I always try to write a story with the facts, and not try to “cherry pick” information. With today’s National Association of Homebuilders / Wells Fargo sentiment index, there may be a storm brewing that is bigger than expected. It seems that if the Homebuilders confidence rating falls under 50, they will view conditions as poor. Well, today’s rating came in at 16.
With tightening standards in the credit markets, the decrease in single family home sales, and a glut of existing inventory, any recovery will be longer than anyone expected. This is evidenced by the following quote from the U.S. Federal Reserve: “domestic institutions reported having tightened their lending standards and terms on all major loan categories,”
With these articles, I risk being a constant naysayer. Nonetheless, some brief solutions would be for sellers to realistically revalue asking prices if they are truly motivated to sell. For buyers, they will need to repair any damage to their credit scores, and have some significant down payment monies available. Finally, both buyers and sellers will only achieve results if they are willing to play by some “old fashioned” lending guidelines, some of which I just mentioned.
I looks like 2009 will be a rough period, too.
