Even though 2008 is more than halfway over, it’s never too late to stop and assess some of the predictions made about the real estate market for 2008. These predictions are courtesy of About.com’s Elizabeth Weintraub.
I added my own commentary regarding what’s actually happened and how all of this applies to the Rock Hill SC and Fort Mill SC real estate market.
Here’s the 10 2008 real estate predictions and my comments below each one:
- Home Prices Will Decline and Flatten
It’s definitely a buyers market. Even though our marketing hasn’t felt the impact other areas around the country have, prices are still down from what they have been previously. At the same time, that doesn’t mean you have to settle for lowering the price of your home. It just means you need to price your home correctly and do everything possible to make it stand out from the competition.
- Short Sales & Foreclosures Will Increase
There’s no doubt the number of short sales and foreclosures has increased, even in our market. This has contributed to declining sales prices. Unfortunately, there’s not much that can be done about this, but it certainly highlights the importance of working with a lender that has your best interest in mind and not his own pocket.
- Interest Rates Will Stabilize
Rates have indeed stabilized, but given the uncertainty of Wall Street there’s still a chance of some interest rate uncertainty.
- More Investors Will Enter the Market
I honestly don’t think this one’s materialized yet and it’s not because of a lack of available inventory. Given all the short sales and foreclosures there are plenty of great properties available at a good price, but because of tightened lending criteria, it’s become extremely difficult to secure financing. Lenders are being very cautious about who they’re lending money too, especially when it comes to investment properties.
- Related Businesses Will Close Doors
This one has indeed come to pass. Mortgage lenders, banks, appraisers, and even real estate agents have left the market all together. While this is certainly an unfortunate situation, I actually think it’s good for the market because those that have remained are the ones that know what they’re doing.
- Buyers Will Write Lowball Offers
I don’t really think this one applies to the Rock Hill SC and Fort Mill SC real estate market. Based on my experience and from what other agents have told me, if a house is listed correctly, most of the offers being presented are good, strong offers.
Again, we’ve been very fortunate here in our marketplace in that we haven’t felt the impact other areas have so if you’re thinking about selling your home but are worried about low ball offers, as long as it’s listed correctly there’s no reason you shouldn’t expect a good, solid offer.
- Advertising Will Move Online
I would have to agree with this one, but it’s more as a result of the role the internet plays in our lives versus the real estate market itself. Studies show that 80% of all real estate searches begin online so it’s only natural to see the advertising dollars move to this area as well.
- Inventory Will Increase Before Sharply Dropping
Again, I don’t think this is applicable to our marketplace. Yes, there’s been an increase in the amount of inventory available, but I don’t necessarily see it dropping off suddenly. The market is still very active here in the Rock Hill SC and Fort Mill SC area and I would expect things to remain active for the rest of the year.
- REOs Will Refuse to Pay Some Closing Costs
This one is accurate, but what would you expect when lenders have been taking it on the chin all year long? For so long they had such relaxed lending requirements and now that they’ve tightened things up considerably, it’s only natural that they eliminate many of the incentives that got them in their current mess!
- Flood Insurance Rates Will Escalate
To be completely honest, I haven’t checked on flood insurance rates lately so I really can’t accurately comment on this one, but I wouldn’t be surprised in the least if it were indeed the case. Everyone’s feeling the pinch so it’s only natural that things will self-correct themselves to compensate for mistakes of the past.
