Nobody appreciates a zing with their morning coffee more than I do - hope you'll enjoy the ones in THIS post by another Agent with too much time on his hands ;-)
With all the posts out there about how now is the best time in history to run out and buy a home, I thought it only fair to show you the reasons that you should not do so. The last thing this economy needs is for consumers to start spending money, that would actually cause the great deals to go away. Mainly due to the fact that it would cause the economy and the real estate market to recover, and at this point that's the last thing we need.
10- Rent is fun to pay. I mean it's not at all like having to pay your own mortgage, why do that when you can pay a mortgage for someone else. If you went out and bought a home, there would be one less investor out there getting a free house with your money.
9- The amount of homes for sale on the market. There is no need to running out there when you have a ton of homes for sale at your disposal. You should certainly wait for the numbers to dwindle so you will have less of a choice you decide to buy. This will keep you from having to be so picky.
8- The great deals will be the first to go. This will be your indicator that you are getting close to time to start looking. All the good homes will be taken and then you can go sift through the left overs for what you can salvage.
7- Low Interest rates. Low interest rates will cause your mortgage payments to be lower, and this may make you feel like you are not doing your fair share. You should definitely wait around for those rates to rise so you can make a higher monthly payment. Then you won't have to deal with the guilt of saving money.
6- The price of homes for sale. Currently many homes for sale are on the market at very competitive lower prices. If you can manage to hang in there a little longer without buying a home, then you can catch market during or after a recovery. This means that you will get to pay more for the home than you would today.
5- With today's rates and prices, mortgages on many homes for sale are actually cheaper than rent on the same homes. Again this would possibly save you money, and that's not what you want to do. You need to wait for the prices to rise so you're not getting as good of a deal.
4- A 10% of the sales price tax credit up to $8,000. If you were to buy a home now,and you are a first time home buyer, then you would receive this tax credit. If you can hold out until next year, then you will be able to avoid this tax credit all together. This will save you the aggravation of trying to decide what to do with the extra money on next year's tax return.
3-Builder incentives. At present, in addition to the competitive prices, many builders are offering other incentives on new homes. Incentives like a percentage of of the home for sale depending on your employment and reduced pricing on upgrades. Some are even offering free upgrades and tossing in little extras that they normally do not offer in order to sweeten the pot. This would mean that you could get a great deal on a brand new home in your area, and that's the last thing you want. Wait for these deals to be snatched up other buyers before you even consider looking for your new home.
2- Lack of competition for you. Right now with many would be buyers sitting on the fence trying to make a decision, you would have your pick of the litter as far as the homes currently available are concerned. You need to wait until many more buyers are on the search, that way you can possibly end up in multiple offer situations and have to fight another buyer over the home you really want.
1- The pride of home ownership. There is no reason to come home to a home that actually belongs to you. Why not constantly come home to a house that you are buying for someone else.
I hope that in some way this has helped anyone reading to figure out why you should stay on that fence. There are really too many great deals and incentives out there to subject yourself to making a decision as to which one you want. So hang in there and stay on those sidelines. With a little discipline and a little luck you'll be able to avoid all the great deals that this current market has to offer. Best of luck to you.
Okay, it's not your typical Real Estate topic, but it's REAL! And it pertains to signs of our local market conditions - certain businesses are GROWING in spite of the national slump we keep reading about. One of these, is the old Commonground, under new management (by Pam K), and re-emerging as "ITHACA OASIS" on Rt. 96B.
You must check this out - if not for the wine or tequila tastings (two Tuesdays a month), then for the live jazz sets on Friday at happy hour, or for Noche Latina, a crowd-pleasing format of dance instruction followed by a DJ'ed night of great latin dance tunes. People are totally cutting it up out there - you wouldn't know it was happening from the unassuming look of the place. Weekends tend toward bringing the party outdoors, especially as we move into better weather. Pam is doing a wonderful job with the event calendar - this week's lineup includes the Zydeco Trail Riders and Diana Leigh's Jazz Quartet on Saturday, and on Sunday, a "reunion" gig featuring Marie Burns, Harry and Eric Aceto, Chris Broadwell and Doug Richards. South Hill residents take note! The Hill is ON FIRE!!!
WHAT STRIPE ARE YOU??
So there you have it - an all stripes welcome, kick up your heels, put on your party dress venue where you can SPEND MONEY and help your new local businesses stay around and THRIVE into the coming decade!
That is it for this week's edition of "THE SHORT REPORT" by Santos!
Some positive news about the housing market is starting to trickle in lately: Marketwatch reports that the rate of existing home sales is up 5.1% on the national level, boosted by price discounting. As a true sign of the times, the article states that 45% of the transactions recorded in February came from "Short" or distressed property sales, which have been averaging a 20% discount off current market values. See the entire article here.
If you are contemplating a short sale purchase, be aware of some of the myths and trends around these sales. You may need more time to close the transaction, and the bank may not necessarily "give" the house away. However, if you have the patience to get through the process, you may benefit by acquiring an excellent, under-valued property which will enhance your equity position, once you become the new owner. Hire an informed agent to help you identify potential properties, and present your offer in the best way possible. And be sure to have your attorney available for a thorough review of the contract. There are many opportunities out there - it IS a great time to buy!
Okay, time to unostrichize ourselves on the gas leasing that is rather quickly moving to the front burner with many landowners and activists in Central New York. We've heard about it for a some time now, and some people have actually walked away with money in their pockets from leasing their land to energy companies for gas and mineral extraction. What else though, is going on out here?
The realities of what the outcomes are in some cases have had people hitting the roof, and with good reason. Here is a short list of some isses that have come up:
Loss of clean drinkable water on premises
Loss of clean breathable air within the immediate surrounding area
Destruction of roads from heavy traffic and infrastructure development
Loss of privacy and quiet enjoyment of owned land
Serious health issues and compromises that are related to exposure to the process of high pressure gas drilling
This is the SHORT list. It's well past the time to take action. What can you and I do about this?
Familiarize yourself with the terms: Horizontal Drilling Hydro-fracking, Fracking Fluids, Waste-water Disposal, Well Pads, VOCs, and try having a conversation with a neighbor or a total stranger for that matter, and share your understanding with your own community;
Volunteer at the grassroots level - sign on to receive updates from Shaleshock, or become an organizer within the group;
Check out the Listening Project if you want to go into the fields (literally) to hear from people whose lives are being most directly impacted by the horizontal drilling processes.
Photos above are of active sites in rural PA and NY.
The next ShaleShock event will be in Bath, NY, Monday March 30th:
Gas Drilling in the Marcellus Shale: Informational Meeting in Bath, NY
March 30, 2009
7:00 pm
to
10:00 pm
Bath Fire Hall 50 E. Morris Street Bath, NY (Steuben County)
I urge Realtors and all citizens to pay attention to this issue - we have a responsibility to our clients to understand this issue and help them get the facts. Please help spread the word!
This morning I listened in on a short-sale webinar by J. Allan, Janie C., and Broker Bryant, all active on this site. Jennifer is from CO., the other two are from FL., and the statistics they cited about the FL. markets were stark. Roughly 60% of homes in their markets are distressed sales, therefore there is a need for Realtors in certain areas to perfect the skills required for successful short sale negotiations.
Ithaca has seen an increase in such distressed property sales in the last year, but not nearly comparable to these markets. Our MLS system does not currently record distressed properties as a category in terms of type of sale. The only way to figure it out is if you happen to know the listing agents handling them, or by gleaning from reading the MLS sheets to see who the owners of the properties are. If the owners are Bank LLC's., you can make an educated guess, and/or call the listor. It may be worth our while now though, to begin to record this data, as it begins to appear in our market.
There is an excellent article in the NY Times today about the housing market from coast to coast. NYC condo and co-op sales showed a 50% drop in contracts in January (but they don't say what they are comparing it to - the previous month or the year ago month of Jan). However, Ithaca, also saw a 50% decline in terms of residential contracts in January (from 150 in Jan. 08 to 74 in Jan. 09). Interesting parallel. I do not, however, feel a cringe or a twinge when I read the Ithaca Board of Realtor stats. I do cringe when I read this about Manhattan, because of the bloodbath that their job market has become. A related article goes on to discuss values declining by roughly 30% for some market sectors in the metropolitan area.
One upside for us ABOUT Manhattan, is that homes in our market, compared to there, are STILL highly attractive in terms of price point, and what you can get for your (remaining) dollar. So, we are seeing some renewed interest from buyers who might be looking to invest, downsize, or in other ways escape the city, but still be near enough (only 4 hours away) to go back for the occasional urban fix.
According to an Ithaca Journal article, as of March 3rd, values held firm all through last year, and NO municipality lost ground: "Increases in property values varied across the county, from a 1.51 percent increase in Groton to a 3.58 percent increase in the City of Ithaca. No county municipality saw a drop in property values, Franklin said." Although we have had fewer transactions, values overall remained solid. But it is a shifting time. Many moving parts in the national economy, and in new taxation strategies both nationally and statewide. So the impact of these changes is likely to show up in the year ahead.
Will we hold up in 2009 as well as we have so far? It's anybody's guess. We have had a store or two close shop, and some people have suffered job losses. But demand for housing here still seems to be high. Bidding wars have not disappeared. I know of at least two last week and that was just through my office, the 4th largest in town (we are not really "large" - 15 agents).
Stay tuned for the post-mortem toward the end of summer! And feel free to leave your questions or comments for me here, or send them to me at Santos.Homes@gmail.com.
Sat in on a great webinar over the weekend, listening to some of the Active Rain community speak off the cuff on the topic of putting together a persuasive CMA. Great topic these days. 1000 people were on that conference call, so you KNOW it's on our minds. Each speaker's approach was quite varied, which was, I felt, what I came away with as the main point. You are simply going to refine and refine and identify your "best practices" as they emerge from experience. Whatever script you may have learned and internalized, it will help, but it all comes down to your confidence and authentic presentation, and that is kind of hard to "script"!
Happy fact-finding, dear Realtors! And now I must go prepare a CMA...
...Launching into the Active Rain Blog community, after having been inspired by several great examples around me!
I am a Real Estate Agent in the Fingerlakes region of Central New York, and as a former (and future) islander, I get a kick out of being able to commute to a great place like NYC in just 4 hours! Because I have this great lake (Cayuga) to enjoy all year, even when icy, I don't miss the ocean as much as I thought I might when I first came here.
That is a looong story, which I may tell another time. For now, it's great to be involved with a great community here in Ithaca, NY.
Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
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