So what does this mean for the real estate market? This depends on whether you are a buyer or a seller. As a buyer in this current real estate market you may be sitting on the fence waiting for the best time to buy.  Below are a few factors you may want to think about when deciding to buy a house in 2011.

First, if you are waiting for the best time to buy, try looking at what the market is today.  We know that housing prices dropped from winter coming into the spring of 2011. We also know the interest rates have dropped lower in the last three months as well.

Secondly, these signs may or may not indicate good times to come, but they do indicate that no matter what the economy does, this is a great time to buy. According to the Nation Association of Realtors, housing sales rose 8.3% while three quarters of the nation saw a small decrease in median sale prices.  Not sure if this is a sign of flattening out, but it may help.

Lastly, and this may be one of the biggest factors in deciding whether or not to buy in 2011.  Opposite of what President Obama claims, the media is blindly trying to make the economy worse by preaching it is better to rent vs buy a house.  They are pounding the consumers down with negative information about inflation, consumer confidence, job outlooks, unemployment, and oil price outlooks just to name a few.  What do you think this will do for buyers who are on the fence about buying a house?  Preaching these negative ideas to consumers may be what is causing the US economy to stay in this recession for longer than expected.