It has been crazy so far in 2016! We started this year off with news FEDERAL RESERVE RAISES INTEREST RATES! This move was expected for awhile and the consensus was the interest rates to the consumer for housing loans would begin to rise. Fewer people would be able to afford homes. This probably would effect the housing market and economy in a negative way. Funny thing happened.
THE STOCK MARKET
The stock market suddenly went crazy and began to loose momentum, and globally things appear to have declined. We are seeing people take big money out of the stock market trying to hold on to gains or become very conservative. The news has the consumer (already cautious) sitting on their hands a little bit which is a big time major concern for the economy because if consumer confidence is down everything slows and is affected! What happened to real estate?
SELLING REAL ESTATE
In areas I work something ELSE FUNNY has happened. We still have more buyers than sellers right now. Why and what does that mean for sellers? It means that even after all this GROWTH in appreciation we experience the last 36+ months, seller are able to command higher prices for well priced, well marketed properties! Prices have not come down at least in a drastic way. Properties well priced and marketed correctly ARE NOT SITTING ON THE MARKET LONG AT ALL! As a matter of fact if you price it correctly, it shows well and is properly marketed, we are seeing MULTIPLE OFFERS AGAIN! Whoa not what was expected. Should you be buying real estate now?
BUYING REAL ESTATE
Since we have this current condition in the real estate market, should you purchase now or wait? Here is an honest answer. It depends on WHY you are buying. In my opinion if you are buying a HOME to live in, this is GREAT TIME. Why you ask? The interest rates are the reason. You see as mentioned earlier interest rates were rising, BUT when the stock market and other world factors acted erratically, the interest rates to the consumer DROPPED back down! An example is a homeowner that was pre-approved in November of 2015, would pay approximately $300 to $400 LESS a month TODAY on home! One mistake I believe people make in purchasing real estate is worrying too much on the price of the property and NOT the monthly payment, because after escrow closes, the only thing you worry about (until you sell or refinance) is the monthly payment! The rates dropping has buyers JUMPING into the market because there is a strong possibility this is the LEAST you may pay PER MONTH to own real estate for a long while.
If you have questions or would like additional information on purchasing real estate in your personal situation do not hesitate to reach out immediately to us. ehustle@elginwalker.com
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