RISMEDIA, January 7, 2011—(MCT)—The drumbeat from the housing community was loud and clear in 2010: There was never a better time to buy a home. For most of the past 12 months, home prices tumbled,mortgage rates ticked downward, and the inventory of available traditional and distressed homes was plentiful.
But would-be buyers, even if they were able to overcome job worries, found that the hurdles to obtain a loan were formidable. They remained on the sidelines, and housing analysts opined that if the broader economy improved and unemployment fell, pent-up demand would be unleashed, credit guidelines would ease and home sales would improve.
As the New Year begins, that guarded optimism has turned into uncertainty, thanks to a combination of rising mortgage rates, tighter underwriting guidelines and sweeping government regulation. As a result, it’s unlikely to get any easier and may, in fact, get much more difficult to buy a home in 2011.
Article Source: http://rismedia.com/2011-01-06/what-home-buyers-can-expect-from-the-real-estate-market-in-2011/
