Has the Dream of Home Ownership Become a Nightmare?

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Karen Calendine
Administrator
EXIT Realty West
513-429-EXIT(3948)
karen@exitrealty-west.com

Has the Dream of Home Ownership Become a Nightmare?

The answer is NO! EXIT Realty West offers insights into the local real estate market

Cincinnati, OH (Grassroots Newswire) 10/21/10 --

It seems every where you turn there are stories of doom and gloom for the housing industry. Is it really the end of the dream of home ownership? All this bleak news might make us think so.

For example; while most of the sub prime mortgage resets are behind us there are still two more waves of resets coming on more than $1 trillion in Alt-A and Option ARM mortgages. This could continue to drive down prices and increase inventory. The National Association of Realtors estimates there are 2.7 million delinquencies, foreclosures, and bank owned properties that have yet to reach the market. Absorption of these properties could take several years in some major markets.

Right now the absorption rate (# of months supply of houses) for the Cincinnati area is about 11 months; down from 14 months back in January of this year but still near record levels. A balanced market is around a 6 month supply; less is a sellers' market while more is a buyers' market.

College Hill prices have dropped about 30% from the highest price levels of 2005. As a comparison, prices in the Cincinnati School District have dropped about 17%. See Chart.

Our larger drop is probably due to fact that College Hill had about 160 foreclosures compared to about 1000 for the Cincinnati School District as a whole this year.

While all of this is bad, the benefits of owning a home haven't changed; mortgage interest and property tax is still deductible and gains from sale of your house are not taxed (subject to certain restrictions). Home prices are low and the mortgage rates are at their lowest level since the 1950's. Now is a good time to buy!

Many people may be worried about the increasing numbers of foreclosures pushing prices down even further. This is still a possibility but there are a lot of programs available for homeowners to prevent foreclosure. There is the Federal Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan (HASP) and Ohio's Foreclosure Prevention Effort. More information go to www.savethedream.ohio.gov.

Of course since it is a buyers' market a lot of sellers are sitting on the sidelines. Either they don't want to sell their home in today's market or they owe more than it's worth and can't sell in the traditional manner. The first thing to do if you are even thinking of selling is to get a good comparative market analysis of your house from your realtor. And remember; if you're selling a home to buy a new one, since prices are low you'll likely get a good price on that new abode.

A lot of the news about the housing market is depressing but does it mark the end of a dream? That depends on the definition of your dream. If the dream is to own property that appreciates by 30 percent a year turning a house into an ATM machine then that dream is probably over. But if the dream is focused on what matters most; family, friends, community, and finding a home that's right for you, then that dream is still alive!

Thanks to Marty Russell, Licensed Real Estate Agent with EXIT Realty West for this article.

For more information about EXIT Realty West, please call 513-429-EXIT(3948). EXIT Realty West is located at 6701 Ruwes Oak Dr. #6 Cincinnati, OH 45248.

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Documents and/or Photos available for this release:

Cincinnati Home Price Graph
Marty Russell Licensed Real Estate Agent with EXIT Realty West

To view supporting documents and/or photos, go to www.enr-corp.com/pressroom and enter Release ID: 275023