Lost Cat I can’t really comment on whether it is best to sell now and then buy later. I think there are many conditions to assess before giving you an answer to that question including where you are at (your home that you are selling) and where you want to buy in the future. Alot will depend on financing as well… It is a different answer for each person. In general yes I think it is going to keep striding downward with heavy chunks downward to be determined by employment and of course large spikes in rates.
Gandalf – Buyer sentiment is picky picky picky…. By and large buyers are very selective and over the past 3 weeks we have seen a big movement in mortgage rates. The non conforming limits while pushed up do still command a premium on the spread and that has hurt buying power. I have two listings in escrow and we are waiting for closing, keeping our fingers crossed. People thinking of buying right now are still a cross section. I have a few clients who are transferred from out of town, young professionals; I have some other people who have sold homes and are passively looking and other people (even a few first time buyers) who are looking to nest. All are aware of market conditions. Some of them have decided to wait until things settle out, some have decided to wait another year or two, some have not. A few are investors looking for bargains. All of them though are aware of market conditions and none of them are buying on a speculative assumption of appreciation in the next few years. Some of them buy with intent that when they move out they can convert the home to a rental so they actually investigate the purchase with conversion to investment in the future, thus they run caash flow numbers as well.
