Showing posts with label Housing Market. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Housing Market. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Monday, February 9, 2009
Time is of the essence
Consumers should be shouting off the rooftops about the fantastic deals they are being offered in both housing and mortgage rates. Mortgage rates have dropped to the lowest level since the 1970s. Housing prices are the lowest they have been in years, affordability is available and offered. So why are so many consumer waiting? I believe many consumers are waiting to see what will happen. They want the best deal possible so they are on the fence waiting for rates to drop even lower and home deals to get even better. But sadly they may be missing out on something that will not last much longer.
According to a recent poll done by local real estate industry professionals asking when they think the market will start to recover (meaning the sellers will once again get the upper hand) 25% said mid 2009, 25% said late 2009, and 37% said late 2010. If these predictions hold true we could see a shift in the next year towards stabilization of home prices and mortgage rates. This means that sellers will no longer give away the firestorm deals and incentives they have in the past 2 years and it is likely that with this stabilization the Fed will bring the interest rates back to a normal level we have seen in recent years rather then the under 6% range we see now.
So like any other investment there is risk and in a market like this the risk is much lower for buyers then it is for sellers. The deals are out there but many consumers might have noticed that less and less builders are giving away their homes and re-sale sellers are taking their homes off the market until the prices stabilize. The time is now; buy now or you might loose money later.
Buyers are seeing that there are a lot of great resale deals or perhaps hearing about all the quick sale/ foreclosures that are out there. Yes quick sales are up meaning that the amount of distressed properties are up. Many people are struggling to make their house payments because of all the crazy loans they were put into are now adjusting. This is both bad and good. The bad news is we never want to see this many people struggling with their payment, this is bad for both them, the banks, and the community. However President Obama has pledged that between $50billion and $100billion will be used to help boost efforts in combating the increasing mortgage foreclosures. The good thing is that an increase in Foreclosed sales and closes in the area means the inventory will soon be going down. The idea is the more inventories we wash out the more stable the market will be.
There is a pent up demand for homes out there and anytime now consumers will realize that now is not only the time to buy but the BEST time to buy. So as the title of this blog suggest, time is of the essence. Buy now or soon or else you could miss out or find yourself purchasing your home with a higher interest rate and a higher price.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Interview with a top Realtor in Colorado Springs
There is a lot of negative media out there that talks about how bad the real estate market is. Is it as bad as they are saying?
The market is not bad at all. If someone on your weather channel told you it was going to be cold and rainy all across the USA today would you believe them? Of course not. It is the same for our economic situation. You cannot talk about the whole country. We are huge and different areas of the country have been affected differently than from other areas. We have been very blessed here in Colorado. We have had a slight correction to the market of approximately 3-5% depending on what area of town you are in. My little company of 40 agents sold over 30 million dollars in homes in the month of May. Does that sound like a bad market? I don’t think so.
What are the advantages of buying a home in a “buyers market” like we are seeing now?
It is a wonderful time to buy. There is a bountiful selection of homes both resell and new to choose from. Interest rates are staying right around 6% or less. This is an amazing interest rate. Sellers and Builders both are being creative and giving some wonderful incentives. I would encourage anyone, that this is a perfect time to take that step forward.
BJ you have a long history working in Real Estate. In your experience how long does a down market last and when do you think we will see a shift in the current real estate market?
We have down markets just about every 7 years. It usually takes over a year to reach its lowest level but bounces back quite quickly. This is what I see happening right now. The market is turning and going back up and FAST.
What is one of the number one things you see/hear families are looking for when buying a new or resale home?
What most families are looking for in a new home is a good location with good schools and a livable floor plan. Most of the families I work with are wanting more open floor plans, lots of windows for light, and a decent size yard but not too big. With the cost of watering and taking care of big yards, they are more of a disadvantage. Most families would prefer to live close to a park or community open space for the kids to throw the ball around.
What are some of the advantages of using a professional real estate agent like yourself?
Using a real estate agent is smart. It does not cost the buyer one extra penny to use an agent. The builder or seller pays for the buyer to have one. It is wonderful to have someone look out for your best interest. It is especially good to have one that has many years of experience and knows what to look out for. Buying a home is the biggest #1 investment you will make in your life. You need someone experienced and someone knowledgeable to help you with that important decision.
Are there any other insights you would like to add about the current real estate market or about buyer’s attitudes today?
Don’t believe everything you read or hear in the media. Unfortunately “bad” news sells and good news doesn’t. Would someone please explain that one to me? The last thing I would like to say is, we live in one of the most beautiful places in the entire world. Why not own a piece of it. You will never regret it.
BJ Burns has been practicing real estate in the Pikes Peak region for over 23 years. Through her dedication to serving her families BJ has built a reputation of integrity. BJ currently offices with The Platinum Group of Realtors. For more information about BJ Burns please visit her online at www.bjburnsteam.com or you can contact her at 719.536.4301.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
The Truth is Out About the Housing Market!
The media has been reporting for sometime that the housing market is bad and that now is not a good time to buy a new home. I beg to differ. With interest rates at an all time low and the supply of new homes starting to decline it’s only a matter of time when supply and demand take effect and prices will start to climb again. It’s a known fact that when demand is high and supply is low prices rise. Therefore NOW is the best time to purchase a new home since prices are reasonable and stable, and there is still enough supply of homes to suffice for the demand that we are starting to see. The following is a fantastic article from REALTY TIMES covering this very topic.
Columnist: 'Media Is Wrong About Housing Slump'
Realty Times feature article by Blanche Evans
Why buy a house now? You've been getting bad information. Here's why.
The financial press is worried that they might have gone too far - paralyzing the nation into recession by piling on housing. So they're finally beginning to question the indexes where they get their data, and whether the news is really as bad as it seems. Slowly but surely, headlines are changing from Don't Buy a Home Now to Is It Time To Buy?
We said it here first on Realty Times - that consumers aren't getting the full story. Indexes can be misleading because of the locations, prices, types of housing, and rates of increase they track.
In late April, Robert Shiller, founder of the Case-Shiller Index, announced that there was a good chance housing prices would fall further than the 30 percent drop during the Great Depression.
Shiller has plenty of reason to be negative - he makes money when people buy housing hedge funds, licensed with data obtained through his company Macromarkets LLC.
Now, finally, one brave journalist is writing that Case-Shiller is flawed.
In his story "Home-price data has its flaws," Chris Plummer of MarketWatch slammed both Shiller's Index and the Associated Press for being "grim reapers."
For the first time, S&P Index Committee Chairman David Blitzer "acknowledged his organization's overall and metro-market readings paint an incomplete picture."
No kidding. The index covers only 20 markets, heavily weighted to the most volatile metros in the nation.
Plummer also lampooned the AP for writing that "despite that index's limited seven-year history, home prices plunged by a record percentage at their fastest rate ever."
He also notes, "The glaring discrepancy in this case is that 17 of the 20 metro areas posted record annual declines, and yet 78 percent of the 330 metropolitan regions that the NAR tracks reported price increases ... "
Bravo, Plummer. But the rest of the financial press still has a long way to go.
When Shiller says home prices are going to fall 30 percent, not one reporter who covered the story asked this simple follow-up question: "Bob, during the worst part of the Great Depression, one in four people were out of work. Our unemployment rate is a little over 5 percent. So what's going to drive home prices that low?"
Instead, no one did even the minimum Wikipedia search to find out what conditions were really like 75 years ago.
What that means is not only are the indexes misleading - the reporting is worse.
Right now we have mortgage interest rates three points below historical norms. We have housing inventories five months greater than balanced markets. Combine that with unemployment that is a half percent lower than the recession of 2003, and you have excellent homebuying conditions.
Stop listening to the media. Go buy a home.
Copyright © 2008 RE/MAX International Inc. 5/6/08
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