Do you know why people buy homes? The answer to this question is what my friend Stan Kates called the greatest secret in real estate sales. I remember it clearly. He was speaking at the International Builders Show. He looked left and right, lowered his voice almost to a whisper and said, “Do you know why people buy homes?” He paused, gave a ‘shush’ and continued, “People buy homes because they see other people buying homes.”

Finally people are buying homes again. Nowhere near the levels of 2005 or 2006, but according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR) August 21, 2009 sales report, “Existing home sales … rose 7.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate1 of 5.24 million units in July from a level of 4.89 million in June, and are 5.0 percent above the 4.99 million-unit pace in July 2008. The last time sales rose for four consecutive months was in June 2004, and the last time sales were higher than a year earlier was November 2005.”

This represents more evidence that the market bottom has been reached. I’m not sure we have hit a price bottom, but with record affordability, near record low interest rates, and HUD reports showing momentum in new housing sales, this may be the best opportunity in decades to buy a home that will prove to be a good investment.

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Blair Kuhnen, VP/GM NewHomesource.com