Why Are Home Sales Slow? People Have Stopped Moving
With the economic slowdown, people are staying closer to home. People are moving less than at anytime since 1962. Even immigration has slowed down.
The combination of job loss, lack of equity in their present property values, and just plain fear is stopping the market dead in their tracks.
“We are normally thought of as a country on the move, but now all levels of migration have almost come to standstill,” said William Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank. “People are just staying put.”
The national mover rate was 11.9% last year, meaning 11.9% of the people lived in a different dwelling than they did the year before. That was down from 13.2% in 2007. In total, about 35 million people moved last year, down from about 39 million in 2007.
With home values falling, many people have stayed in place, either because they can’t sell their homes or aren’t happy with prices offered.
My mom told me to put the statue in the ground, just seems wrong to me but I did it. ...
What about RE/MAX Commercial? Where this classification came from?
I am pretty sure RE/MAX Commercial in volume sales must be above ...
Well Tom, once again you have said it much better than I could have. Unfortunately the folks at Move, ...
It certainly does not bode well for a fast recovery in the economic climate. This will affect all real estate ...
I HAVE 25 YEARS EXPERIENCE IN TELECOMMUNICATIONS..HOW DO I APPLY AT KAI. 
Definitely not a fan of Move Inc.!!! 
A lot of you really need to go back to kindergarten and learn to spell correctly. If you cannot spell ...
In 2008, there was an extension to push first-time home buyers to purchase their homes quickly since the program did ...
I also need HELP and don't know what to do about my problem. I have a garden apartment off ...
I have the same situation. I sold my home in July and am scheduled to to close in a few ...
Comment by Portland Real Estate on 23 April 2009:
Interesting. My initial thought would be that the opposite was happening, as I have known a lot of people who left their homes for smaller ones, or for apartments in order to save money. Its really interesting to read that the actual trend is so far from what I anticipated.
Pingback by Daily Digest for 2009-04-23 | Joe Spake - Memphis Real Estate on 24 April 2009:
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Comment by Kim | Web Design on 24 April 2009:
Portland Real Estate, I would have to agree with you on your comment, people are really downsizing and this is helping with saving, as well as that a smaller place is easier to maintain, in the long run.
Comment by randi on 24 April 2009:
yep, i have know many cases similar to these and they are very peculiar
Comment by Martin | Landlord Software on 24 April 2009:
In Oregon at least, I am seeing a lot of previous homeowners looking to rent. They aren’t moving far, because that’s too costly. Most of these, from the ones I’ve met were paying $1500/mo on their mortgage, give or take, and either their rate went up, or the value of their home went down and they ditched the mortgage in favor of renting the same size/quality of place for $1100/mo.
Comment by Atlanta homes on 25 April 2009:
This is very true. In the past the average person in Atlanta moved once every 3-5 years. I think this will now turn into 5-7 years and severely change the housing industry.
Comment by Joshua Pettus on 27 April 2009:
Our market here in North Alabama has been suprisingly healthy. Especially in the Huntsville area. The problem we face is that they can’t sell their house in another part of the country. Sellers are reluctant to rent, but sadly are left with no choice.
The issue that I see is that those who can actually buy are still convinced that this is not a good time to buy. There’s a great selection of houses here, and even though the market has picked up for the spring, there’s still a lot of hungry sellers out there willing to break a deal with folks.
A couple of weeks ago I wrote a blog entry about what consumers can do to save the economy… buy a house! There’s so much economic stimulation that can take place from a family buying a house.
Joshua
Comment by Vikas on 6 May 2009:
Due to current market situation peoples are feeling much insecure it effect their spending power. Now they are hesitating to take loans for property. It effects the real estate market.