Monday, April 23, 2007

Lake Havasu Market Conditions

Home sales during the rest of the year will be soft as the market works its way through an inventory and price imbalance.

Sales are slowing, homes are plentiful and sellers are negotiating. Under these conditions, we'll probably see prices dip temporarily below year-ago prices as the market works through a build up in housing inventory.

This is a normal pattern during a market correction, but home prices should return to positive territory within a few months and annual appreciation will be slower than historic norms. Buyers in most of the country who plan to stay in their home for a normal period of homeownership can pretty well expect average appreciation, but people who purchased 1-2 years ago with the intent of flipping are likely to get burned.