Jay's  Notes:  The investment fundamentals behind real estate are as strong as they have ever been.  The economy and consumer confidence are currently holding back many buyers either through how nervous they are or because many are frozen out of credit market and can not get financing.  Shrewd investors however are the ones that are taking advantage of the best values that we have seen in 20 years that are simultaneously tied to the lowest cost of financing that we have seen in our lifetimes.  These investors are getting hard assets that will defend their savings from future swings in the stock market while at the same time getting stronger cash-on-cash returns than are provided by most other investment opportunities. 

Ultra-low interest rates mixed with stabilizing home prices continued to push housing affordability in the third quarter near its highest levels in more than two decades, according to the latest National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index.
For the third quarter, 72.9 percent of all homes sold were affordable to families earning the national median income of $64,200, according to the index. This marks the 11th consecutive quarter that the affordability measure was above 70 percent; prior to this it rarely was above 60 percent.
"With interest rates at historically low levels and markets across the country beginning to improve, home ownership is within reach of more households than it has been for nearly two decades," Bob Nielsen, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders, said in a statement. "However, tough economic conditions — particularly in markets that experienced major changes in house prices and production — as well as extremely tight credit conditions confronting home buyers and builders continue to remain significant obstacles to many potential home sales."

Source: National Association of Home Builders