Friday, March 30, 2007

Head of Coldwell Banker presents an alternate view of the US housing market

I meant to cover this when it came out three days ago, but got busy with other things.

CNBC: Coldwell Banker CEO: Now Is Best Time to Buy a House
The top executive at Coldwell Banker said this is the best time in ten years to buy a house because interest rates remain low, inventory is high and prices have stabilized.
“It’s still a buyer’s market,” Jim Gillespie told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Tuesday. “This is absolutely the best time to buy.”


Yes, well, you would expect him to say that. As whathisname pointed out in the book Freakonomics, realtors don't necessarily put the needs of either buyers or sellers ahead of their own.

Still, if you're clever and shrewd, he is sort-of-right. Now is probably not the time to buy a newly-built house. But if you're ready to swoop in on properties where a personal crisis has led to a reasonable discount, then that would be a good idea. Buying at the top of the market is seldom smart, no matter what market we're talking about.

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1 comment:

danger said...

Hey Lee,

Hows business? I was going through some old emails and saw the link you sent me for your website, good to hear things here are going well.

In reference to your comment about real estate, and newly built homes. Not talking about a home but condos, in Vancouver, assignments typically go for at least 10% or more by the time the building is built.