Have we reached the housing bottom yet? Not in New Jersey, it seems
I remember when the big question concerning the housing industry was whether there was such a thing as a real estate bubble. Some, mostly real estate professionals and officials with the National Association of Realtors, argued that no bubble existed. Housing prices would continue to go up or hold steady, with no “pop.”
Others, who turned out, unfortunately, to be correct, argued that housing prices were rising too high too quickly. They said that the bubble was destined to pop. And with it, they argued, would come a world of hurt as homeowners watched helplessly as their home values dropped.
With that question settled, the new question is a more desperate one: Have we finally reached the bottom of the U.S. housing market?
Again, there are differences of opinion. Some argue that if we’re not at the bottom, we’re at least awfully close to it. Others say that the bottom is still far off, and that housing prices will only continue to fall.
The attendees at a real estate conference in East Hanover, N.J., got a dose of the latter view yesterday. According to a story on the Newsday Web site, a real estate appraiser told gathered real estate agents that housing prices will continue to fall throughout the year thanks mostly jobs lost during the country’s recession.
The appraiser said that housing prices have been dropping by about 1 percent a month and will continue to do so during most of 2009. In 2008, housing prices in New Jersey dropped by about 8 percent.
There was a glimmer of hope, though. The appraiser also told agents that housing prices may begin to rise again in 2010 if the economy begins to recover, too. He predicted an increased demand for smaller homes as Baby Boomers enter their retirement years and begin to downsize.
Of course, the appraiser wasn’t saying with certainty that housing prices will begin to rise in 2010. He only said that they “may.” That implies that they “may not,” too.
