The Future of the Philadelphia Real Estate Market

The subprime mortgage crisis has extended itself throughout the economy.  According to Congress' Joint Economic Committee, some 3.7 million homes will probably foreclose as a result of the crisis.  As of August, 1.7 million of those homes had already foreclosed, and another 2 million are expected during the next two years.  Some of the largest names in the financial industry are now subject to multiple lawsuits and are writing off tens of billions of dollars as lost.

The short term future of the housing market looks grim.  The Fed chief testified to Congress in November, noting that the housing market will suffer the worst of the consequences of the housing crisis from now until the end of 2008.

While some analysts are expecting lower mortgage rates to help the housing market rebound in the middle of 2008, that is treated by many, including the generally optimistic Federal Reserve Board, as wishful thinking.  It is, after all, hard to an envision a scenario wherein the national real estate market will recover while in the middle of the worst of the subprime crisis. 

A more likely scenario will probably play itself out in the last quarter of 2009, when improved consumer sentiment and several additional rate cuts by the federal reserve will have served to increase demand in the housing market sufficiently to turn a weak rebound into a steady increase in the value of the nation's housing.

What do you think?  We'd love to hear your opinion on the future of the Philadelphia market.  Leave us your comment below.