This week's Real Estate stories

Real estate news By MarketWatch
Last Update: 4:17 PM ET Mar 9, 2007

More incentives and price cuts from home builders may be needed during the spring selling season to boost sales, according to at least one analyst. The reason: Buyers in this uncertain market still have the jitters about buying a home, worried that it will end up decreasing in value.

Home builders have already been heavily courting prospective buyers for awhile now. The National Association of Home Builders in September found that about 77% of builders were offering a sales incentive, compared with 58% a year earlier. But a recent report that looked at one of the hottest markets during the real-estate boom is suggesting that now might be the time to buy in the Washington, D.C. area -- underscoring that local real-estate markets are unique and claiming that buyers there might want to make a move before the housing market begins taking off again. "Understanding the Local Housing Market, or Making the Case for Buying a House Now Before the Price Goes Up" was written by Stephen S. Fuller, a professor at George Mason University.

In the report, Fuller wrote about the relationship between the supply of available units and sales each month in the area, and how it suggests that the market is normalizing -- a state that is "good for both buyers and sellers." He also points to the strong local economy and job growth while making his case for people to buy. See full report. As you'll read in our story about buyer incentives, home buyers will hold out for the best deal in these shaky times. But, in some markets, they might want to make a move while they still have the upper hand.

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