Recession, Depression, Housing Bubble Bust, Foreclosures, and Short-sales. I can hear it now, somewhere Dr. Evil's sinister plot to wreck the United States' economy is underway. But, can American ingenuity beat Dr. Evil? Without a doubt it can. See, the way I figure it, is that if Dr. Evil can try and hold the world hostage for onemilliontrillionbilliondollars, and eventually have a water filled pit with Sharks with lasers attached to their heads, then can't we figure out a way to help ourselves? The answer, by the way is a resounding "YES"! To quote some other cartoon character, "Yes we can", and here's how.
First, in the spirit of Dr. Evil whose wealth building opportunities were executed by his nefarious "Number 2", he invested in the United States. Albeit it was courtesy of lattes and mochas (sorry Starbucks), we have the same opportunity, but it rests within the heart of America. That opportunity is home ownership. Never, ever has their been a better time to purchase a home (or condo) than right now. Interest rates are at an all time low (just a couple of weeks ago, I closed a sale where the Buyer's interest rate was.3.75%, and NO POINTS!!! Geez that's about as cheap as money gets!
Second, with a large, large shadow inventory (those properties, whether they be distressed or not are not yet on the market for whatever reason; I tend to think of vacant foreclosed homes at this point) looming, some sellers, including banks may be willing to listen to your offers. The pundits continue to discuss the fact that home prices may fall further in 2011, but let me tell you as a front line, bag toting Realtor, that may not be so. I'm beginning to see more and more sellers lose patience with the market and rent out their homes, refinance and stay, or put some money into their homes and really dress them up. Aside of distressed properties, the "traditional" home sale inventory seems to appear that it may be heading in the opposite direction and actually may be shrinking rather than growing. Buy your home now, don't wait. This is about as low as it's going to get if you're in the market for a non-distressed home!
Third, over time, the home you buy now (which by the way, I heard somewhere that home prices today are around where they were in 1996) will build value (and will do so with cheap money--low interest rates I mean). We all know that the real estate markets have ups and downs, and right now we're down. Guess where we're headed next.........? Correct, the answer is up! Don't be sitting on the sidelines a year or two from now wishing that you'd bought your home for $10K or $15K less. The ride on the upswing is pretty fun, don't miss it.
If you'd like more information on home selling or home buying, please feel free to contact me at your convenience. I can be reached at: Office: 262-694-2141, Mobile: 608-770-4568, e-mail me at: soconnor@shorewest.com. Or visit my web site at: www.peteoconnor.com.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Friday, April 30, 2010
NOW WHAT? THE HOME BUYER TAX CREDIT IS OVER. . .
So the fateful day has come and gone! The days of the tax credit for the buyer are all but over. What happens next, you might wonder? Well, in my opinion, here's where the rubber meets the road, here's where the recovery really begins.
The home buyer tax credit served its purpose and America is supposedly on the road to economic recovery, right? Things will be better, right? In my opinion, unless something drastic happens that will enhance each and every American's total net worth in short order, such as, jobs coming back at a rapid pace, and unemployment dropping to at least half of what it is today, the real estate market that we have in front of us is what we have to look forward to for the next five or six years at a minimum.
However, not all is lost. For the home seller, things may look gloomy and dark, fears of homes being on the market for extended periods of time and buyers low-balling sellers with ridiculous offers see to be directly in the line of sight. For the buyer, things don't look as rosy as they did, with Uncle Sam promising to provide a cash incentive if you bought a home, but they're not bad either. Buyers have all the leverage at this point and the fruit is low hanging at this point.
What should not be lost is that, homes are still selling, buyers are still buying and sellers will still be selling. Prudence is the order of the day and lessons from the Great Recession should be taken to heart by all. Each dark period has its silver lining and what we have hopefully learned is that while leverage is a wonderful thing to have, it's a terrible thing to have to use. Case in point, just because a person can do something does not necessarily mean he should do something. See, back a few years ago when credit flowed from banks and a lot of Americans have five, six, or seven different credit cards, we all lived the good life. "Buy this", "Charge that", "Let me get this because I can afford it", "Of course my portfolio will increase another twenty-five percent..." were all too often the norm of our daily lives. Oftentimes was the snickering and maligning of the individual that actually saved money just to put down on a home purchase! Are you kidding me? Why on Heaven's earth would you not take that money and buy the stock du jour? The stock market will never go down. . .
After reality hit us all, and we realized that we as a nation are not all that financially invincible and have had our spoonful of humility, the recovery begins. Thanks to Uncle Sam, there is a new generation of home buyer that has capitalized on some pretty good buys over the last year or so and actually put money down on a home.... and, they were rewarded by the federal government for doing so. But, what happens to the rest of us, those who now don't have the tax credit to fall back on? What happens is that we begin to experience for the first time in a long time a normal real estate market. Gone is the hyper-inflation of value, we've learned our lesson of leveraging ourselves to the max, and saving money appears to be the order of the day.
As I stated earlier, home sellers will continue to sell, and home buyers will continue to buy and the art of negotiating and brokering a home sale transaction will continue. Only this time around we Americans, who are often have a short memory (remember 9/11, every patriotic American flew their flag in the aftermath... it's only been eight and a half years since that tragic event unfolded, and where are the flags now?). Let us as a nation not forget these economic times that we have weathered, and let us not forget that wealth is not built overnight, but over a long and steady run. Prudence and steadfastness are what we need to endure during this recovery, and let's put the reckless ways of non-saving and spending behind us.
With the summer of 2010 fast approaching it's estimated that there will be another 3 to 4 million foreclosures coming onto the market directly because of the 36 month ARM loans that were written in the summer of 2007. So for the buyer, the "good deals" will still be out there and wealth in the wake of financial disaster will still be built. Until the short sales and foreclosures have run their course and we have less than a five month supply of these homes in inventory (presently there are a twenty eight and thirty month supply of inventory of homes on the market) this will be the market we will have for quite some time.
In closing, one of the really great things that is occurring is that a lot of home sellers are electing to stay in their present homes and put a good deal of money back into the home. Basements are being finished, remodeling projects are occurring at a steady pace, and flat out our homes are once again becoming a center piece. Americans are enjoying their homes for what they are, a home, and not necessarily treating their homes as a get rich quick scheme. Good value is being put back into our homes and they are really nice places to live. Enjoy your family; celebrate what you have, and not what you haven't.
If you would like more information on the housing market and how it affects you, please don't hesitate to call or e-mail Pete O'Connor, at 608-770-4568 (mobile), 262-694-2141 (office), e-mail: soconnor@shorewest.com, or... visit my web site at www.peteoconnor.com.
The home buyer tax credit served its purpose and America is supposedly on the road to economic recovery, right? Things will be better, right? In my opinion, unless something drastic happens that will enhance each and every American's total net worth in short order, such as, jobs coming back at a rapid pace, and unemployment dropping to at least half of what it is today, the real estate market that we have in front of us is what we have to look forward to for the next five or six years at a minimum.
However, not all is lost. For the home seller, things may look gloomy and dark, fears of homes being on the market for extended periods of time and buyers low-balling sellers with ridiculous offers see to be directly in the line of sight. For the buyer, things don't look as rosy as they did, with Uncle Sam promising to provide a cash incentive if you bought a home, but they're not bad either. Buyers have all the leverage at this point and the fruit is low hanging at this point.
What should not be lost is that, homes are still selling, buyers are still buying and sellers will still be selling. Prudence is the order of the day and lessons from the Great Recession should be taken to heart by all. Each dark period has its silver lining and what we have hopefully learned is that while leverage is a wonderful thing to have, it's a terrible thing to have to use. Case in point, just because a person can do something does not necessarily mean he should do something. See, back a few years ago when credit flowed from banks and a lot of Americans have five, six, or seven different credit cards, we all lived the good life. "Buy this", "Charge that", "Let me get this because I can afford it", "Of course my portfolio will increase another twenty-five percent..." were all too often the norm of our daily lives. Oftentimes was the snickering and maligning of the individual that actually saved money just to put down on a home purchase! Are you kidding me? Why on Heaven's earth would you not take that money and buy the stock du jour? The stock market will never go down. . .
After reality hit us all, and we realized that we as a nation are not all that financially invincible and have had our spoonful of humility, the recovery begins. Thanks to Uncle Sam, there is a new generation of home buyer that has capitalized on some pretty good buys over the last year or so and actually put money down on a home.... and, they were rewarded by the federal government for doing so. But, what happens to the rest of us, those who now don't have the tax credit to fall back on? What happens is that we begin to experience for the first time in a long time a normal real estate market. Gone is the hyper-inflation of value, we've learned our lesson of leveraging ourselves to the max, and saving money appears to be the order of the day.
As I stated earlier, home sellers will continue to sell, and home buyers will continue to buy and the art of negotiating and brokering a home sale transaction will continue. Only this time around we Americans, who are often have a short memory (remember 9/11, every patriotic American flew their flag in the aftermath... it's only been eight and a half years since that tragic event unfolded, and where are the flags now?). Let us as a nation not forget these economic times that we have weathered, and let us not forget that wealth is not built overnight, but over a long and steady run. Prudence and steadfastness are what we need to endure during this recovery, and let's put the reckless ways of non-saving and spending behind us.
With the summer of 2010 fast approaching it's estimated that there will be another 3 to 4 million foreclosures coming onto the market directly because of the 36 month ARM loans that were written in the summer of 2007. So for the buyer, the "good deals" will still be out there and wealth in the wake of financial disaster will still be built. Until the short sales and foreclosures have run their course and we have less than a five month supply of these homes in inventory (presently there are a twenty eight and thirty month supply of inventory of homes on the market) this will be the market we will have for quite some time.
In closing, one of the really great things that is occurring is that a lot of home sellers are electing to stay in their present homes and put a good deal of money back into the home. Basements are being finished, remodeling projects are occurring at a steady pace, and flat out our homes are once again becoming a center piece. Americans are enjoying their homes for what they are, a home, and not necessarily treating their homes as a get rich quick scheme. Good value is being put back into our homes and they are really nice places to live. Enjoy your family; celebrate what you have, and not what you haven't.
If you would like more information on the housing market and how it affects you, please don't hesitate to call or e-mail Pete O'Connor, at 608-770-4568 (mobile), 262-694-2141 (office), e-mail: soconnor@shorewest.com, or... visit my web site at www.peteoconnor.com.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
10111 69th St
10111 69th St
This is a gorgeous home ready to go! Move in condition. Open House this Sunday from 11:30am to 12:30pm, January 31, 2010. Click on the hyperlink above!!
This is a gorgeous home ready to go! Move in condition. Open House this Sunday from 11:30am to 12:30pm, January 31, 2010. Click on the hyperlink above!!
Thursday, January 7, 2010
New Year, New Home?
Should I or shouldn't I move? Often this question comes up with those potential home buyers and home sellers that are sitting on the fence directly after the start of the New Year. "What's the right choice?", "Am I making a mistake?", "Will I be able to afford this home?" In each and every instance these are normal questions to ask, and of course all the pros and cons need to be evaluated. Certainly in these unsteady financial times a mistake could prove to be costly.
However, if you happen to be one of those people that are sitting on the fence, there is no better time than now to purchase a home. Whether you're a move up home buyer and qualify for the $6,500, or a first time home buyer and qualify for the $8,000 tax credit these most assuredly are enticing. As a seller, if you over price your home you're more likely to lose money and the sting of selling your home may be a bit more abrasive that if you'd priced it accordingly. See, even though we homeowners always think our home is worth a little more than it really is (me included), there is the reality check of the Buyer and Appraiser both.
In this market, the wise thing to do is to price your home just below market value. Insert long pause here..... I can understand the skepticism that follows those words above, but consider this. When you and the rest of the world are shopping for a specific item and it's got a great price on it what's the natural reaction of the shopper? Demand, correct?
In this instance pricing (as well as all the other components of selling a home) is key. This strategy is more likely to net you multiple buyers, and multiple offers on your home! Positively the best of all scenarios as you'll more than likely have multiple offers from which to choose and multiple buyers trying to get your home.
So, take this New Year and be the master of your destiny and don't be afraid of selling your home, especially when the government will compensate you. Remember, that both of these tax credits have expiration dates on them so act now! If you'd like more information on how these programs work, of if you'd like to see what your home is worth, please feel free to contact me at your convenience. I can be reached at 262-694-2141, 608-770-4568, or 262-320-SOLD (7653). Or, email me at: soconnor@shorewest.com.
However, if you happen to be one of those people that are sitting on the fence, there is no better time than now to purchase a home. Whether you're a move up home buyer and qualify for the $6,500, or a first time home buyer and qualify for the $8,000 tax credit these most assuredly are enticing. As a seller, if you over price your home you're more likely to lose money and the sting of selling your home may be a bit more abrasive that if you'd priced it accordingly. See, even though we homeowners always think our home is worth a little more than it really is (me included), there is the reality check of the Buyer and Appraiser both.
In this market, the wise thing to do is to price your home just below market value. Insert long pause here..... I can understand the skepticism that follows those words above, but consider this. When you and the rest of the world are shopping for a specific item and it's got a great price on it what's the natural reaction of the shopper? Demand, correct?
In this instance pricing (as well as all the other components of selling a home) is key. This strategy is more likely to net you multiple buyers, and multiple offers on your home! Positively the best of all scenarios as you'll more than likely have multiple offers from which to choose and multiple buyers trying to get your home.
So, take this New Year and be the master of your destiny and don't be afraid of selling your home, especially when the government will compensate you. Remember, that both of these tax credits have expiration dates on them so act now! If you'd like more information on how these programs work, of if you'd like to see what your home is worth, please feel free to contact me at your convenience. I can be reached at 262-694-2141, 608-770-4568, or 262-320-SOLD (7653). Or, email me at: soconnor@shorewest.com.
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