A national Private Mortgage Insurance company has ranked major metropolitan areas as to whether the statistics indicate that the prices of houses in these markets will rise or fall in the next two years. Boston is listed as one of the most likely to fall in price, on average, in the next two years.

What does this mean for you?

When the prices of houses fall in the major metropolitan areas, the prices in the adjacent areas also tend to decline, since people often live outside the metropolitan area due to housing costs, which drives the house prices down in the environs when they fall in the cities. This can mean that prices in the suburban areas and minor cities will also fall, due to competition from the urban housing markets, making the market a weak market for appreciation. This in turn makes these markets even more oriented in favor of buyers.

So, should you buy now? Perhaps… it would require Merlin’s crystal ball to determine when in fact the prices are lowest, and thus when the best time to buy is, but the market is oriented in favor of buyers now, and will likely remain so for the next 18 to 24 months.

If you are planning to flip the property, better wait… if you can hold and rent the property, go ahead and buy… if you are going to live in it, it is still a good time to buy, since interest rates are still near all time lows, and prices are good.

What do you think? Give us a call…