I AM SO EXCITED ABOUT THIS NEW YEAR!
The good news is that the interest rates are going DOWN! This will enable more people to buy a home. It will also make home sellers buy a new house with a better interest rate. Someone could buy a bigger home and potentially pay less per month on their mortage.
Don't be afraid to think about moving this year. If you need a good lender, give me a call. I can suggest ones that will best suit your needs.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Monday, October 6, 2008
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Real Estate Madness in Cleveland Ohio
I have been in real estate over a 32 year period of time. I have seen buyer's and seller's markets. I have seen low interest rates and rates as high as 18%. I have seen people buy homes with every kind of financing available. The craziest thing I ever heard of was 0% down and no interest mortgages. No wonder we're in a financial crisis!
What really bothers me now is that we ALL are going to have to pay for some poor banking and lending decisions made somewhere else. The greed that has prevailed our industry as a whole has finally caught up with our real estate market.
So, what is happening now in home sales in northeast Ohio?
The homes that are selling are the REO's (bank owned), short sales and people who don't care if they lose their money tied up in equity. Everyone I have spoken to this year says, "I hear I can get a really good deal right now. I want to find a home that someone HAS to sell. I don't care if it is a bank owned or an owner. I just want a deal."
With that mindset, no wonder homeowners that have taken care of their property don't want to "give it away." But the problem is that unless they take some serious concessions, their home will not sell. Let me just give you an example from my personal experience.
A lady bought a home in 2003. She paid $179,000 for it. She had a tremendous amount of work done. She made this home into a showplace. She added a screened in back porch. She installed a cherry kitchen & updated the bath. She had the home professionally sided. The roof was torn off and replaced. Other improvements were made as well. The cost for all this work:
$105,000!!!
She was asking $239,000. I showed my buyers several homes in 5 different communities. The first day it was on the market,I showed it. My buyers purchased this lovely, updated and gorgeous home for $220,000.
My reason for telling you this: Most people would not have sold the home for what she did. She actually over-improved it money-wise. But she decided to move to a condo because her health had deteriorated and she could not handle the upkeep. She made a good decision in this market. She realized she would not recoup her investment, so she sold it for what the market would bear.
The moral of today's story: DON'T SELL YOUR HOME UNLESS YOU HAVE TO RIGHT NOW.
If you do, prepare to get much less than you expect. The MARKET is going to determine what you get. Prices in our area are down 15% from this time last year.
What really bothers me now is that we ALL are going to have to pay for some poor banking and lending decisions made somewhere else. The greed that has prevailed our industry as a whole has finally caught up with our real estate market.
So, what is happening now in home sales in northeast Ohio?
The homes that are selling are the REO's (bank owned), short sales and people who don't care if they lose their money tied up in equity. Everyone I have spoken to this year says, "I hear I can get a really good deal right now. I want to find a home that someone HAS to sell. I don't care if it is a bank owned or an owner. I just want a deal."
With that mindset, no wonder homeowners that have taken care of their property don't want to "give it away." But the problem is that unless they take some serious concessions, their home will not sell. Let me just give you an example from my personal experience.
A lady bought a home in 2003. She paid $179,000 for it. She had a tremendous amount of work done. She made this home into a showplace. She added a screened in back porch. She installed a cherry kitchen & updated the bath. She had the home professionally sided. The roof was torn off and replaced. Other improvements were made as well. The cost for all this work:
$105,000!!!
She was asking $239,000. I showed my buyers several homes in 5 different communities. The first day it was on the market,I showed it. My buyers purchased this lovely, updated and gorgeous home for $220,000.
My reason for telling you this: Most people would not have sold the home for what she did. She actually over-improved it money-wise. But she decided to move to a condo because her health had deteriorated and she could not handle the upkeep. She made a good decision in this market. She realized she would not recoup her investment, so she sold it for what the market would bear.
The moral of today's story: DON'T SELL YOUR HOME UNLESS YOU HAVE TO RIGHT NOW.
If you do, prepare to get much less than you expect. The MARKET is going to determine what you get. Prices in our area are down 15% from this time last year.
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