Wednesday, January 14, 2009

How’s that Market…?

I get asked that question quite a bit, "How's the Market?" Well, that's like asking, "Do you want the good news, or the bad news?" I don't think that there is such a thing as "good news" or "bad news", there is just news. What makes news bad or good, is what we do with it once it we have it. News is often presented to us either by a grave faced newscaster or some grinning talking head. We allow so many things to direct our day, our emotions and our perceptions that we have lost sight of the fact – the FACT – that we have control over all these things. Just a few years ago sellers were commanding a premium price for homes and they were hard to come by…if you were a buyer you did not think that the market was so great. Now we have a significant amount of inventory, prices are falling, interest rates are low and sellers do not think that the market is so great. Think of it this way, if you're a buyer; you're pretty pleased with the real estate market conditions today; as well you should be.



So what is the outlook these days? Well, as always it depends on your market, homes continue to sell and prices overall continue to fall in the Greater Cincinnati market. There are indications that we will start to see a more positive swing by the second half of 2009 but there are many factors yet to be determined. I do believe we will start to see noticeable positive changes by this summer. Interest rates are significantly low, home prices have fallen and sellers are offering an increasing array of incentives for buyers. However, with unemployment rates at over 7%, many potential buyers are nervous. Unemployment, in my opinion, remains one of the primary reasons for the continued downturn. I believe this largely stems from a need for major manufacturing to retool the way it does business, to streamline and reconfigure. This will take some time, but once the dust settles, I believe that the companies that remain will be much stronger and will quickly position themselves globally. This will take some time, but I believe it is long overdue to simply rip off the Band-Aid, take our medicine and start to heal.


So I can't say that the real estate market is either good or bad…it simply is today what it should be and will be tomorrow something different. I find that when I look at the real estate market from this perspective it is difficult to feel anything but hope.




Should you have any Real Estate questions or concerns please feel free to contact me at (513) 791-2255.