The risks associated with the real estate market recovering are:
- Expiration of homebuyer tax credits--lower priced homes sold vogorously in the weeks before the tax credit ended, and then markedly slowed since then
- Mortgage rates rising by year end--there is some speculation and concern that interest rates will go up if we experience inflation
- Increasing delinquencies and foreclosures--short sales and foreclosures continue, this drives all prices down, and pushes home buyers out of the homeowner market
- Continued slowdown of internal migration in the U.S. due in part to underwater homeowners
- Potential for weak macroeconomic recovery
Positive factors that suggst the real estate market will recover are:
- Local employment growth is coming--the state gained jobs in January and March
- Washington state recovery is expected to outpace national recovery (Arun Raha, Washington state economist)
- The Canadian dollar is strong--Our border is with Canada, not Greece
- Locational advantages of the region: Water and mountain views, Recreational amenities, Lower-cost alternative to Vancouver & Seattle