Daily Real Estate News | March 2, 2010 |
Buyers Who Wait May Lose a Lot
Potential home buyers who delay have a lot to lose.
First-time home buyer and move-up tax credits worth $8,000 and $6,500, respectively, expire April 30. Buyers who qualify get a dollar-for-dollar reduction in taxes or a cash payment if they don’t pay enough taxes to cover the credit.
Other factors that should spur buyers:
Low mortgage rates. If the Federal Reserve stops buying mortgage-backed securities at the end of March, 30-year rates will almost certainly rise to more than 6 percent.
Rising prices. About 30 percent of markets are already experiencing price increases. Prices are falling in 12 percent of markets, says Fiserv (but that only helps if you want to live there).
Source: Money Magazine, Beth Braverman (03/02/2010)
We have a limited supply of Refrigerator Calendars for 2010. We are offering these while they last. Send us your Name and mailing address and we will send free postage paid. Send Information
Bob and Kasey Kelly-McNulty
Lambros Real Estate 3011 American Way
Missoula, MT. 59808
Also a phone call 406-532-9277 will work.
NEWSLETTER
We have been mailing our bi-monthly newsletter through the Postal Service over the past 15 years. It has items that may be of interest to you. We include our personel listings, market information on local and national trends, a thought for the day and current real estate information. This service is available to you free of charge. Send us your home address and we will put you on the next issue to be in the mail by January 17, 2010 and every other month thereafter. Remember; Name, Home, Address, City, State and Zip Ccode to e-mail: bkelly@bigsky.net or call 532-9277 locally or 1-888-735-7653 for those out of the area. We will keep you informed regarding market activity.
Kasey Kelly-McNulty and Bob Kelly.
When is perception not reality?
There is an old saying that perception is reality. But when it comes to the current real estate market, the sages may need to revisit that saying. This is a good time to check the perceptions against the realities. So what are the perceptions? For months, the national media has been reporting on the demise of the real estate industry, recounting the escalating numbers of foreclosures and the tumbling prices. Hearing that long enough and often enough must make it true. So the perception is that every property on the market is a distressed sale. If the sellers aren’t yet in foreclosure, they soon will be and they—and the lenders—are eager to make some kind of deal, any kind of a deal, in order to try to salvage financial position.
If that’s the perception, how does that square with the reality of the numbers from the Missoula market? Here are a few:
*There are approximately 921 active listings in the urban area including single family, condos/townhomes, and manufactured/modular.
*Foreclosures in Missoula so far this year account for about 14% of the market. There have always been foreclosures in the market. This is higher than it has been but well below some of the most distressed markets nationwide where the number is 50% or higher.
*Of the 921 listings, then, approximately 800 are on the market for reasons other than a distressed sale.
*Of the 646 properties that have sold in Missoula so far in 2009, the difference between the median listing price and the median sales price is about 4%. In other words, properties that are selling are priced right, and buyers and lenders are recognizing that and responding accordingly to get the transactions closed.
What should consumers take from the reality these numbers reflect? They need to understand that Missoula has a healthy, functioning real estate market, not a distressed market. Then check that information against their perceptions. Buyers who think it’s a distressed market may be tempted to make lowball offers. And sellers who hear that it’s a healthy market may want to argue that their home should be listed for the same amount as their neighbor’s was when they sold last year. And this perception/reality check must be an ongoing exercise in a dynamic real estate atmosphere that is ever-changing.
What has not changed is the need to be a student of that local market. For today’s real estate consumer, there simply isn’t any alternative to checking your perceptions against the reality of the specific market in which you are interested. It’s what you need in order to make the best housing and financial decisions possible for you and your family. And there are professionals available to assist you in all aspects of real estate transactions i.e. brokerage, lending, title insurance, home inspection, appraisal to name a few. Missoula has some of the best.
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