Interesting Phenomenon!!

Have you ever noticed how humans seem to be the copying type? We gain confidence from what others are doing and saying and we tend to think others know something we don't.
For instance, when others are looking and buying, suddenly we feel the urge to buy too. We go right out like everyone else and buy a new home! When others are not looking or buying...yep, we are not buying or looking either. Perhaps, too afraid of that dreaded price drop idea.
However, if we take a moment and analyze past history, the very best time to buy just might have been when others were not. Actually, the very best time was probably when no one at all was buying eh? About ten years ago, remember?
Us conservatives usually take awhile to become convinced the time is right, so we watch others start buying, go crazy overbidding, and driving the prices up, then we realize we really missed the right time to buy. Does this sound familiar? Most of us missed the real window of opportunity, didn't we?
Gee, maybe we had better think about this for our future buying plans. Perhaps we should buy when others are not? I recommend thinking outside the box!

www.JanisCalkins.com

Blowin' Bubbles

A day doesn't go by that someone doesn't mention the Real Estate Bubble. Is there one? Should I buy now?
Most of the industry information I receive is not projecting a bubble. The bubble is a media induced news driver. It's true, we are seeing a slow down right now. The inventory of available homes is definitley up. However, this is normal for this time of year. We saw the same thing happen last year. Not to say that the same will happen this year, but there is nothing to indicate that this is 1989. Rates are awesome right now, and Katrina should ensure that they stay that way, at least for the next few months.
All in all, we are probably seeing the return of a "normal", balanced market. The days of 20% price growth in one year are probably gone, for now. So, if you are thinking of buying a new home, it might not be a bad time to lock in some of the best rates that we will see in many years to come.