GREAT NEWS FOR BOCA RATON HOMEBUYERS:

IT’S TIME TO GET OFF THAT FENCE!

Everyone is talking about the fact that the S & P Case-Shiller home price index, which tracks home prices in 20 metropolitan areas, rose for the first time in 34 straight months of decline. Various housing indicators are showing glimmers of hope that the housing market is improving.

We all know that real estate is LOCAL so I have decided to drill down into the numbers a bit. After examining sales for the three months ending April 30, May 31, and June 30, I can confirm that for the first time in three years, home prices in Boca Raton have increased as have the number of sales. Although they are only slight increases and will have to be tracked over time, it appears that we might be bottoming out. The median selling price of a Boca Raton home is $300,000 – up from $286,000 just a month ago, but down from the high of $539,450 three years ago. The number of homes sold also increased over 15% in the past month.

A confluence of events are contributing to the increase in activity:

• Interest rates fell to 50-year lows

• First time buyers can take advantage of the $8000 Federal Tax Credit

• Buyers can get mortgages with as little as 3.5% down from the FHA

• Prices are at historic lows—in Boca Raton, prices of single family homes are down 44% from the peak in the second quarter of 2006

Of course you only know when the market hits the bottom after it starts to increase, so my question is:

"ARE WE THERE YET"?

Please review these statistics so you can be better informed of the trends:

If you are in the market to buy Boca Raton real estate (or in the surrounding area), it is time to get off that fence!