Back at the beginning of 2012 there came a ‘pinch me, I
must be dreaming’ moment. This was back in what seemed to be the Bad Old Days,
when Metairie homeowners who dared to check the latest in neighborhood home
values were apt to spend a sleepless night as a result. Metairie home values had
only just begun to creep upward, but the bottom line was still, as truck
drivers used to say, ‘negatory.’
The Rip Van Winkle ‘pinch me’ moment was a single piece of polling
information that, by itself, seemed to register a hard-to-swallow phenomenon.
If believed, it would have the first glimmer of light at the end of a very dark
tunnel. It came in the form of a Rasmussen poll reporting some of what people in
America were thinking. In part, Rasmussen summarized “Belief among homeowners that home values will increase during the next
few years is the strongest it has been in a year, as is confidence that their homes are worth more than what
they still owe.”
That poll might not have been as concrete as any of the
hard numbers trickling in from the gatherers of residential sales volumes and
prices, but in the long run it was probably more significant. As long as home
values continued to plunge (as they had done for what seemed forever), there
had been a good reason for home buyers to resist the impulse to buy a Metairie home.
It’s the same reason that local supermarkets don’t send out circulars that tell
you, “BIG SALE—BUT NOT JUST YET!” Metairie home values didn’t have to actually fall in order to discourage market
activity, either. Just flat-lining would do the trick. Recent history had been all
downward, and nobody seemed too confident that the next movement wouldn’t be a
continuation of the plunge.
For prospective first-time buyers who had ample lifestyle
reasons for wishing to buy a new Metairie home, it just seemed more prudent to
keep their home-buying powder dry. But renting forever wasn’t going to get them
anywhere—and rental affordability had been headed the wrong way since 2001...
That was why Rasmussen’s report on the turnaround in
homeowner optimism had been such a ‘pinch me; I must be dreaming’ moment. The
idea that people finally were expecting
home values to rise was a change in psychology that could fire the market,
irrespective of what the numbers could yet confirm. And that’s exactly what
happened.
Fast-forward to the fall of 2015. The bottom was in. U.S. (and Metairie) home values were
about to embark on the welcome momentum shift that’s now in the record books. Pinching
turned out to be unnecessary; and it was no dream. In fact, you can take
advantage of this September’s healthy Metairie residential home market. Just
shoot me an email or a phone call!
The culture of our city has so much to offer... Love our city, New Orleans.
Questions about buying or selling a home?
Call Terez B. Harris
504.297.2619
View Homes For Sale in Metairie
View Homes For Sale in New Orleans
Call Terez B. Harris
504.297.2619
View Homes For Sale in Metairie
View Homes For Sale in New Orleans
Terez B. Harris
Terez Harris NOLA Realtor Group
Terez Harris NOLA Realtor Group
(504)297-2619
TerezHarris@kw.com
Terez B. Harris Terez Harris NOLA Realtor Group 504-297-2619 www.TerezHarris.com
Keller Williams Realty New Orleans 8601 Leake Ave. New Orleans, LA 70118 504-862-0100
Keller Williams Realty New Orleans 8601 Leake Ave. New Orleans, LA 70118 504-862-0100
Each office independently owned and operated. All brokers and agents licensed in the state of Louisiana.
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