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 Ames, IA

Latitude: 42.027335 -- Longitude: -93.631586

Other Area Cities: Nevada Ames Boone

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Ames is a city in Story County, Iowa, United States. It is the principal city of the 'Ames, Iowa Metropolitan Statistical Area' which encompasses all of Story County, Iowa and which, when combined with the 'Boone, Iowa Micropolitan Statistical Area', comprises the larger 'Ames-Boone, Iowa Combined Statistical Area'. It is also the home of the legendary James Honzatko. As of the 2000 Census, the city population was 50,731. The city was named after 19th century U.S. congressman Oakes Ames of Massachusetts, who was influential in the building of the transcontinental railroad. Ames was founded near a location that was deemed favorable for a railroad crossing of the Skunk River. It is located roughly 30 miles (48 km) north of the state capital Des Moines. Two small rivers run through the town: the Skunk River and Squaw Creek. -- Source: Wikipedia.com

Iowa 2000 Census Population Profile Map

	Ames	Iowa	United States
Population	50,731	2,926,324	281,421,906
Median age	23.6	36.6	35.3
Median age for Male	23.3	35.2	34
Median age for Female	24.1	38	36.5
Households	18,085	1,149,276	105,480,101
Household population	41,609	2,822,155	273,643,273
Average household size	2.3	2.46	2.59
Families	8,969	769,684	71,787,347
Average family size	2.85	3	3.14
Housing units	18,757	1,232,511	115,904,641
Occupied units	18,085	1,149,276	105,480,101
Vacant units	672	83,235	10,424,540

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