MARIETTA APARTMENTS BLOG

The NY Times did a feature on the advantages and perils of buying real estate in today’s market.

Buyers have never received a fat bonus check, so they don’t miss it now. They did not suffer huge stock market losses, because they didn’t have huge stock market investments. They aren’t mourning the loss of value in their existing co-ops or condos, because they have never owned one.

They have jobs and good credit ratings, and they are looking to buy.

And now, brokers say, these mostly first-time homeowners are taking advantage of reduced apartment prices and interest rates that have fallen to the lowest levels in a generation. They’re making deals — sometimes far below asking price — on apartments marketed for under $1 million, and especially under $500,000. Still, the hard number of transactions remains depressed; in the fourth quarter of 2008, they were more than 30 percent below levels of a year earlier, according to a market report by the Corcoran Group.

This is a personal choice. Where some people see opportunity, others see risk. Where some people choose to buy, others choose to rent. In Marietta, home prices have fallen, and the community of renters remains strong. So it really come down to the individual. Marietta apartments are available, but so are some enticing homes now for sale at low prices.