According to experts, no housing turn around is on the horizon

Once again, this is NOT the article that I've been intending to write for the past several months. But yet again, I have come across information that is too important not to post, especially since I only get asked this question ten times a day. 

Experts at the Inman Real Estate Conference are predicting that the housing market will continue to suffer for the foreseeable future.  They're saying that nationwide statistics indicate that the huge inventory of homes on the market (ie. one of the major causes for falling home prices) is being exacerbated by increasing unemployment and huge losses at banks that in turn result in tighter lending standards.  For the market to even begin to recover, inventory would have to decrease through more sales and fewer foreclosures.  The experts are saying that the government's actions have not been effective enough in increasing sales, reducing foreclosures and loosening credit standards to resolve the issues mentioned above.

Of course, the Bay is a unique housing market that includes many micro markets.  The economy is a bit stronger here and foreign investors have always found this area attractive.  However, the Bay's housing market is also harder hit than other markets in several key areas - median home price-to-income ratios and the cost of renting versus owning.  Home prices in most of the desireable areas of the Bay remain relatively high when compared to the rest of the country; this means that our housing inventory will continue to move slower than is needed to spark a speedy recovery of the Bay's housing market.

Personally, I still see that houses that are priced well (most of the banks are beginning to do this) and that aren't in need of major rehab work will move very quickly regardless of the neighborhood. Although it's a pipe dream to think that you can now buy a house in Montclair, Rockridge, Elmwood or Sequoyah Hills for less than $400,000 or maybe even $600,000, it continues to be a buyer's market although investors and competition are still making it more difficult for lower income buyers to take advantage of reduced home prices.  The good news for buyers is that there are opportunities out there and according to the experts, they're going to be around for a while.  However, it is unfortunate that so many people are continuing to lose their houses and suffer during this difficult period.