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Independence Real Estate

2008 Real Estate Outlook


2007 is almost gone, and 2008 is just around the corner. In this year of the mortgage meltdown and housing crisis, what will next year bring? What about all of us who could not buy or sell our Independence homes this year? With falling housing prices and the government finally starting to take some action, will next year be good to buy Independence real estate?

This year saw home values drop a national average of roughly 6% from last year. Home prices are still falling while people are stuck in their mortgages and can’t afford their payments. Many people are being forced to sell their homes because of this. There’s no question about it, it’s definitely a buyer’s market out there. The problem is that so many people now don’t have the credit to be able to obtain a steady and affordable mortgage. There’s an 11-month backlog of homes for sale out there, 2.1 million of which are completely empty, but nobody can afford to buy them. It puts pressure on the sellers to slash prices, however.

Some analysts are estimating that the market will not bottom out until sometime in mid-2009. Others believe that the start of the market’s turnaround will begin in mid to late 2008. The problem with speculating about when and if the real estate market will turnaround is that many economists believed it was going to turnaround this year. They have obviously been sorely mistaken.

If you’re looking for a new Independence home, 2008 seems to be a fantastic year to purchase one. Since prices are already low, and still dropping into and perhaps through 2008, buying won’t be such a bad idea. What has people worried, however, is if the prices continue to fall, what’s to stop them? What about all of those with credit that has been ruined by sub-prime adjustable rate mortgages?

Certainly things have to look somewhat better for Independence real estate in 2008, but who can really tell? Next year can go either way, and home buyers, sellers, and investors alike are all waiting with baited breath to see which way it falls.