Nearly 70 percent of real estate agents recently polled predict home prices will rise by the end of this year, particularly among homes in the low and mid-price ranges, according to the RE/MAX Market Insights, an online survey of more than 1,000 RE/MAX agents.
“This market is definitely heating up,” says Margaret Kelly, RE/MAX CEO. “[Real estate agents] are witnessing a recovery across the country fueled by home buyers and sellers taking advantage of a significant market opportunity.”
More real estate professionals are also reporting greater interest among non-investor home buyers in foreclosures, even more so than homes being sold as short sales. Sixty-two percent of the agents surveyed report that non-investor home buyers have a favorable attitude toward foreclosures while 27 percent say they have a favorable attitude toward short sales.
“With distressed properties still making up a sizeable portion of homes on the market, this inventory is being cleared effectively by buyers, who don’t mind investing a little to fix up a property in return for an attractive bargain,” says Kelly.
The agents surveyed report that the challenges first-time home buyers face the most are having a credit score that is acceptable to banks, raising an adequate down payment, and a shortage in the number of homes for sale. Meanwhile, repeat home buyers report some of their greatest challenges nowadays is selling their current home, as well as “the scarcity of homes to purchase in the lower and middle price ranges.”
The survey found that buyers’ biggest priorities when shopping for a new home are quality of schools, the home’s condition, and its size. The lowest priorities, on the other hand, were public transportation, walkability, and energy efficiency, according to the survey.
The author of this article is: realtormag.realtor.org
See the original post at: http://realtormag.realtor.org/daily-news/2012/04/30/remax-survey-market-heating-up
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