Is This The Bottom???

Mark Gladue (Forward Realty Group/Keller Williams Rea) — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 11:18:35 -0800

National Association of Realtors has posted huge declines today regarding the median home price nationally. The good news is that in Madison we have only dropped 1.6% from $226,140 to $222,500 in the 4th Quarter comparing 2007 and 2008 respectively. Nationally the median price dropped from $205,700 to $180,100 or 12.4%. Where is the bottom then for Madison? Often times I will tell a client that predicting the bottom is useless. By the time the bottom has truly hit, you missed it.

With rates now hovering at 5% and the stimulous package (not yet passed mind you) offering a $15,000 tax credit to any and all buyers the spring market looks to be a great time to buy! What are your thoughts? Are you looking to buy in Madison over the next year? Have you been waiting to see if the market bottoms out? Are you tired of seeing your landlord profit off of your monthly payments? Do interest rates need to be even lower to inspire you? Are you waiting for the stimulous package to hit Obama’s desk for the John Hancock? STOP WAITING!!!

Get creative, you are not just buying a home for a tax credit! You are buying a solid investment in your future. There are no guarantees, but if you have been waiting to get in there are ways to ensure a safe and reliable investment! Try to put 20% down. For my parent’s generation it was unheard of to buy a home with less and interest rates were sky high! Buy the interest rate down. Did you know you can save over $100 a month if you pay a “point” on your mortgage? (A point is 1% of the loan value so if you are looking to buy a $200,000 home the point would cost you $2000, but your payment on a 5% vs. a 4% 30 year fixed mortgage is $120 a month savings!) You might even be a ble to ask a seller to buy your rate down and pay closing costs. Huge savings up front!

Awesome time to get in and lots of programs to help. Give us a call today and let us know how we can help

Forward Realty Group sells real estate in the Madison, WI area. http://mgladue1.topproducerwebsite.com/search-for-homes.asp to find your next home!

Today, Tomorrow and Beyond

Mark Gladue (Forward Realty Group/Keller Williams Rea) — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 05:44:58 -0800

So we see in the news today that 68,000 jobs were cut today. The President has promised change for tomorrow and beyond that I think it is hard to speculate on what might happen. We see a rising number of doom and gloom stories, but when will the general public stop listening to all of the stories and look within to start 2009 with a story of promise and a story of today is the day this all turns around. Chicken little may always tell you that the sky is falling, but I guess that my puppy dogs and rainbow outlook is this.

Time to start getting real. Time to ask yourself why did this happen to me? Time to ask yourself what could I have done to prevent all of this and it is time to be accountable instead of blaming people for the things that continue to happen. By this I mean that today I cannot blame anyone for what has happened over the last year in real estate. I could try to say that CNN and MSNBC and countless others have ruined me, but they didn't. My team sold 38 properties for 11.2 Million in 2008. Why? We told people the straight story when it came to buying or selling real estate in 2008. For buyers it was and continues to be a wonderful opportunity to buy a home if you can afford it. For sellers yesterday and today bring the same message. If you stage your home to look its best, you price your home to sell in a buyers market, take technology by the hand and hire the best agent, one that will listen and react in this market,your home will sell.

Sounds simple right? Not as simple as it sounds. People are making difficult decisions everyday and we are fortunate to have the business we do. We work very hard to keep our place in the market and we know that everyone has a unique story to tell. Our job is to guide each individual to their own success.

So today I will be thankful for my family, my job and my health. Tomorrow I will get up and go through my to do list to get the engine running and beyond that I will make this the best year possible for my family, future and health. What did today offer you, what will tomorrow bring for your hard work and beyond that what are your hopes, dreams and goals.

2009 is gonna be a good time!

Mark Gladue's Blog

Is This The Bottom???

Today, Tomorrow and Beyond