Are We Headed For Another Real Estate Bubble?

An article featured on money.msn.com brought the current state of the real estate market to attention.  The article notes the rapid increase in housing competition in specific parts of the country including coastal California markets, Phoenix and Tucson, Las Vegas, Denver, Boston, Seattle, Portland,  the Washington, D.C. metro and several Florida markets.  Homebuilder lotteries, camping outside of properties and buying homes sight unseen are once again becoming a trend.  The article states there was a 7.3% price rise nationally and it could rise an addition 3% this year.  Properties in these areas are receiving anywhere from 20-50 offers within the first day or two of listing.  Additionally, properties are being sold well above the original asking price due to the red-hot competition.  

To add an element of fairness to the buying process, builders, notably O’Brien Homes, are holding lotteries for homebuyers to ensure an equal chance of “winning”.  These lotteries are beginning to occur in more areas of the country.  Extreme buyer behavior including month-to-month markups and instant flips are also becoming more common around the country.  Whether this new era of real estate can be considered a bubble or not one thing is certain- demand in various markets is rapidly accelerating, resulting in what appears to be another housing boom.  

Click the link to read more about the bubble:

http://money.msn.com/debt-management/article.aspx?post=3657eaa1-cad2-4444-a26a-41f148641c70