Good News for Real Estate in 2009

HousingWire, Reuters, and The Wall Street Journal all have encouraging news for the future of real estate, even in the face of other grimmer reports.

Kelly Curran at HousingWire writes of the improving foreclosure market. She cites Alexis McGee, of Foreclosures.com, who says the decreasing numbers of foreclosures, however small,—from 84,534 in October to 84,291 in November—is evidence of a larger shift in the market. McGee has these hopeful words to say: “Recovery is underway. Affordable is back in the housing market. In 2009, housing will not only recover, but we’ll see buyers leap into this market in droves, depleting our housing oversupply, and actually put higher price pressures on the market.” Although Curran seems a tad skeptical of just how big of an improvement we’ll see, we can feel comforted that a foreclosure expert sees such positive change.

At Reuters, Jonathan Stempel cites Wells Fargo & Co Chief Executive John Stumpf as saying that the housing market may finally be coming to the very bottom, with the promise of a rebound. Let’s hope he is correct in that assessment.

And finally at The Wall Street Journal, James Hagerty writes of the shrinking housing inventory, good news for ensuring we are not overwhelmed by excess properties. Citing ZipRealty Inc.’s data, which covers single-family homes, condos, and town-homes, Hagerty writes that in 29 major metropolitan areas, listings have decreased. As Zip’s CEO Patrick Lashinsky sees it, sellers have become more discerning about whether they should sell now or not.

All of this spells promising news for the future of the real estate market, which is of course good news for the economy as a whole.