CNN recently published an article titled, “It’s a terrible time to buy a house….”

In the opinion of LDSAgents.com, this is true because interest rates are much higher now than even a year ago, and home prices are still relatively high. The reason for the lingering high prices is that sellers still want to get the higher prices they have become accustomed to hearing about in the recent past. Thus, they are holding on to their properties until they simply must sell.

However, prices have been dropping dramatically in some areas. In the Intermountain West, homes in the $700K range have dropped, in some case around $100K. That’s a lot in a year and, in our opinion, there is more price dropping to come.

Recent reports have shown that homes in the Boise/Meridian, Idaho area were a year ago selling up to 173% of their true market value. In the St. George area, homes that were being built for $186/sq. ft. a couple of years have been selling for well over $400/sq. ft. more recently. But the feeding frenzy is now over and there is great potential for a “crash” in prices in these areas as the recession deepens.

The message here is: if you can wait to buy, do it! Things are moving in the buyer’s favor now and the odds are small that home values will go up in most parts of the country. In fact, the Producer Price Index published today has gone up again, thus, showing that inflation is still increasing. This, in turn, ensures that interest rates will continue to rise for some time and prices will continue to drop.

Having said all that, people still need a place to live and there are things that can be done to take the sting out of buying sooner rather than later. Cash buyers, as always, have more leverage in negotiating a better deal and don’t have to worry so much about interest rates.

Whether you are buying or selling, contact LDSAgents.com and we will connect you with an agent who will help you achieve your best price!