We as Realtors have been saying it's a great time to buy. If you read the paper or watch the TV news you may have a hard time believing that. If you believe the media you would think that every home owner in America is in danger of losing their home, they can't make the payments, and owe lots more than it is worth.
The truth is that the vast majority of homeowners in this country are NOT in foreclosure and are NOT about to lose their home! Of course this is not newsworthy. It's the bad news that sells papers. I am not condemning the media, I realize thats the way it is.
So why do I say it's a good time to buy? If you bought your home several years ago you probably have equity. If you are thinking about moving up to something bigger or better or a better neighborhood you will be able to afford something much better than you could last year. Prices have come down , of course you know that. So what would have cost you $400,000 a couple years ago might now be around $300,000.
Interest rates are LOW. Lenders are still lending money , you just have to jump through a few more hoops to get it. Two years ago anyone that could fog a mirror could get a loan. Now you have to actually prove how much you make, what your debt is, etc. You might actually have to have some money down (Thats called a down payment for those of you that don't remember those days) All that is a good thing.
I know some people are waiting for the "market to hit bottom". The question I have for those people is, how will you know when the market has hit bottom? The surest way I know of being able to tell when the market has hit bottom is when the prices have started going back up.
There are also lots of bank owned homes on the market. I am seeing the banks staring to get aggressive on their prices. In my experience they will deal with buyers by either accepting lower prices and/or helping with closing costs. Keep in mind that the banks do not make money by being home owners. It just costs them money. The real estate that they own is money that they can not lend to someone else. After all that is how they make their money. So they are much better off by selling that home and then lending that money to someone else.
Well thats my 2 cents for today. I hope this helps. If you are thinking about buying real estate in Stanislaus or Merced counties give me a call. If you are somewhere else in the country ask a friend or family member (or call me for a referral) to refer you to a Realtor and talk to him or her about the market. You may be surprised!
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Jim, excellent post. A lot of the stagnant market is due to the negative news. Of course that makes more news to report on and the cycle continues.