[1]Builder Pat Neal Predicts Area Home Prices Will Begin to Increase.
Pat Neal, president of Neal Communities, believes the buying conditions that currently exist in the local housing market represent an opportunity that won’t come around again soon. “Now is the best time to buy in a generation,” he told a standing-room-only crowd at a Manatee Association of Realtors meeting.
Neal cited historical data to support his claim, including statistics from the 1970s that revealed significant inflation after an economic stimulus program passed by President Jimmy Carter. “Experts are unanimous that inflation is coming. Commodities and oil prices will likely rise around the world. Now is the time to invest in real assets, like real estate, while interest rates are still low,” Neal advised.
Neal anticipates that the stimulus money invested in the economy by the Obama administration should reach its full impact by spring 2010 – a time when he predicts the housing market will be recovered and on the upswing once again.
“Housing prices are low right now, and the selection is superb. Mortgage rates are low. Banks are implementing new programs to work with potential buyers in responsible ways. What more could buyers ask for? Now is an exceptional opportunity for anyone who is thinking about buying a home,” Neal said. “Years from now, people will look back on these times and kick themselves for not taking advantage of the buying opportunities that were all around them. Something like this comes along so rarely – it is truly the opportunity of a generation.”
Photo: Pat Neal
[2]