Someone much smarter than I once told me if I wait for the bottom of the market before I buy (or invest) then I will always miss the bottom because we won’t know what the bottom was until it has passed and we are looking back. Some reading this may reply “duh”, but to me it was rather profound at the time and showed me a way of looking at things a little different. So, with this in mind, I’ll attempt to answer the question I’m most frequently asked; “has the housing market hit bottom yet?”.St. Louis Metro Area Home Prices
As the chart below shows, St Louis Home Prices appear to have hit bottom back around April 2011 then were headed back down in the last half of the year but have been on the rise since (chart includes data through today) so, unless things change course, I would say St Louis home prices have bottomed out. Don’t worry, if you’re one of the many, many people out there that have been waiting for the “bottom” to buy, you haven’t missed out yet…prices are still low. Our newsletter has charts like below for each county in the St Louis area so you can see how your county is doing. Sign up for it here.
Source: MORE, REALTORS - St. Louis, MO
Time for buyers to get off the sidelines:
According to an article published today on CNN Money “homes have never been more affordable — but it won’t stay this way for much longer.” The article also states that Stuart Hoffman, the chief economist for PNC Financial Services expects home prices to “flatten out by the third quarter and start climbing by next year.” In a press release today, Trulia’s Chief Economist, Jed Kolko, said “housing prices have already bottomed with asking prices on the rise for three straight months.” Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist for the National Association of REALTORS, said “the housing market has clearly turned the corner…..home prices will be rising in more areas as the year progresses.”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.