When will the Real Estate Market Shift?

I speak to a lot of clients on a regular basis, and one question I hear frequently is “When will the real estate market shift back?” That’s a question that is on everyone’s mind. So let’s explore it and see if we can make any sense of it.
Real estate is driven by supply and demand. When there are more homes available than there are buyer’s buying, you are consequently in a buyer’s market, like we are in now. When there are more buyers than there are seller’s selling, you are in a seller’s market.
Buyer’s markets are good for buyers because they can get good deals on homes, sellers will typically pay more in closing costs and are more reasonable on pricing. Seller’s markets are good for sellers because housing prices appreciate because the demand is so high, just as in buyers markets, housing prices stagnate or correct because demand is lower. Sellers will get better deals in sellers markets and will typically make more money on the sale with a faster sale time.
We have been in our current market now for about 3 years. The average cyclical market time is between 3-7 years, depending on the economy and other factors such as mortgages and interest rates. It’s been expected that the market should regain it’s footing after the elections and start leveling some. However, that is just speculation at this point. We will not see the effects on our markets until we know how regulations will impact us, referring to capital gains, housing regulations, mortgage regulations, ect.
To keep things in prospective, we should be very close to rebounding from this housing correction, that is to say, as long as rates remain low, real estate taxes are kept as is or lowered, and the economy picks back up. However, if your currently looking to purchase, don’t let the real estate information scare you into not purchasing, because the more properties saturating the market, the harder it will be for us to make a comeback. Everyone has a part in this, including you!