Cindy's Blog

The constant barrage of news regarding a possible recession sure doesn't seem like it will do anything to help the market. At the risk of sounding overly optimistic, virtually everyone that I've spoken to in the Richmond market is seeing a bit, at least, of an upswing in the market.

Regardless of the market that the year has in store, things do always tend to pick up in the spring, and this year looks to be no different, although perhaps on a bit of a smaller scale.

If you are renting now, I cannot stress enough how much of a great time this is to buy! Rates are at unbelievable lows- lower, in fact, than we thought they would go anytime again since they ticked up a while back. There is a good amount of inventory on the market and prices have obviously come back to earth (while some are even lower than that!).

It's easy to think that perhaps home prices will go lower, that maybe getting into the market, or taking on home ownership, is not the right thing to do now. I really am not just saying this because I'm a realtor, because I make my living selling houses, but because it really is true.

Over the past 30 years, home prices, on average, have risen over 6 percent annually, and you have to pay to live somewhere (in most cases!) anyway. What better place to put that money than back in your own pocket??

As I said in another post, real estate is local, not national. So, while our market is surely not in a great place right now, we are not in California, Colorado, or some of the other markets that are considerably more grim. Homes in our area are certainly seeing more price reductions, and the average days on market (not so long ago quite short) is now easily over 60 days, often closer to 90. However, homes are still selling, and I still think that if a few people would just take the leap, the market would loosen up. There are still an amazing number of folks who say, "I would write an offer today, but I don't know if my house would sell." That says to me that the issue is more one of perception, than anything else...