to tell whether a recovery has arrived as the market enters a seasonally strong period.

Continuing slower price declines are a "decent bet," wrote Ian Shepherdson, chief U.S. economist with High Frequency Economics.

"The fly in the ointment is foreclosures, which tend to result in much lower prices and are an increasing proportion of transactions," Shepherdson wrote. "For now, though, this is clearly less bad than recently."

For answers to what financing options are available to you, please contact me at 615-627-4869 or at twiggins@affsmortgage.com.