Zack and Brian are spot on. REAL ESTATE IS NOT LOCAL!!!!! Tell me where houses LOCALLY did not appreciate significantly over the last 10 years.

This problem is due to lenders offering exotic mortgages to make payments affordable no matter what. So a $1,000,000 home could be had for a monthly payment of $3-4000k. With those mortgage offers gone, that same home will now coast $6500+ per month. What this means is that it needs to drop to roughly $500-600,000 to be affordable again for the consumer.

That doesn't even factor in rising interest rates. As those go up, principle housing prices will come down.

Brian hit about everything you could want to know about it. In an odd sense, this makes a very weird time for real estate. Its a bad to buy and a bad time to sell real estate. If its sell now, or sell next year, its probably better now, since even in better areas, prices are stagnating and inflation is raging so by waiting you're losing a lot of real purchasing power. If its sell now, or sell a lot later, a lot later is defintely better, how long is a lot? Who knows but I'd start with a minimum of 10 years. After the housing runup in the 80s that fizzled in 1987, the median home price (a terribly skewed indicator due to new construction that can be up to 1% off of real appreciation) in westchester county, NY, an affluent area, was flat for 10 year from 1988 to 1997. Given the extremely high costs associated with buying and selling a house, and the cost of carrying a house, this is financially decimating. Although people rarely realize it because they don't see huge inflated paper values that they'd be worth if they didn't buy a home in 1987 (using that time frame). We're still very early in this mess...

2009 will see continued increases in foreclosures, with prime borrowers increasing defaults. Subprime and alt-A foreclosures will continue although in more managable scenarios. Financial Institutions will continue to suffer through 2009 and will face capital adequacy concerns as well as continued de-leveraging and write downs. Wall Street simply can't replicate the profitability generated from mortgage-backed security products and earnings/share price will reflect. Credit markets will continue to show stagnation and lenders will show great relunctance in allocating capital and only to the most qualified borrowers. Commodities have stabilized as of late but are still a hindrance to wide scale economic recovery. Unemployment rates will increase moderately.

Due to the modest outlook on next years economic performance, it's a fair assumpton that home prices will continue to depreciate through 2009. There's no economic indicators to suggest that stablization in the real estate markets will happen in 2009. The fed, through it's stimulus packages and support of Fannie/Freddie, is looking to mitigate an even harsher decline in the real estate markets, not restore them to 2005/2006 levels.

Every market is local. You can see by the previous comments. Speak to several realtors in your town and county, ask for their assessment.
NJ is a small state but we have several real estate markets, so get info specific to your area.

While I don't have a Crystal Ball, the housing, like the Stock market was due for a correction. Due to the low interest rates and ease of getting 100% financing, people were paying what ever they had to to get the home they wanted. I think we are looking at a year for things to settle out. People will need homes, Interest rates are still good and there is plenty of inventory to chose from. In any other market these would be excellent conditions for the Real Estate Market. No doubt there are people in trouble, but people can still sell there home and make a decent profit, (unless they bought it in the last 4-5 years and overpaid.)

I do have to say that this past week the phones started to ring more with buyers calling. Gas prices did go down a little and the housing bill information is reaching the public. Do I see the housing market getting better? Yes, it's not going to happen over night, but it will happen. I can't predict the future, but I feel 2009 will be the start of the market recovering.

LOL! Someone actually quoted Lawrence Yun!! Oh man, I didn't think any realtor was stupid enough to do that!! Please review his past predictions. He has been wrong 100% of the time. I'm not even exaggerating when I say 100%. Look it up. http://lawrenceyunwatch.blogspot.com/

Do not expect to see recovery until 2009. If you put 10%-20% down on the house and then cannot break even if you rented it out, then prices are still too high. In general, every honest financial analyst and economist realizes that when bubbles burst, eventually prices go back down to the levels they started at or even lower. You cannot argue with history and facts!! Don't listen to the "this time is different" crowd!

It does seem to brokers and agents that the market is stabilizing but I really think that it is not. Right now there are more buyers then there was a year ago but I also think there will be more foreclosures and short sales. I think once the buyers that are quick to jump run out and the rest of us realize that things will still continue to go down due to market correction, buyers will have more a wait and see attitude.

My guess is 2009 is just like 2008 but worse. More inventory, more foreclosures, financing troubles, etc, etc. If you're a seller or a realtor, broker, builder, etc, etc, then I guess this is not good news.

The seller asked about the market situation. The "situation" depends on the seller. We still have a lot of sellers that want that offer form 2 years ago and are refusing to accept the actual market. Then we have the smart sellers that yes, will get less then 2 years ago, but will make a LOT more thyen they paid 10 years ago and see a profit.. just not the profit of 2 years ago. Also, your agent should be able to sell the house and give you an honest evaluation of your home. If you are on the market for 6 months.. guess what... you are overpriced. Your agent should be able to tell you so. Some agents come iun just to get your listing and fill your head with dreams of big numbers when reality states medium numbers..

To Cramer... believe it or not, there are a lot of bidding wars going on. People that have their homes priced correctly are seeing multiple offers come in and are enjoying the activity.

I recently had a client ask me, what will it take to sell my house in 1 day? We priced it at the market level.. BAM - 6 hours later a contract! Then later that week more contracts.... If it is priced correctly it will sell.

So, it is a good time to sell ( if you are realistic and you get a realistic agent) Yes.

And it is a good time to buy.

Maybe it's me, but nj home is a seller. Are most of my fellow agents indicating it is a bad time to sell then?? ("It is the best time to buy")

Dear NJ Home,
The BEST time to BUY IS NOW!......The rates are low, you as a buyer still have so many options in inventory selection and advantages in finding a good deal for yourself. Best of Luck..........

Bidding wars in your area ROFLMAO, you have to be kidding me.

I do a lot of tracking with certain areas and I think it really depends on which area, what type of home, what price range, etc. There are several communities I know of in which there are constant bidding wars due to high demand. My personal theory as to the market is that it is not going any lower, but prices will stay at a decline for at least another year as the market recovers and sells off more inventory that is priced right. If you are looking to buy, I would say now is your perfect oppurtunity while interest rates are still low. If you are looking to sell, I would dig deeper into the why (ex: an upgrade is a perfect time to sell) and see what the current value of your home is. Feel free to call me either way, at 732-586-5488.

Lawrence Yun, National Association of Realtors Chief Economist, predicts that "existing-home sales for all of 2008 are forecast at 5.39 million, increasing 6.6 percent to 5.74 million in 2009".
There are as many opinions on this as there are experts. And the market recovery will vary from region to region. Overall, early indications are showing that prices in many areas of the country are beginning to stabilize.

Last prediction I heard was for further declines. Which way will election go? Inflation? interest rates?
As an investor (in addition to full time agent) I consider myself both a buyer and seller at all times. If you are contemplating buying and selling (to upscale), I suggest you sell now (get a flexible closing) and buy once under contract. If you are planning on down sizing I would sell now and take a lease of a year or two (rentals are renting at a fraction of typical purchase costs)

The Crystal Ball says... OMG - buy now !! Buy NOW!!! : )

The market seems to be getting better, inventory in Middlesex is flucuating as homes are sold and new listings come on the market. From what I see, people are realizing the bottom is here and making moves on properties.

My opinion is that we will see a surge in purchases the next few weeks as people look to get into homes for the school year and next spring should be quite lively.

But, who really knows?