The U.S. housing market has been down for the past four years. Will it ever end?
Is the housing market getting better?
The market has been showing some signs of improvement this year, but this upward trend is fragile and uncertain. Home sales have increased the last few months. The inventory of unsold homes listed for sale also is down. Some bidding wars are breaking out for foreclosed between first-time buyers and investors seeking rental properties. However, more than 6.7 million U.S. households with mortgages, which is about 13%, are behind on their payments or are in the foreclosure process. At some point, many of them will lose those homes, getting more and more houses on the market. Businesses are in trouble, making unemployment continuing to rise. As a result the housing market won’t recover easily. Expected is that prices will remain to drop dramatically. How can I tell whether my local market is improving?
You could ask your Realtor how many homes are listed for sale in your town and how many months it would take them to sell the current inventory. Anything over six months is considered high, meaning that sellers might have to cut prices. Another way is to count the number of for-sale signs and vacant houses in your neighborhood. If there are more than a couple vacant homes in one block, that is a bad sign,especially if no one is taking care of them. How can I figure out the value of my home?
You never know for sure what a home will be worth until you put it on the market, and then, you still have to rely on luck. Will your buyer who loves your home and neighborhood show up on the first day or after250 days? You could pay an appraiser to get a report on the expected value of your house, however, part of the value is how long you are willing or able to wait for the buyer of your house. Does it matter whether I'm in financial trouble?
At least you have plenty of company. Over 20% of owners of single-family homes owe more than the current estimated value of their homes and are behind on payments. As long as you can afford your monthly payment and don't need to move soon, there is no problem. But it is almost impossible to refinance a mortgage. Some people who can afford to make their monthly mortgage payments are deciding it doesn't make sense to do so because they don't expect their home values everto recover and they could rent similar houses for much lower monthly costs. How long will it take to repair my credit record after foreclosure?
It probably will be three to five years before you can qualify for a home mortgage insured by the government, assuming you have re-established a record for paying your bills on time. The foreclosure will remain on your credit record for seven years, raising your interest costs for every other loan you apply for. If you are facing foreclosure in St. Louis Missouri, contact OSPropertyBuyer.com, we can help you to stop the process and buy your house directly from you. But not only when you are facing foreclosure. When you would like to sell your house fast, for a reasonable price, contact OSPropertyBuyer.com. | 
