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A tale of two first-time Seattle home buyers

05:51 PM PDT on Friday, April 4, 2008

By CHRIS INGALLS / KING 5 News

Video: Is it a good time for first-time home buyers?
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SEATTLE - Real estate agents say that now is the time to buy in Seattle, especially for first-time home buyers.

But others say the latest data on home sales in the region suggests home prices could fall even more.

The data is influencing Seattleites like William Wenholz and Brendon Duran. Both have been watching the housing market and both are considering buying their first homes.

A recent report on the month of March says that home prices are stable -- not dropping -- and that means maybe they've hit the bottom.

The Northwest Multiple Listing Service, sponsored by the realty industry, says housing prices have stabilized for six months -- a signal of the end for falling home prices. And it says there are many homes available and many choices for homebuyers of all income brackets.

But Duran isn't convinced that the price drop is over.

"I think we're content to wait and see what happens," he said.

Analysts outside the real estate industry aren't either.

The Seattle Bubble, a real estate blog site, uses multiple listing service data to conclude the stabilization in home prices now is seasonal and that "now is not a good time to buy a home in Seattle."

KING

The Seattle Bubble, a real estate blog site, says the stabilization in home prices now is seasonal and that "now is not a good time to buy a home in Seattle."

"We think if anything it might go down a little bit or stay the same. So we think waiting is a safe bet that allows us to save money," Duran said.

But Wenholz decided now is the time to buy a condo he found in Seattle's Pioneer Square.

"I wanted to look around the market a little bit but I didn't think I'd find a place I liked as much as this one," he said. "So it seemed it was the right time and the right place to buy."'

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