Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Buying Smart

When is the "right time" to buy a house?

Well, if you are waiting for a big neon sign to turn on and read “BUY NOW” forget it, it’s not going to happen. Market timing is a talent you have to be able to pick up on quickly. By knowing the tricks of the trade, you can improve your likelihood of a remarkable purchase. I will, however let you in on a little secret, now is a great time to buy a house because interest rates are so low. You won’t always have me around to tell you “yay or nay” so here are some easy tricks to help you pick the perfect time to buy.

One of the most important things to remember is that the media isn’t always right. Fear is one of the main reasons people who want to buy don’t, even in a good quality housing market. If you see what you want, go for it!

When you consider buying a home look for these signals that the time is right:

Sufficient supply begins to diminish. This doesn’t necessarily mean the inexpensive homes are being bought. Majority of the time this means that the houses with the best predicted re-sale value are jumping off the shelves.

DOM lessens. Days on market is the phase when a Realtor places a home in the MLS (multiple listing service) for advertising to other brokers, until the home is purchased. When DOM (Days on market) are short, that’s an indicator of a seller’s market coming soon. A seller's market has more shoppers than merchandise, so cost goes up and choice goes down.

Mortgage applications amplify. Interest rates in recent times have plummet, meaning that people are refinancing at a higher rate. This indicates homes are about to disappear from the market, so less supply means a stricter price.

Incentives vanish. Prices are a direct result of demand. To be a focus for buyers, sellers decrease their prices and offer more reason for you to buy, incentives. If the market is doing good, prices aren’t going to go drop but incentives will.

In Real Estate, if one thing is altered something else is directly influenced by the changes. Pay close attention for the signals so you can get on your way to owning that dream home
!

Monday, January 28, 2008

2008 REAL ESTATE OUTLOOK

-Good Times are within Our Grasp-

I believe 2008 will be a transition year just as I described 2006. However, I trust that 2008 will evolve into a brighter time for those involved in the real estate game as opposed to 2006, which transitioned into the somewhat sluggish 2007 market. Some experts believe that 2008 will be our tunnel into the bright light of 2009. I agree.

As I have said in the past, there is no doubt that the real estate market has changed, but in our area, it was never as dire as the media would have us believe. What we saw this past year was fear. I believe with the ever-increasing consumer confidence due to lower interest rates, available financing, and buyer/seller awareness we will see that fear lift and the downtrend end.

The National Association of REALTORS® is predicting existing home sales and prices to stabilize and then rise throughout 2008. This is great news because we are in a better place now. Buyers, and especially sellers, understand what is going on.


The following is my short list of vital steps that must be taken by buyers and sellers to feel successful in the 2008 housing market.

SELLERS
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Be proactive in setting an effective price
-Remember this will not be a fast market therefore buyers do not be afraid of losing the property
-Listen to your agent when it comes to preparing the condition of the home for sale
-Be realistic and prepared for how many days the house will be on market to procure and close a buyer

BUYERS
-Put on your buying shoes and get out there
-Take advantage of the market and of the low interest rates
-Know that there is a lot of inventory available but finding “the one” means seeing a lot of homes
-There are foreclosures readily available, so if this fits your needs have your agent do a search for foreclosed homes for sale in your area.

Real estate is not always a win-win situation. Therefore, if you are a buyer and a seller the give-and-take game is probably in your future, so be ready. You may have to take a hit on the sale of your existing home but in turn, be able to purchase a larger home because of the great interest rates.