Minneapolis Real Estate Blog

Virtually every person out there has heard about the subprime mortgage crisis and the possible spreading of the difficulties to higher rated mortgages. Couple that with the current downturn in housing prices and you have all the ingredients for panic. But wait, hold the phone, the sky is not falling yet.

Housing prices are not yet falling in the Minneapolis area, they are just flat. Which is actually a good thing if you are looking to buy a house. However, if you were hoping to buy more house than you could realistically afford, well those days are over. The time of ARMs, interest only loans and other dangerous mortgage practices has come to an end.

Right now real estate is trending back to a more conservative pricing and lending model, one which has served the US home owner well for many years. Just because you feel like you may have missed out on the latest real estate boom, it doesn’t mean that a home isn’t a great investment. Real estate is still the best investment for most people, for the simple reason that it is the only way to turn an expense into an asset. By shifting from paying rent to paying a mortgage one is actually taking an expense and converting it into an investment.

Right now a savvy home buyer can cash in on the chaos of the subprime crisis and buy a house at a distressed price, just make sure that you are not buying more house than you can realistically afford.