Everyday we see or hear another headline or news story about how bad the housing market is. The media is the leading culprit when it comes to slamming the current market. With hundreds of daily newspapers, 24 hour news TV channels and endless news outlets on the Internet, the media is always looking for new content. The current market is an easy story to latch onto and report statistic after statistic. Yes, it is true. The market has slowed down and homes are staying on the market for many more days.
Before we get all up in arms and think the world is coming to an end we should step back and look at the facts. The current Mortgage Rate in my location of Charlotte, NC is 6.25% which is better than it was 4 years ago when I purchased my own house at the height of the housing boom. If you think 6.25% is high you should ask what your parents mortgage rate was when they purchased their first house. Depending on their age it may be up around 15 to 18%.
Another big headline I have seen is "Home Buyers having Loan Approval Difficulty!" In the past years when the market was considered great banks and lenders where very quick to approve almost anyone. These days things are returning back to normal. You must have a decent credit score and a decent dept to income ratio. This is really how things should be and the way they were before the housing boom.
It is also very diffacult to get 100% financing anymore. Most loads require 20% down. Many of us forget that this also was the norm before the boom. Things were so good and so easy that we all quickly forget what was normal. This is what is simply called a "correction". Take a look at the stock market. For a long time all it did was climb. It climbed all the way to 14,000 and then it dropped 1000 points were it has hovered for weeks. When markets continue to climb it often drives up prices for the consumer as it did in the housing market. It takes a correction to bring things back to normal.
Let's get back to our original topic. "Bad Real Estate Market? / Good Real Estate Market?" What is a Good Real Estate market? Most people would say a good market is when it is a sellers market. Everyone is selling so prices rise quickly as they did during the boom. Buyers have no choice but to pay what seller's are asking. Not so good for the buyer huh?
Now lets talk about a so called, "Bad Market". Today's market is considered a bad market by most. It's only bad if you are a seller. The market is currently great for buyers. Sellers are having trouble selling for their homes at their asking price so there are many great bargains out there. When it is good for one side it is bad for the other or somewhere in between.
Then why is there less activity overall in the housing market you ask? Other than having to come up with 20% down the only other reason is all the media hype that is scaring people into doing nothing. If you are a buyer, now is the time to buy. Great deals, low prices, low rates and plenty of inventory to choose from. As a buyer you can't ask for much more.
I ask........ Why is a Sellers Market a great market and a Buyers Market bad? The state of the current market is nothing more than scared consumers waiting around for......they don't know what. If you are a buyer the only thing you can be waiting for is to sell your current home or prices to go back up. If you do not have a house to sell and you are a buyer you have better get going. Think about it!
If you would like any additional information about the current real estate market or Lake Norman area homes, contact Lake Norman Home Specialist: Craig LePage, Broker / Realtor of Keller Williams Realty, Cornelius N.C. 704-618-2412
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