Story By Joe Zlomek. Image from the National Association of Realtors

This week's  (June 6, 2008) edition of the e-mailed National Association of Realtors' Newsletter carries an interesting offer for its members. The real estate trade organization just published a new brochure intended for distribution to residential clients, titled "It's A Great Time To Buy." The brochure is now available for purchase in quantities of 100 for $40.

NAR describes "It's A Great Time to Buy" as "a market-sensitive resource" that salespeople can give to first-time buyers or buyers on the fence ... those who have yet to decide on making a purchase. It was created earlier this year, according to NAR, "to deal with objections to purchasing a home in this changing market."

The full-color, glossy brochure is worthwhile reading, but may be insufficient to meet NAR's stated purpose. Objections are best handled in person, by agents who can look a client in the eye and show that, in many markets, now IS the time to buy property.

• If Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke's strong-dollar speech Tuesday (June 3, 2008) in Spain was any indication, The Fed seems poised to fight inflation -- and prop up the value of the U.S. dollar against other currencies -- by raising interest rates. That will make mortgages more expensive.
• If business-related troubles experienced this week by bankers Washington Mutual, Wachovia, and Bank of America are any indication, mortgage money and other lines of credit sparingly available to consumers since last year may dry up even more. That will make mortgages tougher to obtain, no matter what the interest rate.
• If sellers can't move their properties at market-comparable prices, or within a reasonable period of time, they may simply remove them from the inventory pool. Many owners believe that waiting, if they can afford to wait, is better than selling at a loss. That means the home of a buyer's dream may slip away because he or she guessed incorrectly on closing a deal with a lower bid.

No one can know for sure what The Fed, the banks, or the sellers will actually do. The point made by the NAR brochure, a portion of which appears below, is that if the property seems like a good buy, it probably is. It makes little sense to wait.