Yesterday, the AZ Republic printed an article in the Business Section concerning the 5 Biggest Economic Issues and how they could impact you. For those that missed the article the 5 areas are:

1. Slow Housing Sales

2. Tighter Credit

3. Rising Oil Prices

4. Slowdown in Job Growth

5. Weaker Dollar

Obviously, being in real estate I have my own comments. In general, this is a great time to be a buyer and I'll explain more below. It's also might be the right time to be a seller if you want to move up and I'll explain that as well.

If you are a buyer now, the advantages are plenty: there are over 50,000 homes to pick from, interest rates are still very good, no or low down programs are still available and many sellers are VERY motivated to sell their property. Don't let the media discourage you. Around the Holidays sellers are even MORE motivated to sell and the number of legitimate buyers looking at property goes down.

If you are a seller who purchased prior to the 2005-2006 big appreciation run up congratulations, you made money on your home. You might not make the most now compared to the top, it's very tough to be a market timer. Do you or somebody you know always time the top of the stock market? No, you're glad to take your profits and move on to the next investment. If you are thinking about moving up into a more expensive home, now is the time to be acting on that idea. This would make great sense if your existing home is in that starter price range of under $250,000 because your potential buyer doesn't have a house to sell. There are more qualified buyers in that range also. Don't let the media discourage you. Take advantage of some time off. After the Christmas presents have been opened and before the BCS football game, get your old house cleaned up and ready to put on the market in January.

Comments are welcome. Share how any of the 5 economic issues are affecting you currently or your plan for 2008 to make any of these WORK FOR YOU.