Is 2012 a Good Year to Buy a House ?

According to a Wall Street blog written in April of this year, nearly three quarters of Americans feel that now is a good time to buy a house. Is that really the case?

Proponents for “buy now” state several reasons for 2012 being a great time to buy a home, citing historically low mortgage rates and fast inflating rental prices which have already seen significant spike throughout the year. As Fannie Mae chief economist Doug Duncan stated, “Conditions are coming together to encourage people to want to buy homes.”

According to a recent article on fiscaltimes.com, since the wild ride of big ticket home prices in the mid 2000’s, mortgage rates have been driven down and home prices have deeply declined making housing affordability the best it’s been in two decades.

In short, housing affordability is at levels not seen since prior to the early 1990s and is almost twice the level that it was in April 2006, the peak month for house price levels, when housing was the least affordable.

With all the elements in place making it an ideal time to buy a home, there is still one component to the bubble era that remains: bidding wars. As the number of available inventory decreases due to demand, there are fewer homes for sale in markets that were screaming for buyers. Perhaps a pain-in-the-neck challenge, but another key indicator that buying now is good, as availability becomes less and less. So, what’s making up a strong percentage of these property snap-ups? Rental investments and vacation homes are a large part of sales. Second homes that offer close proximity to work, as well as getaways are high on the list of real estate investments, making up 65 percent of home sales in 2011. Visit True Homes in North and South Carolina.

With all of the key indicators in place, a little homework and bidding muscle, if you have cash to buy or the credit to obtain a home, now seems the perfect time, indeed.

True Homes is the largest new home builder in Charlotte, North Carolina and Charleston, South Carolina with homes in over 60 stunning communities throughout the region. For more information on building a new Carolina home, visit www.truehomesusa.com or contact them at 704-937-2307.