In 1966, the miniskirt hit the West coast in all its Twiggy glory, forever altering the fate of feminine kneecaps across the land—a huge left turn from the lengthy bouffant look of the 50s. Unknown to most people is that the miniskirt invaded Europe a full two years prior, invented by French designer André Courrèges in 1964.
All of which may seem unrelated to the housing market and current U.S. interest rates, but only to the untrained eye. Interest rates and economics (like fashion and miniskirts) tend to move East to West (with an unspecified stopover in the financial Netherlands otherwise known as the Midwest).
And so we find ourselves in 2010, a full two years behind the times financially (and fashion-wise, most likely). Although it took awhile for the recession to fully expose itself to the Northwest, it’s here today and digging in ugly claws.
The question remains: for how long?
The answer, in part, can be found by looking eastward, to those ahead of us on the trail. By listening to real estate stories from places like South Florida, and Maryland. These areas and others are starting to shed the thaw of winter and welcome the signs of spring.
It’s not quite miniskirt weather yet, though, so keep in mind:
1. Interest rates are at historic all time lows. (According to Reuters, “fixed 15-year mortgage rates averaged 4.03 percent, down from 4.12 percent the previous week, a record low.”)
2. Ditto on home prices.
Since things are on the rebound, it’s important to take advantage of those numbers before it’s too late. “All-time lows” don’t last forever. Neither do fashion trends. You need to act while those trends are here today. Because you don’t want to show up for a party dressed like Twiggy when everyone else in the room is channeling Olivia Newton John.
See, hemlines and interest rates aren’t so different now, are they?
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