The Housing Market is in Trouble. Who Can We Thank For It And What Do We Do Now?

The housing market is in trouble. Real trouble. It still is even after the bank bailouts on Wall Street, even with the full backing of the Federal Government supporting Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and with so many Americans scared stiff about their own home mortgages, we have to be very careful what decisions we make in Real Estate right now.

However, there is an upside. There is always an upside. With every up in the economy, there is a down. Nevertheless, the reverse is also true. With every downside, there is an upside. The upside of the housing market right now is that first-time homebuyers and others looking to move up in home size are getting some of the best deals in property ownership of their lifetimes.

However, the person who is getting the most upside is currently the savvy Real Estate investor. The housing market has the lowest prices in 50 years and with a special addition to the tax code of 1974, many are using this to buy Real Estate as an investment vehicle for their 401(k)s and self-directed IRAs.

There are more homes on the market than in the past several decades, at simply rock bottom prices. These pieces of property, when purchased with a self-directed IRA will lead to the wealthy IRA you need to retire on your schedule.

With so many homes available on the market at incredibly amazing deals, IRA investors can seize these opportunities for pennies on the dollar! With a nearly 16% drop in value which will rebound into an incredible return on investment, Real Estate purchases with IRAs are topping lists of investors everywhere!
That said, whom can we thank for this crisis? Barbara Cohen expounds on the Real Estate market crisis and investment opportunities in the article below:

"This week, we saw Ben Bernanke "re-anointed" for another four years.

However, let us take a good look at Bernanke's report card for just the past year and see whether his actions truly merit another four years at the helm. 1. Acknowledged unemployment -- 9.4%.

This does not take into consideration the millions who are underemployed and would like to be full-time employees, or those who simply cannot find work and have fallen off the unemployment rosters even though they have still searching for a job.

In April, the real unemployment number was roughly 15%, but now exceeds 20%. A slower real estate market translates into lower home values. Homeowners with adjustable-rate mortgages find that, as their mortgage rate adjusts higher, their home value is lower and therefore refinancing is no longer an option.

Six out of 10 homeowners wished they had understood the terms of their mortgage better. The value of the average home is down 15.1 percent from July 2008. Total housing inventory at the end of July rose 7.3 percent to 4.09 million existing homes available for sale, representing a 9.4-month supply at the current sales pace.
Barbara Cohen
Contributing Editor

According to Ms. Cohen, she blames Bernanke. But it goes deeper than that. The Fed, the powers that be in Washington, and Wall Street. But blame only goes so far, remember? There is an upside. We can take our future into our own hands. Invest your soon-to-be wealthy IRA or 401(k) in property. You will be glad you did!