Remember: real estate is local.
Yes, on a national level the number of homes for sale is increasing and the housing market is showing weakness, but on a local level, the story is always different.
And, despite chunking the national data into 28 "Major Markets", the figures below still can't be considered "local". The Miami-Fort Lauderdale market, for example, is a 31.6 mile tract of land.
The Association of Realtors has actually stated that the current state of the mortgage market is not permanent and that there has even been an improvement in recent weeks regarding the availability of "Jumbo Loans" (Mortgage Loans that exceed the current $417,000 limit established as a prerequisite for loans that can be purchased by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac).
Real estate markets vary by neighborhood and even by street. It's why one zip code may be hot, and a neighboring zip code may be flat. It's also why we should ignore national real estate price patterns and focus on the local trend instead.
(Image courtesy: Wall Street Journal Online)
