When the press at all levels seems uninterested in fining good news to report, it is a great thing to have another means to talk about the problems our real estate market is facing. Thank you for taking the time to stop by my blog. It has been a while since I have posted anything but I hope to get back in the swing of things and start posting on a more regular basis.

 

The good news is I have a reason to be writing this post. I am seeing some signs in the Fort Wayne real estate market that I find encouraging. I won’t say that we are out of the woods and into our recovery but I am seeing some changes that lead me to believe that we may be closer than we think.

 

First I am seeing more buyers in the market. Many of them are first time homebuyers but that is a good thing. You see, in real estate there tends to be a trickle up effect. When a first time homebuyer buys a home, most of the time the seller is not selling to get out of the market. Normally they will be buying up. And when they buy, the seller again buys up and so on. This is the trickle up effect. In my opinion, all things being equal, the recovery begins with first time homebuyers. There are some incentives that are helping first time homebuyers. One is interest rates that continue to hover at historic lows. Another is plenty of homes to choose from. Third is the first time homebuyer tax credit. The credit is now $8,000.00 and does not need to be repaid to the federal government. This is helping first time homebuyers work their way back into the market. The only hitch I am seeing is when the home being sold is sold at or below market value reducing the amount the seller may have to take back into the market. This may slow things down but I believe the slowdown, if it exists, will be temporary.

 

The second sign I am seeing that I find encouraging is with the buyers I am working with who send me lists of home they want to see. It seems that with more frequency than I have seen in recent months, more of the homes they want to see are already under contract and set to close. For example, a client will send me eight homes to go look at and two may already be sold. Again, I am seeing this in the first time homebuyers but if that means that lower end homes are beginning to sell faster, I maintain that the trickle up effect should follow.

 

Overall as I said, I don’t think this means we are fully into the rebound but it does mean that things may be starting to shift and the rebound may be closer than we think. Please check back as I will be further analyzing the market conditions in the near future. Remember, this is still a great time to buy a home.