Is Now The Best Time To Buy A House?

<p>After years of prices spiraling out of control, the National Association of Realtors is suggesting that the housing market is ripe for home buyers looking to get a good deal.</p>

November 10, 2006, 11am PST | Christian Madera | @cpmadera

"There's a bright side to the decline in the U.S. housing market, says the National Association of Realtors. Plenty of choice.

'Right now may actually be one of the best times to buy a home,' the association said in the first full-page ads in its 98-year history. With 'interest rates near record lows,' the 'large inventory won't last.'

The largest U.S. real estate trade association is spending $1.3 million on a two-week campaign that's running in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune and the Washington Post. The ads are designed to entice homebuyers as sales have slid, inventories have risen and builders are offering incentives.

One theme in the campaign is that the 3.75 million unsold homes offer "the greatest choices in decades." For sellers, that means it would take seven months to close deals on all the existing homes for sale if no others came on the market."

Full Story:

Realtors putting positive spin on housing decline

Published on Wednesday, November 8, 2006 in Asbury Park Press