How do you know if your housing market has reached the bottom?

November 20, 2008

All markets are different. During the next few years, some housing markets will turn around faster than others. How do you know when your particular market has reached its bottom? If you wait until others pick over the great deals, you'll miss the bottom.

Keep a track of how many properties are listed from month to month. Once you start to see a reduction in inventory then that may mean that buyers are starting to buy. There could be two reasons whey inventory is reducing – overpriced homes may be taken off the market and sales volume could be picking up. You can find out this information from your local real estate agent.

Keep reading national and local newspapers. If your local media reporters are now starting to interview experts in your market and asking questions like, “Have we reached the bottom?” then that might be a sign that there may be a shift.

Talk to your friends and co-workers. How are they feeling about your local economy and housing prices? Are they more optimistic now than they were 3 months ago, or even last month?

Consumer confidence will be a big part in the housing market turning around.

Be on the lookout for mortgage interest rates stabilizing and mortgage companies start to ease lending restrictions.

One of the biggest indicators is when prices have stopped dropping. The secret is to buy before they start to inch back up again!

I’m not suggesting that you wait till the absolute bottom of your market to buy. You have to look at a home as a place to live, not an investment. Only you can determine what an affordable monthly payment is relative to the value of the home you are purchasing. There are individual homes for sale that can be bought at the bottom of your market, even if homes in general have not reached that mark.

Talk to a trusted real estate agent – we can help!

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Local Information for Baton Rouge, LA

Latitude: 30.45809 -- Longitude: -91.140229

Other Area Cities: Denham Springs Baton Rouge Gonzales Baker Zachary Port Allen Scotlandville

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Baton Rouge, French: Bâton-Rouge (pronounced /'bætn '?u??/ in English, and /b?t?~ ?u?/ in French) is the capital and the largest city of Louisiana, a state of the United States of America. Historically, Baton Rouge has been the second largest city in Louisiana behind New Orleans, but as of mid-2005, the catastrophic effects of Hurricane Katrina have, at least temporarily, reduced the population of New Orleans such that Baton Rouge is currently the largest city in Louisiana. As of the 2000 census, its population was 227,818 and as of 2004, the latest U.S. Census Bureau estimate puts the city at 224,097. The Greater Baton Rouge area as of 2000 had a population of 602,894, but has grown to over 750,000 since the 2000 census. It is the second largest metropolitan area in the state after Greater New Orleans. Baton Rouge is the parish seat of East Baton Rouge Parish. Baton Rouge is home to the main campus of Louisiana State University and to Southern University. -- Source: Wikipedia.com

Louisiana 2000 Census Population Profile Map

	Baton Rouge	Louisiana	United States
Population	227,818	4,468,976	281,421,906
Median age	30.4	34	35.3
Median age for Male	28.8	32.6	34
Median age for Female	32.1	35.3	36.5
Households	88,973	1,656,053	105,480,101
Household population	215,365	4,333,011	273,643,273
Average household size	2.42	2.62	2.59
Families	52,661	1,156,438	71,787,347
Average family size	3.12	3.16	3.14
Housing units	97,388	1,847,181	115,904,641
Occupied units	88,973	1,656,053	105,480,101
Vacant units	8,415	191,128	10,424,540

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