Ask Steven Senter

When the market is soft for sellers, the potential for extraordinary "deals" is available all around.  The ability to purchase real estate for investment or a primary residence can be rewarding.  The hang up is if you have to sell first in order to buy.  If you can take advantage of the buyer's market with the ability to weather the carry cost, potentially, your upside whe the market comes back is exponential. 

When do you see the market moving towards stability instead of such a buyer dominated one?

How do you handle having your phone glued to your ear?

Do you feel that home pricing is actually going down, or are homes just not selling?

Without question, home prices have moved down in our area.  For example, in one particular subdivision and model of home which I sold last year for $550K, a virtually exact home just closed for $500K!  That is almost 10% drop.  One could say that this ONE example is a fluke, but I can pull up 3 others that have similar amenities and square footage (etc) in the same subdivision all about the same sales price level.  Therefore, it become undeniable the values have taken a hit.  But keep in mind, every location and area is different.  It pays to have the CURRENT market stats and also trending data to go with it when determining what to really expect from the real estate market.

What do you think interest rates will do over the next 6 months?

Concerned Buyer,

Based on multiple conversations this week with my trusted lenders, the anticipation of rates lowering is expected.  It is hard to say for sure of course, but a overall drop in 2008 to about 5% is feasible.  That could help both buyers, in affordability, and sellers, getting more buyers in the market.  I do not see the prices moving up until the inventory level gets more in balance with demand.