Bid, Buy, Rent, or Run?

46:18

March 26, 2009

A house with a pool is advertised for under $80,000 in Stockton, Calif., Friday, March 13, 2009. The National Association of Realtors said Monday, March 23, sales of existing homes rose from January to February in an unexpected boost for the slumping U.S housing market as buyers took advantage of deep discounts on foreclosures. (AP) — A house with a pool is advertised for under $80,000 in Stockton, Calif., on March 13, 2009. The National Association of Realtors said on Monday, March 23, that sales of existing homes rose from January to February in an unexpected boost for the slumping U.S housing market as buyers took advantage of deep discounts on foreclosures. (AP)

Head-turning news in the home market this week. In the midst of the worst housing crash in decades, with foreclosures and for-sale signs all over, February new home sales suddenly ticked up 4.7 percent — 9.7 percent in the South.

That got people’s attention. But what’s really going on here?

With mortgage rates way down, new tax incentives in place, mobs of homes on the market, is it time to buy? To bid? To run from the home market? To rent? To sell? It’s been down so long a twitch can look like up. But is it?

This hour, On Point: America’s home market, in motion.

You can join the conversation. Tell us what you're seeing. Are you selling? Buying? Renting? Waiting?Guests:

Joining us from Philadelphia is Susan Wachter, professor of finance and real estate at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and co-director of the Penn Institute for Urban Research.
From Vienna, Virginia, we're joined by June Fletcher, "House Talk" columnist for The Wall Street Journal and author of the 2005 book "House Poor: Pumped up Prices, Rising Rates, and Mortgages on Steroids: How to Survive the Coming Housing Crisis."
And from Washington, DC, is Elizabeth Razzi, "Local Address" columnist for The Washington Post and author of "The Fearless Home Buyer."

This program aired on March 26, 2009.