The pending home sales index has fallen to the lowest level it has seen since the September 11 terrorist attacks due to the recent mortgage market meltdown. This comes as a quite a shock to most economists, who were looking for about a 2% decline and instead saw a whopping 12.2% fall.

However, others say the drop was to be expected given that the mortgage market has been experiencing disruptions that haven’t been seen since 9/11.

Rising delinquencies and defaults in July and August created difficulties in mortgage backed securities sales and many lenders left the mortgage market completely because of it.

Still, Realtors remain hopeful, believing that the problems are temporary and that the majority of buyers don’t face the financing problem because they qualify for conventional financing, rather than subprime loans. They are focusing on the fact that the market has been somewhat stable since mid-August.

Unfortunately, Mike Larson, real estate analyst for independent research firm Weiss Research said the fact that the mortgage market went from bad to worse from July to August suggests that the next pending home sales report could be worse still, and that there is problems ahead for other home sales measures, such as the even more closely watched existing home sales report. “We have these issues with mortgage credit that started to hit in July, but they gathered steam into August,” he said. “This housing downturn is not just a one-month event.”

When buying a home or business, some people tend to shy away from considering properties which are offered for sale by the personal owner, without Realtors involved. However, buying either directly from an owner or through Realtors both offer some benefits.

An advantage to buying property directly from the owner is that the price may be lower and/or the owner might be willing to accept a lower offer. Real estate agencies generally charge a commission of five to seven percent, so equivalent homes being sold directly by the personal owner are likely to be less expensive. For example, if a home sells for $200,000 and the Realtor charges six percent, the owner will only receive $188,000. Sometimes Realtors will give personal owners an exemption from paying a commission if they sell the property with their own marketing efforts (such as a website or eBay listing), so the owner may be willing to accept a lower price if the buyer finds the property in this manner.

On the other hand, there are some benefits to buying properties through a real estate agency. Realtors can help locate homes or businesses of interest to potential buyers, and most properties listed by Realtors can be found on the Realtor.com website. Homes for sale by personal owners may be listed on any one of a number of websites and local newspapers, which also makes some of them more difficult to find if the potential buyer does not live in the same area. A Realtor also may be willing to provide transportation to the property of interest. Some Realtors will offer useful advice regarding home buying, although it should be kept in mind that it is in their interest for the home to sell. Looking at homes or businesses with Realtors provides access to a greater number of properties as well.

Another benefit of buying a home or other property directly from personal owners is that owners are generally more knowledgeable about their property than Realtors. Home owners are often not present during showings carried out by a Realtor. If a Realtor tells a potential buyer about a property being marketed by a different Realtor, the first Realtor sometimes shows the property to the potential buyer without the owner or the primary Realtor in attendance, additionally limiting the amount of information which can be provided. Still, requests can be made for more information from the owner if the Realtor is unable to provide it during the showing.

Overall, buying a home or business from a personal owner can be less expensive and yield more beneficial property showings, while buying through Realtors is more convenient.