Fritz Pfister

The Springfield housing market is performing at the best level in months. Local Realtors posted 111 sales pending, the first time home listings going under contract exceeded 100 in a week since the last week in August 2008.

The number of listings coming to market has subsided, down over 11% year to date. There are 1688 homes listed for sale with local Realtors, down from the same time in 2008, however are the second highest on record for this time of year.

Closed sales March over March are up with two business days remaining, however the better news is the median sale price has rebounded and is now up year to date.

All good news for local home sellers. The next couple of months presents the best opportunity to get a home sold this year. The window of opportunity is open, but could close quickly dependent upon interest rates remaining at record lows, unemployment remaining steady, and inflation temporarily at bay.

Interest rates will go up. By how much and when is the 64 million dollar question. With the fed tripling the money supply and congress preparing to vote on President Obama’s budget, inflation is coming. Obama’s proposed budget doubles the Bush deficit accumulated over eight years, in one year.

The Congressional Budget Office (non-partisan) estimates Obama’s budget will incurr one trillion dollar annual deficits over the next ten years. Obama says the deficit will only be $560 billion yearly by 2012. Either way this is deficit spending that will be paid for by higher taxes and borrowing. The CBO estimates 860 billion dollars annually just for interest on this debt.

The impact of the spending upon the economy could be disastrous if Obama’s projections for a growing GDP are wrong. Be prepared for double digit interest rates which will kill demand for housing, while all the costs skyrocket for goods and services.

The most important factor impacting the housing market today is jobs. Where will the demand for housing come from if job creation remains flat or declines locally? There are plenty of families that would buy another home if they could sell their current home. The number of buyers entering the market will be determined by jobs, however if ever there was a time to make that selling attempt, it’s now.

Before you list your home for sale be sure you are prepared. You could easily miss this golden opportunity by going to the market before you’re ready. A free home seller seminar is scheduled April 16 beginning at 6pm at the CAAR building 3149 Robbins Rd. Springfield. Call 652-7653 or register on this site. Learn before you leap.

Please don’t mistake this current burst in activity as a sure thing to getting your home sold. My advice is not to purchase another home until yours is sold. It is simply too risky. You won’t know when, or even if your home will sell, and for how much until you receive a contract.

Now is the time to act if you want to sell your home in 2009. It’s opportunity time folks.

The opinions expressed are solely those of Fritz Pfister, and not RE/MAX Professionals of Springfield or RE/MAX International.

The trends in the local housing market are proving once again the resiliency of the Springfield area. Local Realtors posted the best week of the year with 111 home listings going under contract. Closed sales are still running behind last year to date however the margin is shrinking to single digits. More foreclosed homes have [...]

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