Harvard Releases Housing Report

June 15, 2006 |

The smarty pants at the Harvard (or if  you prefer, "Haaahvahd) Joint Center for Housing Studies recently released their "State of the Nation’s Housing" 2006 report.  Their are some differing views on its interpretation, some find it fairly positive (see Realty Times Article).  Others find it not so positive (see MSN Money/Financial Times article).  If you ask me, it merely confirms what we have already experienced this year.  That is, the market is good, compared to most normal years, but definitely slow compared to the last few years. 

For me, the most insightful statement from either article is the following:

"We should start to see a stand-off as buyers offer lower prices and homeowners refuse," said Paul Ashworth, US analyst at consultants Capital Economics."After a period of frustration, sellers should become more realistic about what their homes are worth."

I would argue that we are smack in the middle of the aforementioned standoff, and reality had better come mighty quickly, if people are serious about selling their homes.  The hardest thing for sellers to swallow is that this IS A BUYER’S MARKET.  That fact cannot be stressed enough.  Buyer’s seem more than willing to let homes sit out there if sellers are not willing to negotiate.  With the amount of inventory on the market, the Charlottesville area included, sellers can ill afford to let potential serious buyers slip away.

Posted by Daniel | Filed Under Buying, News, Selling 

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