Housing Declines, But Signs Of Reaching A Bottom Loom

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The housing business is still hurting bad, but there is at least one sure sign things are starting to move in a positive direction. Houses are selling again, despite being priced as much as 10% lower than last year.

The Case-Shiller index takes a look at home sales data for 20 major U.S. metropolitan areas. Their latest report shows that the value of single-family homes plummeted 10.7 percent in January of 2008 as compared to January of 2007. This iappears to be due to less action in Debt Consolidation for mortgage buyers. That is the largest decline ever in prices, during the time the index has been kept.

But, there is a glimmer of hope in such news. It means for buyers, now is the time to purchase a new home. Beleaguered buyers are now seeing very attractive prices for homes. In many markets, the foreclosure market is brisk, with bargain seekers buying bank-foreclosed homes at a rapid pace.

A bottom for the beleaguered housing sector

Interest in the foreclosure properties has experts thinking a bottom has been reached. “It’s a necessary thing,” said Joshua Shapiro, of MFR. “It’s like the mess going down in financial markets. You gotta get through it. The sooner you get through it you can look for better times.”

If interest continues in purchasing, then it’s only a matter of time until price recovers. More likely initially is the recover of sales volume based on lower pricing. When sufficient inventory changes hand, it’s possible renewed consumer confidence will help push pricing higher.

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