Where is There Still a Live Market?

Where is there still a live market?
A lot of this depends on one’s definition of a live market. I think that would be a market where one could purchase with a reasonable assurance that the value of the property purchased will go up instead of down. This market would have to meet multiple criterions. The most important being little or no speculation in the market. Fast value increases lead to speculation and artificially high prices.
Other things that are important are market fundamentals. What is the supply and demand ratio? How do the prices being achieved in the market compare with the ability of the people who need the housing to pay? What do developers have to do to sell the properties and to obtain financing? When developers have to offer high incentives and high loan costs, this increases the “soft costs” of the property. These soft costs do not enhance the value and the greater they are, the longer it will take for a buyer to have equity.
The aforementioned items pertain to the real estate market. What about the underlying economy? Is this market dependent on local employment opportunities? If so, how stable is the current environment. Is the market dependent on foreign buyers? Where do they originate and how stable are conditions there? One example of a market that has all of these things in balance is Bucharest. This market has a shortage of housing and people who are able to buy. The biggest danger there is speculation.
David Segrest is a REALTOR in Charlotte NC. His website is http://www.segrestrealty.com His email is david@segrestrealty.com