Realtors Look On The Bright Side
Speaking to a gathering of hundreds of real estate agents in Worcester Tuesday, Jed Smith, managing director of quantitative research at the National Association of Realtors, said the association expects the housing market to recover in the middle of 2009.
Smith, who spoke to the Massachusetts Association of Realtors' annual conference and trade show in a hastily planned video appearance to address the nation's current financial turmoil, said the recent events raise serious questions for the housing market.
"Three or four weeks ago, I was a lot more confident," he said.
While the association has pushed back its prediction for a housing market recovery, which it had previously suggested would happen this year, Smith said the conditions for home sales are mixed. Consumer confidence is down, and unemployment is rising while inflation picks up, he said, but at the same time, a drop in new construction means housing supply is moving closer to demand, and the continuing fall of the dollar could boost American exports and strengthening the labor market.
Many attendees at the conference said they're feeling positive about their own situations.
"I think it's slower, but it's not terrible," said Roz Levine, who runs a real estate office in Worcester. "In fact, I'm waiting for a call about a closing right now."
Levine said her six-person operation is finding a good number of buyers, including both families and investors who want to fix up properties for rental. Worcester is a popular spot for those investors because of the affordable buildings, she said.
Another Worcester Realtor, George Russell of George Russell Realty, said his agency shrunk from 56 agents to 40 as the housing market slid downhill. These days, he said, houses are selling, but for far less money than a year or two ago, which means commissions are down as well. Still, he said, the fact that big players like Coldwell Banker, Century 21 and ReMax have all closed down offices in the local area leaves more room for his company to thrive.
WBJ Web Partners
Most Recent
Most Recent
0 Comments