A few weeks (months?) ago we began hearing news about a light at the end of the tunnel, a recovery, and it’s becoming 
louder and louder. Currently MSNBC.com, CNN.com, BBC.com and even front page of BusinessWeek a few weeks back put a spot light on the housing market in some of the hardest hit areas in the country citing “signs of life” as the housing market begins picking up pace again along with economic indicators pointing towards a bottom and a road to recovery.
There are of course still cautions that we have a steep hill to climb on the way out, however the media has a significant impact on people’s views of the economy and thus does effect the economy to a degree, as such it’s good to see media outlets from MSNBC to the BBC & BusinessWeek citing growth, recovery, hitting bottom & “signs of life” in the housing market especially in some of the hardest hit markets.
In our local Portland real estate market things are picking up significantly, buyers are coming out of the woodwork, lots of first time home buyers looking to cash in on that $8,000 tax credit (the procrastanators are probably going to miss the deadline though; be careful) but also lots of investors looking to pick something up before we start heading up the other side. We’re now frequently seeing multiple offer situations again, albeit mainly on bank owned or, “REO” properties and short sales at steal of a deal prices (yes, their “asking” price is a steal of a deal), but these properties are moving FAST…If you’re in the market for an investment property where your primary objective is lowest price per square foot, you have to be fast and competitive to get them. We’re regularly seeing homes priced well hit the market and have multiple offers on it within days often selling over asking price. The above referenced BusinessWeek article mentions this happening elsewhere but folks, it’s happening here in the Portland real estate market too.
Scott McDonald – You’re Portland Real Estate Agent
Tags: $8000 tax credit, economic growth, hitting bottom, housing market moving, recession ending