Financial advisor Dennis Tubbergen takes another look at the housing market in the U.S.

Grand Rapids, MI -- (SBWire) -- 04/07/2011 -- Financial advisor Dennis Tubbergen has kept us informed regarding the woes in the U.S. housing market for the past few years, often giving his opinion on his online blog as to where this market is headed and when a ‘real’ upturn could occur. In a blog on his website posted on March 22, 2011, Tubbergen gives us his latest update.

“The Census Bureau reported last week that the real estate market is still ugly,” cites Tubbergen. “It’s almost unbelievable that the Bureau reported that 1.6 million of Florida’s homes are vacant – that’s about 18 percent of all homes. In other words, almost 1 in 5 Florida homes are vacant. That’s a rise of over 63 percent in the last 10 years according to Stansberry Research.”

Tubbergen states Florida is in worse shape as far as occupancy is concerned than any other state. Again according to Stansberry Research, California has an 8 percent vacancy rate, Nevada is at a 14 percent vacancy rate and Arizona stands at 16 percent.

“The median price of homes sold in Florida in January was $122,000 according to the Florida Association of Realtors, down 7 percent from one year ago and less than half the median price at the market peak,” explains Tubbergen. “Does that mean that the real estate market has bottomed? Not in my opinion and not in the opinion of many experts.”

Tubbergen notes that Richard DeKaser, an economist at Parthenon Group, recently stated, “Housing went from being the preeminent investment of choice to toxic waste.” And housing market analyst Ingo Wizner, founder of Local Market Monitor, advised that if you are buying in Florida for retirement, you might consider buying next year when prices will be near bottom. Wizner added that if you are buying for investment purposes, don’t.

“I agree,” concludes Tubbergen. “Early on, I thought we’d see a housing bottom in 2012 due to the large number of rate reset mortgages that were coming due in 2011 and 2012. I’m sticking with that forecast; however, now that we’re getting closer to that point, I may have been too optimistic.”

Dennis Tubbergen has been in the financial industry for over 25 years and has his corporate offices in the USA Wealth Management Building in downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan. Tubbergen is CEO of USA Wealth Management, LLC and has an online blog that can be viewed at http://www.dennistubbergen.com. His weekly talk show The Everything Financial Radio Show is simulcast on two Michigan metro stations and also airs to over 600,000 financial advisors, with recent podcasts available at http://www.everythingfinancialradio.com.

The opinions expressed herein are those of the writer and not necessarily those of USA Wealth Management, LLC. This update may contain forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, statements as to future events that involve various risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual events or results to differ materially from those that were forecasted. Therefore, no forecast should be construed as a guarantee.

Prior to making any investment decision, individuals should consult a professional to determine the risks, costs, benefits and fees associated with a particular investment. Information obtained from third party resources is believed to be reliable but the accuracy cannot be guaranteed.