Posts Tagged ‘buying’

Intero Insider: How’s the Market? Not So Fast

By Gino Blefari | July 20th, 2010 0 Comments

Lately, I’ve been noticing how poorly the housing market is covered by the media. And I don’t mean that the media is to blame for all our problems. What I mean is that real estate markets are varied, complex and much much smaller than you may realize.

Housing is more than a headline. When you listen to reports of national home prices increasing or demand slowing, it’s easy to get lost because they rarely go much deeper than that.

Throw in a mixture of reports – on the same day, even – and it gets all the more confusing. Case in point: last week CoreLogic reported home prices increased for the fourth straight month, while the IMF warned of a possible double-dip recession for housing. Confused?

Let’s not forget reality #1 of real estate: location is everything.

For instance, your national report may be screaming doom and gloom, but your neighbor’s house just sold for $50,000 above asking price. Or your nightly news report may say home prices are up, but meanwhile your neighbors are slashing prices. What’s going on here?

The housing market, like all markets depends on the balance between supply and demand. But in real estate, supply and demand can vary wildly not just by city and state – but by neighborhood and even street. That’s how delicate the market for real estate is and why it is so difficult to talk about at the macro level.

So there’s location to consider. But then there’s also individual circumstance. Sure, it may be a horrible time to sell your house when you read the numbers, but if you are relocating for a once-in-a-lifetime career opportunity, then it’s your time to sell.

Same for buyers. Sure, it may be the best time in the last 15 years to buy a house, but if you’re looking at a potential job loss or have no money for a downpayment, now is not a good time for you.

Think about that the next time you or someone asks, “How’s the market?”

The real question to ask is, “How’s the market in your neighborhood and under your circumstances?”

Real estate is not only local – it’s all relative.

Keep this in mind as we continue to slog through this recovery. Because the horrifying and confusing headlines will not stop anytime soon. Foreclosures are at massive levels, supply is climbing, and interest rates are at historic lows. The mixture of these news bits will make your head spin. Are things getting better? Worse?

The only people who can truly answer those questions are the buyers and sellers who are in your market right now, and the agents who know it inside out.

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The Intero Insider: Missing Out On The Tax Credit Is OK. Really.

By Gino Blefari | April 27th, 2010 0 Comments

Ah, yes. The Homebuyer Tax Credit. It ranks right up there with health care reform and Eyjafjallajökull as the most-discussed news item of 2010. The proverbial dead horse has been beaten to a fare-thee-well, yet still keeps coming back for more.

The tax credit has, I think, driven many buyers who were on the fence about whether or not to purchase a home into the marketplace. It’s been something of a boon to those who have been able to take advantage of it. If you were able to qualify, that’s a great thing. $8000 (or $6500, if you were already a homeowner) is nothing at which to stick up one’s nose.

But is it, on its own, a reason to purchase a home? Absolutely not.

Everywhere I turn, I see advertisements, blog posts, and the like reminding people that the deadline for being able to claim the tax credit is rapidly approaching. To claim it, you must, in fact, be under contract by Friday, April 30, and you must be able to settle on that contract no later than June 30, 2010. At this point, however, any potential homebuyer who hasn’t been in the trenches and actively looking for a house — and looking seriously — should bide their time. They should not, under any circumstances, rush to sign a contract on a home by Friday, simply so they can claim an $8000 credit.

Why?

Because that $8000 isn’t worth the heartache and sleepless nights that will come with making a $300,000 mistake. Because of the pressure associated with meeting this deadline, lots of people are going to dive headlong into a decision that they’re not actually ready to make.

Any REALTOR worth his or her salt will stand up and say so. A good REALTOR — one who’s really looking out for his clients’ best interests — will not urge that decisions be made on a factor that, in the long run, won’t matter all that much.

And if you miss the credit? Don’t worry. The real estate market will, most likely, adjust once the credit expires. The bustling spring sales market will start to ebb. Sellers of real estate will have to consider absorbing some of the letdown, either by conceding some closing costs or, perhaps, agreeing to helping buyers buy points on their mortgages, or agreeing to other credits that will entice buyers to sign when the time is right.

A good REALTOR will understand these things and a good REALTOR will advise his clients of those options of which they might not have been aware.

So, yes. The Homebuyer Tax Credit was nice while it lasted. But don’t fret about having missed it. It’s OK. Really.

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