The real estate market in the U.S. has been in doldrums for more than two years and signs of recovery have been identified by many experts. A recent survey of real estate agents by Credit Suisse confirms that the market has been improved slightly. These signs include slight improvement in traffic, increasing price strength in nearly all markets, and lower inventory. Fall is the traditional real estate buying season and the momentum will help the market heading the right direction.
The Credit Suisse reports that its buyer-traffic index has increased from 51.0 in July to 52.3 recently. It also indicates that the index would have been higher if more units were available in certain key markets. Real estate agents have noted that buyers were not just “lookers” and they were quite serious. Limited inventory and rising prices would have influenced the buyers to make quick decisions in many areas.
Low mortgage rates are a key factor in the recovery. Traditional 30 year mortgage rates are around three percent at this time. This combined with low but slowly increasing home prices will create an upward market for home buyers. Another reason is increasing rental rates that push renters to look for homes.