The National Association of REALTORS recently published two conflicting articles on how the housing market is doing. This is a good example of how difficult it is to predict how easily a house will sell, and how easily you can make a profit in the upcoming months. You need the flexibility of HUD 1 software like Easy HUD to be able to move quickly to take advantage of any real estate trends in your area.
The Market Is Great!
The article Boomers and Engineers a Good Sign for Housing Markets says that the real estate markets in twelve major metropolitan areas are showing no signs of slowing down as they usually do around this time of year. They attribute this trend to large concentrations of math and science professionals, and baby boomers. The former are in jobs that pay high salaries so are in a good position to buy homes as they move into these areas for new jobs. The latter are nearing retirement so are often selling large homes now that the kids are gone to move into smaller residences where they can live out their golden years. These are both very positive trends that bode well for many areas of the country.
The Market Is Lousy!
On the other hand, the NAR also points out that Credit and Inventory Throttle Housing Market’s Return. Mortgage rates have been dropping and yet applications for purchase have declined. They opine that this is due to the stricter credit requirements many lenders have implemented over the last few years. The other problem is that there may be buyers out there, but there aren’t many homes on the market. Inventory is low and dropping. These trends could be troubling if they continue into the traditionally slow fourth quarter of the year.
What does this mean to the average real estate professional? That’s hard to predict. Conditions in Seattle don’t mean much to you if you are practicing in Tallahassee. You need to be able to analyze and predict your own local trends, whether it’s by careful mathematical analysis or gut instinct that comes from years of experience. You also need to be prepared to put out a HUD 1 settlement statement quickly when an opportunity does come along.
The unpredictability of the real estate market is why you need Easy HUD. Being able to jump on a deal, complete your HUD settlement statement and close quickly is important when you aren’t sure how many sales are in your future.
