As 2011 comes to a close, the real estate market can look back in frenzy at the rollercoaster ride that it has had in the past decade. The first seven years were record breaking highs before it starting taking an abrupt nose dive spiral in the succeeding years.
In 2012, the housing market may be able to heave a sigh of relief towards the end of the year, for it appears signs point towards a more steady, ordinary and almost boring state that it once had; where perhaps the supply will be able to catch up a bit with demand and prices may not be as shocking to merit constant conversation. The past three years with any luck may have given the U.S. economy some time to recover thus allowing its housing inventory to get back to a somewhat normal state.
Local issues more than national and global will dictate the prices of properties in the coming year. Although prices will more than likely continue to fall in 2012 due to the heft of foreclosures, prices should then see some stabilization and subsequent rise along with incomes.
On the international front, the Chinese government’s liberalization of restrictions on investing capital beyond US shores will trickle down its positive effects on real estate brokers and agents’ business throughout the United States.
According to Professionals Realty Group USA President Glenn Melton, “The relaxing of Chinese foreign investment policies will create an influx of Chinese investment capital overseas. This will spur investments in the Asia Pacific regions, as well as the United States; especially given the concern that central government intervention to contain overheated domestic housing prices will lead Chinese investors to seek other opportunities abroad.”
U.S. Congress has been in fact vigorously looking for new ways to prompt international investment in the U.S. Senators Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Mike Lee (R-UT) has even proposed a new legislative bill to offer a temporary residency visa to immigrants who spend at least $500,000 on a home in the United States.
Melton said, “The real estate investment sector is rapidly evolving with more investors interested in real estate portfolios than one-off transactions – and we will truly see its fruits in the next 18 to 24 months. Real estate brokers and agents have an opportunity to be ahead of the curve and take a bigger position in the investment real estate space, whether foreign or domestic.”
By establishing easy access to U.S. real estate to foreign investors through 2012, it will just further enable the housing market to move towards a stable recovery.
