Buyer interest on residential properties, particularly on low-priced bank owned foreclosures, has picked up in October. Increasing activity in the home-buying sector shows that confidence in the housing industry is rising, a development that portends good things for the home market in the coming 2012.
Mortgage rate fueling demand
Aside from the cheap prices of bank owned foreclosures, the very low mortgage rates are also contributing to the increased number of homebuyers creeping back into the market. Although the 30-year fixed mortgage rate climbed to 4% in the first week of December from 3.98% a week before, the rate is still highly attractive for those planning to buy a house.
The busier-than-usual mood in the home buying segment may not be too obvious, but for those whose job is to crunch housing numbers, evidence of recovery is right there. Even the hardest hit areas, like Nevada and Florida, are showing signs of improvement, albeit in a gradual and slow manner.
How hard-hit areas are coping
Nevada, being the hardest hit region when the housing crisis started, remains in a very difficult position. With tons of bank owned homes for sale clogging the market, prices continue to plummet, with the average price of homes in Las Vegas pegged at a little over $118,000 in November.
However, visitors have started to come back and the tourism profit of the state is showing some improvement. Meanwhile, Florida has also learned to cope with the impact of the crisis, as majority of real estate owners and those who have taken advantage of cheap bank owned properties shift their attention to the rental market rather than wait for a buyer for their properties.
The housing market is showing signs of recovery and buyers are very much aware of the advantages that they can gain by picking up cheap bank owned homes now and reaping the benefits once the market has stabilized – a scenario that seems to be coming sooner than predicted.
Related Posts:
