7% of Renters Ready to Buy

High home prices, the lack of a down payment, and concerns over the economy were the major obstacle blocking some people from buying a home.

However, as many as 7 percent of renters plan to jump into the market within the next 12 months to take advantage of current market conditions.

As many as three out of four American believe the housing market has yet to finish its current readjustment, but nearly half think conditions will improve once a new president is elected. Those were findings of a recent poll conducted by Harris Interactive and reported on Inman News.

When it comes to choosing a place to live, the poll found the most important factors to be local crime rates (56 percent), proximity to daily conveniences such as stores and services (47 percent), and concerns over high property taxes (46 percent).

Many people are waiting for economic conditions to improve before entering the home buying market, Realtors reported.

"People are waiting for the market to hit bottom and, then, lo and behold, all of a sudden it's in the rearview mirror," said Pat "Ziggy" Zicarelli, a director of the Southland Regional Association of Realtors and a Realtor in Tarzana. "You can never buy at the lowest and sell at the highest, unless you just happen to be lucky."

True, the market is relatively quiet, he said in a recent Realtor magazine article, but lower home prices, short sales, and bank-owned properties offer fabulous opportunities for buyers.

[from the Southland Association of Realtors website, www.srar.com]