A colleague of mine passed this article to me this morning- click here! It is a piece on why the housing market has scared off first-time buyers (falling prices, foreclosures, loan approvals, on and on) and also touches on how it has momentarily affected the rental market.
The National Association of Realtors reports that hundreds of thousands of young Americans are just waiting for the clouds to part and are not buying or renting:
“There’s probably 700,000, maybe 800,000 people out there that are not getting into the market either as a renter or as a homebuyer,” said Walter Molony, spokesman for the NAR. “Where are these folks? They’re out there, they’ve got jobs. Some of them are moving back with their parents, never left the house, they’re doubling up with roommates.”
While on of the largest U.S apartment owners, Equity Residential (downtown communities: Centennial Tower & Court, Olympus, Metro on First, 2300 Elliott, Harbor Steps, Summit at Lake Union and 7th & James) have seen fewer people moving out of their apartment buildings in the last year.
The bottom-line is that buyers can no longer make a strong profit in owning a property for just a year or two and even though Seattles market is stronger than most, it is still important to plan for the future. If you feel that you cant commit to staying in Seattle (or in one place) for 3 to 5 years, as an alternative there is always the option of renting your home.