Berkley & Veller Real Estate Blog

Posted on 1/11/11  by Ingrid Bennett

According to the National Association of Realtors Chief Economist, Lawrence Yun, in 2011 there will be “two steps forward, one step back, with sizable local market differences, but the trend nevertheless will be a rise in home sale activity in the upcoming years”.   Yun feels that price excesses from the housing bubble are pretty much gone and it’s a fact that interest rates are still low.  Coupled with increased business spending and job gains, demand will rise.

In general in Windham and Cheshire Counties, we have fared better than other parts of the country where there is still a large inventory of distressed properties.  I think that once everyone shakes off the holiday lethargy, we’re going to see more buyers than we did last winter.   So far this winter the weather in the southern areas of Vermont (such as Brattleboro & Dover) and New Hampshire (Walpole, Chesterfield) has been fairly benign and it has not been that difficult to get around, thus perhaps encouraging potential buyers to get a jump on the early spring real estate market, which usually begins in March.

Over the next couple of weeks I’ll do a re-cap of 2010 sales but it’s also time to look ahead and realize that local real estate markets are improving at a slow but steady pace.   I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again:  If your financial house is in order and you have talked to a lender about the viability of getting approved for a mortgage, then what are you waiting for?  There is an adequate supply of fine homes on the market in all price ranges and interest rates are buyer friendly.   Give us a call and schedule time to meet with an agent in one of our offices to discuss how you can buy a primary or vacation home in Vermont or New Hampshire.