One of the few people who called the housing boom correctly is Robert Shiller, an economist at Yale University. In his 2000 book, Irrational Exuberance, he warned against the run-up in home prices. His work is prescient in forecasting the housing boom and warning against the excesses of lose lending regulations, etc. Yet, in the peak of boom, Shiller was regarded as a pariah. Who want to hear about the buzz kill during the boom! His was clearly the minority options. People just didn’t want to hear the bad news! Instead, they blindly proceeded ahead.
The Case-Shiller Home Price Index is now belatedly accepted as the standard for the real estate industry. Your best resource for information on housing trends is Case Shiller.
Just imagine for a moment if you’d taken Shiller’s advice seriously. Imagine that you disinvested all your real estate at the top of the market in 2006-2007 and now had cash to be bargain hunting at the bottom of the market, as what is potentially a long, slow rebound commences? What would you look to buy?
One thing will always remain true, no matter the overall state of the housing market: homes that share basic, sound characteristics will be valued higher than homes without them. What are some of these characteristics? The classic one is location, but there are others like condition, configuration (number of rooms/types of rooms/size of rooms), and finally there is finish – the quality and “style” of the home.
In a market full of distressed properties, BuildSmart helps home buyers to identify valuable properties – valuable now, and ones that will maintain their value over time. Our background in architecture and contracting give us unique insight on our client's behalf to create a home solution that fits their needs, and holds its own, even in a turbulent marketplace.
If you're a home buyer, contact us today to experience our value-based real estate solutions for your next home purchase.
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