What the Chief Economist for the National Association of Realtors Has to Say About the Current Market

According to Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist for the National Association of Realtors, the first half of 2012 is the best half year we have seen in five years.  Although credit standards are still too strict (in Yun's opinion), there are plenty of buyers that are swooping in and taking advantage of the prime opportunity to buy while both interest rates and home prices are still low.

Yun notes that that there has been an uptick in investor purchases. He also says the greatest opportunity in the coming months will come from the increased cost of rental housing which will cause more people to consider purchasing. 

There is also a pent-up demand for home ownership among the three million immigrants that come to the United States each year. Normally the immigration traffic creates one million household formation each year, but that hasn't occured in the past few years. This suggests that many coming to this country have taken up residence with family until the housing market improves.  

As is also the case with many college students who, for the past five years, have elected to move back home rather than seek out their own households. 

It seems that we are finally working our way back to a healthy housing market.

Boyd

Psst - I have also heard that home values officially bottomed this past January/February. Good to know.