Is it Time to Get Off the Fence? - by Dan Gile

Have you been waiting for the stars to line up? Maybe you've been waiting for interest rates to come back down or another wave of foreclosures. Or maybe you've been waiting for the shadow inventory to hit the market or the jobless rate to shoot up. Well, you may be waiting for a long time. The fundamentals in the real estate market look very strong. Inventory is the lowest it's been in years and in fact in many markets have signaled the transition to a seller's market. The jobless rate has just hit a 5 year low of 7% and solid GDP growth is predicted by almost any economist you read. Interest rates, although historically low, will almost certainly begin to climb and are expected to reach 5% by the end of 2014. Although buying real estate is never risk free, if you're in the market to buy a property, it's hard to imagine that you'll be better off by waiting a year. You may have missed the bottom of the market but that doesn't mean that it's too late to get a good deal. By buying now you'll probably look pretty smart looking back a couple of years from now. Of course it's comfortable sitting on the fence, but it might start to get lonely up there. Dan Gile has been a Realtor Since1970. Dan Gile has worked in several western states owning and managing a variety ofreal estate companies. Phone 970.531.0024