The government has been running their home buyer credit program for quite some time. While they did extend the credit before, it looks like there will be no extension this time. What does this mean for you?
If you are a home seller, the best time to be on the market is right now. Any delay could cost you a huge number of buyers who are motivated by the credit.
If you are a home buyer, you should be shopping now. While there will still be great deals after the credit has expired, why not take advantage of free money from the government?
This credit is good both for first time home buyers and for those who are buying a home and have lived in their current residence at least 5 years. First time home buyers get up to $8,000 while those who are buying another home get up to $6,500. Be sure to consult your tax professional to find out how much you can qualify for.
If you are interested in buying or selling, contact one of the real estate professionals at Tiered Real Estate.
There has been significant discussion about extending the home buyer tax credit. The speculation has been wide ranging from doubling the credit to extending it to all home buyers. While neither of these seems to be financially plausible, there seems to finally be a consensus on what will happen. The Wall Street Journal posted this discussion about the extension.
While some of the details are subject to change between now and the vote by Congress, one thing should be clear, this is not going to stay around forever. In fact, buyers should feel fortunate that it is going to be extended at all. Many congressmen opposed extending the credit due to the cost. If you are considering buying a home, consider this a blessing and an expiring benefit. Take advantage of it now while you have the chance! You should expect that this is going to be gone by the middle of 2010.
If you are interested in buying or selling a home, contact one of the great agents at Tiered Real Estate and we will be happy to help you! If you need to know if you can qualify for a loan (or how much home you can afford) then contact Mike Vrba at Cherry Creek mortgage.
My attention was recently drawn to an article (click here to read the article) that while it is several months old, it is still one of the most popular online. The article discusses signs the housing market is starting to recover. This is a very good sign for the economy overall since housing is a ‘leading indicator‘ or the economy (i.e. it is one of the first to move up or down to indicate which way the economy may be moving).
In particular, I noticed several things that lead me to believe that housing has reached its bottom and is finally turning around.
First, last winter there was an enormous number of cash transactions. What does this mean? After sitting on the sidelines for a long time, investors (basically anyone who had cash to invest) decided that they couldn’t wait any longer. Simply, it was too great of a risk to wait because they saw that the market was extremely low and the best deals may start to disappear. Since that time, there has been a steady flow of cash transaction as more and more investors return to (or start in) the housing market.
Second, on occasion, I provide market information to banks. For the first time in several years, I had to report areas of increasing values, increasing number of sales and a reduction in inventory. Inventory is simply the name used for the number of homes on the market. As little as two years ago, some areas had four times as many homes for sale as sold in the previous 6 months. This means that if no homes came on the market for 2 years (4 times the amount x 6 months) then we would finally exhaust the inventory. That is an awful ratio in housing. Two year market time is not something that any homeowner wants to face when selling their home (this is part of the cycle that leads to dropping prices… high supply + low demand = drop in price to sell your home before another).
Finally, the simplest (while the most subjective) reason is simply the activity that we have experienced. As the market was free-falling, the number of inquiries and phone calls also went into a free-fall. Not only have those levels stabilized, they have increased. Again, buyers are competing for homes that are great deals. No longer can we casually make an offer and expect to have it taken. While we certainly do make offers of all shapes and sizes, nothing is a ‘sure-thing’ any longer.
What does this mean for you? If you are a home owner who wants to sell or refinance their home, then good news! Everything is starting to come back and buyers are looking. Values are slowly (and not in all areas) starting to increase. If you are potential home buyer, it means that you shouldn’t wait on the sidelines and hope that you can squeeze out another 5%-10% decrease in price. Go out and look at homes and if you find something you like, negotiate. Use your buying power to get a decrease in price, don’t hope for a price drop that doesn’t look likely to happen.
If you are interested in buying or selling a home, contact one of the great agents at Tiered Real Estate where we will be glad to help you with all of your home buying and selling needs!
Wow! Existing home sales are up 5.5%! That is the most since a 5.6% increase in July 2003, during the housing boom. While largely overlooked by the plunging markets, this is great news. This means that despite all of the doom and gloom in the media and the economy, buyers came out. Why would buyers come out? Because they are starting to feel that they cannot wait any longer. They are afraid that if they wait, then they will miss their opportunity. They feel that this is the bottom, or as near to the bottom as they can safely achieve.
Many of these buyers are investors. I can’t tell you the last time I saw so many cash transactions in real estate. Yet, what does that matter? In fact, that might be even better news. If investors are not willing to wait on the sidelines any longer, doesn’t that mean that they will force a bottom or that they see this as the bottom? I think so.
So while the markets stumble, buyers are telling us that the bottom is close at hand or already here. This is the kind of encouragement that we were waiting for. Don’t miss it yourself and don’t let the media dictate your reality. If it is time to buy, sell or rent, contact Tiered Real Estate and see how we can help you!
God bless us every one!
I stumbled across an article this morning that discussed the “idea of tiered real estate commissions” and how taking advantage of a consumer’s unwillingness to negotiate the commission “needs to stop.” He (James Kimmons) proceeds to lay out a plan where having a tiered real estate commission plan is “the only ethical thing to do!”
I take this as a ringing endorsement that at Tiered Real Estate, we have the real estate model of the future and we are acting in the most ethical manner possible. Our actions show that we go above, and beyond, to help our home owners, home sellers and renters get the most that they can out of the market. The fact that we have put over half of a million dollars back in the pockets of buyers and sellers is a testament to that fact. If it is time for you to find a new place to live, whether it be buying, selling or renting, then contact the highly ethical, hardworking professionals at Tiered Real Estate. We know you will be pleased.