Has Real Estate Hit Bottom?

Today's Financial News - Posted July 28, 2008

“Could we be on the verge of a turnaround? The weekend press was full of the news that some mortgage lenders are actually starting to trim rates. A few commentators even suggested that it was nearly time to go bargain hunting.” — John Stepek

Blogger’s note: The real estate market has crashed, and that crash isn’t just in the U.S. British investors are facing the same situation. And with banks putting a strangle hold on lending and properties losing value by the day, everyone wants to know when we’ll hit bottom. But John Stepek of the UK’s MoneyWeek has some bad news. The fact that lenders are starting to ease rates doesn’t mean real estate is turning around. You can learn why below or find the article here.

by John Stepek

Baltimore — (TFN): House prices are falling more quickly than ever, according to the latest property survey.

Prices fell by 1.2% in July, says Hometrack, picking up speed from June’s 1% fall and a 0.5% slide in May. Meanwhile, Bank of England data out tomorrow is likely to show that the number of new home loans approved hit a record low in June.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Special Offer ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Receive your FREE subscription to Money Morning today!

With the credit crisis, the foreclosure epidemic and the bear market looming, it’s more important than ever to know what’s going on. You need vital information on how to protect your investments… and how to profit, especially in areas immune from the U.S. subprime woes.

That’s where Money Morning comes in. No other daily newsletter offers you the advice, research, and insight on timely events that Money Morning can bring to you via e-mail first thing each weekday morning. Get a FREE subscription to Money Morning today!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

But could we be on the verge of a turnaround? The weekend press was full of the news that some mortgage lenders are actually starting to trim rates. A few commentators even suggested that it was nearly time to go bargain hunting.

It’d be nice if it was true, and that this was the quickest-ever property bust in history. Sadly, it’s just wishful thinking – here’s why… Read on to learn more.

****Make sure you sign up for our FREE TFN News Feed for breaking news, special reports and new financial videos. You can pick your favorite reader. Or if you prefer, you can have the feed delivered to your email.