DON'T GET SQUISHED

A few months ago when our illustrious Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke hinted he might possibly consider tapering quantitative easing it sent interest rates up by over a point in what seemed like a few days and when he came out a few days ago and said he had changed his mind and it would continue in the short term, the stock market shot up and rates came down a little right away. Now for those of you who might not know, quantitative easing is essentially a monthly investment of around $85 billion into the economy by the Federal Government. Our main interest (you and me) in QE, as it is called, is that it keeps mortgage interest rates low.Problem is, if every time Ben opens his mouth, the rates can whipsaw one way or another, consumer confidence gets a little wobbly and home buyers stop and start and stop their home buying activities. Well here's the bottom line. A 30 year interest rate in the 4's is a good deal. If you have been thinking of buying a home instead of renting or moving up to a larger home, NOW IS THE TIME! Don't get trapped on the hamster wheel of the media reporting of rates yo-yoing up and down or of government shutdowns or any of the doom and gloom that sells ads for CNN. If you find a home you like today and you have a job and good credit, just about any bank will give you a loan at around 4 or 4.5 percent and you'll find yourself in your new home gardening, grilling and playing with the kids. Remember, most of the road kill you see in the highway are there because they couldn't make up their mind which way to go, so they sat still and got squished. Don't get squished. Give me a call and we can get you out of the road and into your new home. That's all for now. Thanks for coming by.

IS IT A HOUSING SHORTAGE OR JUST A SHORTAGE OF LISTINGS?

If home inventory is so low, why aren't builders building more? The answer is they are being cautious. Trulia chief economist Jeff Kolko says "Because, despite a supply shortage, the vacancy rate remains elevated, thanks to a glut of unlisted vacant properties, many of them foreclosures.

The market does not have a housing shortage, just a shortage of for-sale listings.

"Many of those vacant, off-market homes could come onto the market, especially if their owners are just waiting for prices to rise enough to make selling worthwhile," Kolko wrote in a blog post.

Also because household formation, which fuels demand, is only half its normal rate.

"The big reason why this is happening is that the share of employed young adults is still closer to recession levels than to normal," Kolko wrote. "In total, we estimate there are 2.4 million "missing households" -people of all ages who should be heading up their own households but are instead living with parents, roommates, or others."