Housing: Best time to buy in four years

Matt McHugh, of the Private Bank, had the following in his Weekend Update today:

It may be the best time to buy a house in four years. Home prices have dropped so quickly, and so far, that valuations - the difference between what a home should cost and its actual price - are the lowest they have been since 2004, according to a report.

The Cleveland-based National City Corp. (NCC), together with financial analysis firm Global Insight, revealed Tuesday that more than 88% of 330 housing markets survey showed price declines and improved affordability during the last three months of 2007.

"Housing valuations are almost back to long term norms," said National City's chief economist, Richard DeKaser. He called affordability the "best in the past four years."

One thing that I feel is extremely important to point out is DeKaser's quote. He mentions that that they "are almost back to long term norms." It's important to understand that the pricing now is fairly normal, but previous years saw a boom in housing and pricing that were simply inflated.

The good news? As a whole, prices are up in the St. Louis Metro area, and I myself have certainly noticed that sales are picking up, having two clients that lost out on homes they wanted because they were "waiting," a luxury Buyers have had the past 18 months...that seems to be, and hopefully, coming to an end.