Weichert Realtors Press Release
Weichert Forecasts a Housing Market on the Rise
6/17/2008
-- Real
estate pioneer calls the bottom of the market and expects home sales to begin showing modest, steady increases --
MORRIS PLAINS, N.J. – As president and founder of
Weichert, Realtors, one of the nation’s largest privately-held real estate
companies, James M. Weichert has seen his share of market shifts. In fact, Weichert has become quite efficient
at predicting changes by regularly studying the factors that shape the housing
sector. Yet, this well-respected industry pioneer has never felt so strongly
about a market shift that he would come out and declare so publicly – until
now.
In a
message to the company’s nearly 18,000 sales associates as well as
approximately 2,000 employees, Weichert announced that “we have reached the
bottom of the housing market and will soon begin to see improvements.”
“We saw an
extraordinarily hot market at the start of the decade like we may never see
again. I knew in May 2005 that we had reached the peak of the market when
mortgage payments began to stretch beyond buyer affordability,” said Weichert.
“Now, everything I am seeing is telling me the worst is behind us and we’ll
begin to see a gradual increase in sales activities.”
Weichert
acknowledges that the recovery will happen at slightly different times and at
different rates throughout the country because real estate remains a local
business. “I recognize that some areas locally and some states nationally are
not there yet, but by and large, we are turning the corner.”
As is
typical in real estate, the Northeast appears to be the first area heading in
to a new market. In many states, home
sales are increasing slightly month over month and the home supply is
waning. At the same time, interest rates
remain historically-low, foreclosures are on the decline and mortgage money is
becoming more readily available again.
Perhaps the
biggest factor Weichert feels points to a market on the way back up is the
increase in buyer interest. “There is
just a lot of pent-up demand right now. We are seeing more traffic to our Web
site, more people coming to our Open Houses. Despite the downturn the past few
years, life goes on. People continue to get married, have kids and change jobs
and buying a new home often goes hand in hand with these life milestones.”
To support
his belief that the market is now on an upswing, Weichert will incorporate in
to its current print and Internet advertising a message to buyers: “You might
be guessing, but we’re sure. Now is the time to buy.”
“I know
there are a lot of interested buyers who have sat on the sidelines the past few
years either because they lacked confidence in the market or because they were
hoping to time their purchase perfectly and buy at the lowest point possible,”
added Weichert. “I would tell those people there is no more reason for
uncertainty or hesitation.”
Weichert
has nearly 18,000 sales associates in more than 500 company-owned and
franchised sales offices in key markets throughout the U.S. A family of full-service real estate and
financial services companies, Weichert helps customers buy and sell both
residential and commercial real estate, and streamlines the delivery of
mortgages and home and title insurance.
For more information, Weichert's customer service center can be reached
at 1-800-USA-SOLD or at Weichert's Web site, www.weichert.com. Each Weichert franchised office is
independently owned and operated.
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