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Let's Make Lemonade From These Lemons!

By
Real Estate Agent with Counselor Realty.com

I recently had a meeting with a representative of The Star Tribune, our local newspaper, regarding the type of articles being featured on their front page about the housing market.  The articles have been sensationalistic in the manner of the tabloids found in supermarket news stands, and while they contain some facts they also lie by omission.  A recent article about Wright County real estate noted the foreclosure of homes that previously sold for $300,000+ and are now listed for $169,000 but failed to point out that the previous sales price was due to mortgage fraud and the home was never worth the price it sold for.  It didn't drop in value by 50%, it dropped from an inflated value used by scammers to enrich themselves. The message delivered by the newspaper however touted the horrendous crash in value in Wright County causing buyers to withdraw from purchases underway before the article appeared.  The newspaper's slant in their articles is actually causing an economic slow down in that area rather than reporting about one.

The truth is that now is a great time to buy! The prices have not been this attractive for buyers for many years the rates are good and there are numerous programs available to first home buyers that enable them to get into a home with down-payment assistance, making their purchase literally 0 down. Owning a home is always a better choice than renting if only for the tax advantages and let's get real, they aren't going to be adding on to the earth so real estate will appreciate in time.

Don't overlook the seller owned market either.  Foreclosures aren't the only game in town! If your compare the cost of the repairs necessary to bring a foreclosure up to par with the homes that aren't in foreclosure you may find that the only difference is the hours of labor you'll save rehabbing the foreclosure.  When I do a market analysis for sellers I'm comparing their property to recent sales in their area, not sales occurring when the real estate market was hot.  Sellers are becoming realistic in pricing and there are some excellent buys because of this. They also respond to offers promptly rather than dragging the process on for months as the banks have. Many buyers have run out of time waiting for a bank to respond to their offer.

If the newspapers would start to publicize the enormous opportunities for home ownership available today rather than slanting their stories to "if it bleeds they read" we would begin to see an increase in home sales.  People would take advantage of the lowest prices and best selection that has been available in many years.  It's time to start squeezing these lemons into lemonade!

 

Comments (1)

Fred Griffin Florida Real Estate
Fred Griffin Real Estate - Tallahassee, FL
Licensed Florida Real Estate Broker

Hi, Bette

     We invite you back to ActiveRain!

    Much has changed since your last visit to ActiveRain.  I encourage you to take another look at the website. 

    Surf some blogs, leave some comments.  Better yet, post a Blog.

    Best to you!

Nov 03, 2015 10:31 AM