Are you looking for a deal on a residential property in Lethbridge Alberta? If you listen to or read the news, odds are that you've heard of the great number of fire sale home prices available throughout parts of the US and Canada. Odds are also good that you've also done some looking around locally in an attempt to locate those same fire sale prices here in the Lethbridge real estate market. Have you had much luck? I doubt it, and here's why. WE ARE NOT IN A REAL ESTATE CRISIS ! ! !

Don't get me wrong, there is a global recession happening and we are seeing declining stock market values like we haven't seen in the past 30 years. We are losing more jobs globally than we have since World War II. The world's top three economies, judged by per capita GDP are the US, Japan, and Germany, are seeing steep declines in their GDPs and are preparing for large scale unprecedented layoffs.

But, what does that all mean to the average buyer of a seller of residential real estate in Lethbridge Alberta? Not much. At any given time this month have a look online and try to find a single Lethbridge foreclosure property and I bet you can't. Lethbridge's largest issuer of mortgages has exactly ONE foreclosure property listed for sale right now and sold exactly ONE in all of 2008. Furthermore, when you look at the prices that foreclosure properties have sold for in Lethbridge, they're not fire-sales at all. More often than not, they are properties that are in a serious state of disrepair that need a lot of work and sell for fair market value.

This is certainly not the case when you look at the Calgary real estate market which has seen a 25% in foreclosures in the past six months. You will also find similar statistics when you look to Ontario. However, keep in mind that most of our "local" news in Lethbridge comes from Calgary and that most of our "national" news comes from Ontario. The bad news you hear isn't a true representation of what is happening here in the Lethbridge Alberta real estate market.

Sure sales are down and there are fewer buyers than there were in 2007. Frankly, that's a good thing. We experienced unreasonable growth and unsustainable price increases through most of 2006 and 2007. Right now we are beginning to sort some of that out with a little bit of "price checking" that has created Buyer's Market conditions. Based on local economic forecasting this will continue through most of 2009 and will move to more Balanced Market conditions in 2010. This will mean fewer "deals" but more certainty and less speculation for both buyers and sellers. However, this will also mean that those who are looking for a "deal" on Lethbridge real estate will have missed the boat.

What does that mean to you? Well, odds are that if you are reading this, you're interested in finding the best buys on residential real estate in Lethbridge. Odds are also good that you don't mind shopping around a bit to find those deals. What I suggest is that you hire a licensed realtor like myself who has access to all the deals out there in the Lethbridge Alberta real estate market and who regularly puts together a list of BEST BUYS. This may include foreclosure properties, but more often than not they are simply properties listed by motivated sellers. Because I'm experienced with how the Lethbridge real estate market works, I know how to spot these deals and I make it my business to be able to provide my clients with that list of BEST BUYS on a moments notice.What's better is that I often find out about them first, before anyone else does!

So, the moral of the story is that the body follows the mind. If you are convinced that the world is about to catch fire and there is no way to get ahead in real estate, you will find evidence to support that. However, if you are the kind of person that is pragmatically optimistic and believes that despite the worldwide economic downturn Lethbridge Alberta is still an outstanding place to invest, then I believe you are correct, and I believe I am just the person to help  you.

Please click the following link if you would like more information on foreclosures, investment properties, estate sales, and BEST BUYS in Lethbridge Alberta real estate.