I really want to believe housing will rebound, hopefully soon. I see a few problems with this. There is no doubt we have an oversupply of housing, we also have a huge number of under-water mortgages and to top it all off, about the time housing really statrts to recover, all us baby boomers will be dying off, moving into old folk homes and dumping our homes into an already saturated housing market.
I really wish someone could set me straight on this and tell me how these issues will be overcome. I need some good news here.
Where I live, housing developments went up in the outskirts where previously no one would have dreamed of living. Those locations stunk before and they stink now, no matter how nice the houses are. Those are the places that are going to get hurt. Look at where you live and figure out whether a growing family would be attracted to it: proximity to thriving urban areas (jobs, restaurants, entertainment) near airports, school district quality, weather, etc.... Nevada is still a desert; Florida is hot and muggy with nothing to do.
Don't forget the Repubs are about to take Congress on a wave of intense public anger. The public is looking for reform.
If Paul Ryan's plan gains momentum (and I think it will), spending will decrease which will lend a huge boost of confidence to the economy. In addition, I'm sure the Repubs are going to push for a reform of Fannie/Freddie which will put those homes back under private stewardship. The bias will be toward leading Gov't out of housing altogether. Then we will likely see all kinds of incentives to buy as private companies compete again for business. Young families will gain optimism and will have aspirations for larger houses.
All is not doom and gloom despite the messages with which the media hammers us.