The State of the Nation's Housing

Despite the current slump, the long-term prospects for the housing industry are not bleak, according to "The State of the Nation's Housing 2009" report, released by Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies (JCHS). The report details factors such as unemployment and the credit crisis leading to problems in the sector. Home equity is positively correlated with consumer spending, and plunging home values have pulled down consumer spending and economic growth in the last couple of years. Analyst say that the current recession provides a painful but much needed correction to the housing market.

So, what does the future hold? The so-called echo boomers, who are the children of the baby boomers, will be a big source of housing demand in the next year and beyond, according to the report. "Echo boomers are larger than the baby boomer population. Couple that with immigration and you have the seeds, the possibility of a housing recovery", said Nicolas Retsinas, director of JCHS. The report states that minorities will drive 73% of of household growth in 2010-2020, with Hispanics leading the way at 36%. Given the lower average incomes and wealth of minorities, the increase in minority households "could add significantly to the nations already widespread housing affordability challenges, according to the report.

What does this mean if you have a home to sell that is in the mid to upper price range, say $300k and up? Although the media reports may start to show an increase in home sales, the majority will still be lower priced homes. That means it will be more important than ever to have an "edge" when your home is competing for less buyers in the higher price brackets.

Using a Home Manager to stage and maintain your home in 'model home condition' will help your home show better and, statistically, these homes sell faster than homes with renters or vacant homes. They also tend to close for a higher price than their vacant competitors.