What impact do you think the recent economic downturn will have on our local real estate market?

This is the million-dollar question right now.  There seems to be no doubt that real estate consumers are a little less confident this week.  But will we see an actual downturn in our market?

My hope is that this will simply result in a temporary delay in our spring season.  Before the most recent events, we had an incredible amount of excess demand and low inventory, resulting in frequent bidding wars and many disappointed families who lost out on yet another home.  I have personally experienced that on several of my listings – several offers but only one home to sell.  Those buyers are still out there – maybe focused on other things, but still out there.  If you are a buyer, I would encourage you to press forward in your search for a home. The reality is that much of your competition may be focusing on other aspects of their lives right now and you may have a better chance of actually succeeding in buying a home without having to compete with multiple bidders.  Interest rates are low – it remains a great time to buy!

I do not expect values to plummet, so if you are planning on sitting on the sidelines waiting to see how low they go, you are probably going to lose out on some great homes. When we saw our economy falter in 2008, we did not see a drop in housing prices.  We also did not see continued appreciation, but we were very stable.  Pittsburgh has historically been a very stable real estate market—we don’t have a spike in values – just a steady climb – so we are unlikely to see a significant drop.

Sellers, I encourage you to continue to ready your homes for sale.  Our spring market surge may happen slightly later this year – and that will be good news for those of you who are still organizing your closets, attics, basements and garages.   You only have one chance to make a great first impression – now is your chance to make sure you are doing just that!