The bottom is here!
We have seen a steady increase in the number of sales over the past few months. There were more homes sold in January than in either November or December. February brought another increase in sales at about 65% og 2008. March promises to be closer to 75% of the 2008 sales. The average price has also risen marginally over the last couple of months.
Spring is here, interest rates are at an all time low and we are headed towards a balanced market. A balanced market is when it is neither a buyer's market nor a seller's market. There are enough homes available but there is not a surplus nor an excess.
If you are thinking of buying, it is an excellent time. If you are thinking of selling and want to get the price that you could have got previously, you may be waiting for a couple of years. Our market was artificially inflated in 2007 and 2008. It will take some time before we see those prices again. My guess is that it will be 2 to 4 years before we recover to those prices again. We have experienced a market correction and the prices will in all likelihood follow the average increases of the past which were 7% to 8% per year.
I do anticipate that we will have a bit of a feeding frenzy when people see the prices rising again. All of a sudden the people waiting for the bottom will realize that they missed it and they will be in a hurry to buy before prices go up any further. Why wait for that bidding war, feeding frenzy? Buy now while rates are low and you can pick up bargins.