"My thoughts on the State of the Real Estate Market"

I am sure that you all have read an article, or seen on television, or even heard on the radio the following statements - "Real Estate Woes", "Housing Slumps", "Foreclosures on the Rise". Any of these sound familiar? Well the truth of the matter is...OUR local market is really strong right now. Real estate is so location driven, that you can not get caught up in what the national markets are saying and what the local markets may have to report. Yes, it is true, we are currently in a "Buyer's Market", but that is simply an inventory or a "supply and demand" issue.

You may be asking, "What does that mean?". It means, that for the people that are in the market to buy, THERE HAS NEVER BEEN A BETTER TIME! Interest rates are still relatively low and those people that are truly looking to buy (and are in position to buy) can go in and get great deals on homes. I'm talking about homes that they may not have been able to get 18-24 months ago or in the near future when these homes may be taken by other opportunistic buyers.

You may be saying, "Chris, I want to sell my home. Where does that put me?" Again, the truth is, homes are still selling everyday. You have to take an honest assessment of the following four major aspects of real estate: Price, Location, Condition and Marketing. Only one do you not have control over and that's location. You cannot physically MOVE your home - so then you must begin to evaluate the other three areas.

Now is not the time to push the envelope or shortcut the process on any of these three. You must be aggressive, realistic and willing to listen to your realtor. If you can sit down with a professional and make an honest assessment of these areas, your home can easily be sold in the current market. So be very careful of the nay sayers and those that truly just don't know. Real estate always has and always will be a cyclical business.

You just have to know and understand where the cycle is, where it's going and how you can best position yourself to take advantage of it. A home purchase (real estate) is still one of the best, if not the best, tool to creating personal wealth in this country.

-Chris Stanley