Marin County Home Buyers: 2009 is Your Year

I imagine you've heard over and over that it's a great time to buy real estate right now. And it is, for many reasons that I'll discuss in a minute. But I see a lot of people holding back and waiting... and waiting... and waiting... until inevitably at some some point, it will be too late unfortunately. It's not just that you will have missed the bottom in this market. In fact, that's secondary to the bigger point. What you will have missed is something even more important: your best opportunity in this market.

Why your best opportunity is now

Right now, there is a large inventory of homes and buyers have relatively little competition. Buyers essentially have their pick because there are so many fewer buyers than sellers. When you as a buyer have your pick, you have the luxury of choosing the "A" properties - the cream of the crop, the best ones.

Besides excellent selection, prices are low. Foreclosures are bringing down all home prices in a neighborhood, so even "regular" sales are impacted. What's more, interest rates are low, you can buy a home with just 3.5% down and the government is throwing incentives at home buyers (more on that below).

This is a very rosy picture! So why are many buyers holding off? It's pretty simple: fear of making the wrong decision, of buying 'too soon,' afraid they'll buy and the market will fall further and they'll be played the fool. I totally get this. These are uncertain times. But here's why this way of thinking may cause you to lose out.

You cannot sharpshoot the market

By definition, we don't know when the market has hit rock bottom until prices are already on their way back up, 3-6 months after the fact. And then, it'll be too late to seize the opportunity that exists today.

Once there is word that we've hit bottom (again, 3-6 months after it has happened), all the buyers who have been sitting on the fence will rush to buy, trying to get in while they can. There is a lot of pent-up demand out there. And at that point, you as a buyer will suddenly have lots of competition, and everyone will be bidding on the same five houses (like they were three years ago). Prices will get bid up, maybe out of your range, and you'll be left with only the "B" properties - the less desirable ones. You've missed your prime opportunity.

Where is the bottom? No one knows, and there is no such thing as sharpshooting the bottom of the market. As a buyer, what you want to do is "buy in the low." No doubt, we are in the low, especially in Marin County (this isn't the Central Valley where there is a glut of foreclosures).

Incentives to buy: money in your hand

Buy a home this year, and you may qualify for cash back from the government! It's true, and there are two tax credit incentives out there: one from the federal government and one from the state of California.

The federal government is offering an $8,000 tax credit to first-time home buyers between now and December 1. ("First-time" buyer means you haven't owned a primary home within the last 3 years.) A tax credit is much more valuable than a tax deduction. A credit reduces, dollar for dollar, the amount of tax you owe. A deduction merely reduces the amount of your income that is taxable.

Also, the state of California announced in late February that it is offering a brand new $10,000 tax credit to buyers of new, unoccupied houses in California. It applies to purchases made between March 1, 2009 and March 1, 2010. (The new condos at The Millworks in Novato qualify for this, by the way!)

Unlike the federal credit, the CA tax credit applies to both first-time AND move-up buyers. But take note:
The credit is on a first come, first served basis and there's only enough money in the program for about the first 10,000 new homes.

The way it works? Buyers will get up to $3,333 off their taxes for each of the first three years after buying.

You don't need a ton of cash to buy

With FHA loans from the federal government, you only need to put 3.5% cash down on your home purchase. New FHA loan limits for a single-family home in Marin County are $729,750. What's more, closing costs can be rolled into the loan as well. For more information, contact me.

So, opportunities abound for buyers in 2009! Let's go find you a great deal on a house!

Feel free to search all homes on my website, www.BestHomesMarin.com I compile a daily list of foreclosures, among other things.