Everyone knows what is going on with the current housing market, and the struggles people are going through. It doesn't matter whether you are an avid investor or even if you own a home yourself, the news is filled with what's happening out there. I would like to briefly touch on a few topics of interest. First of all I want to go over what is going on with mortgages and the troubles people are having with obtaining a mortgage. Secondly I want to discuss the foreclosure market, and lastly give my opinion of what the future looks like.
With the current mortgage market many potential homebuyers are having trouble finding a mortgage they can qualify for. The days of putting no money down on a home are over, or at least for now. So what buyers are looking at when they go shopping for a mortgage are conventional loans that ask for atleast 20% of the purchase price down. This is taking many out of the game since they don't have the 20% in cash.
Everywhere you see or hear about real estate people are talking about foreclosures. Many of you may even be victim to one or no someone was has gone through foreclosure. The process of foreclosure is usually a 3 month period of non-payment on your loan. After 3 months the bank begins the process of "taking back" the home and evicting the owners. This has caused controversy throughout the nation and put downward pressure on homeprices.
As for the future, many people have differing views. You have people saying the market will turn around by then end of the year and then you have people saying there is no hope in sight until 2010. Right now it is anyone's guess. As for my personal opinion. I believe we will see something start to settle early in 2009. However it all depends on the quantity of foreclosures. With the excess amount of inventory buyers are having their way with sellers. Once we start to see new home builders slow down their production and resales pick up, you will see a bounce in the market.
