Current Economy Rocks For Real Estate

The market is not as bad as you think....

As a Realtor in this market, from time to time, I wonder about my choice of career. Today, as I was working on a second offer on one of my listings I began to become a little more optimistic. Funny how that can turn itself around in a day!

These particular sellers had a buyer for their home after their second showing LAST AUGUST. It was a very low offer, and we tried to make it work, but it wasn't meant to be. Now that we have another offer, we have to rethink the whole process and the fear of not getting another offer is always lingering. As I started to crunch numbers, I realized that Mr. and Mrs. Sellers are in an excellent position to buy their next home. Here are the real life numbers and what they mean in today's market. It is an excellent time for move-up clients.

The home they are selling had an offer on it for $255,000. The home that they wanted to buy was $329,000. They would have to come up with an additional $74,900 to purchase that home. Today, their offer is for $227,500 and it is hard to swallow that they are not getting the $27,500 that they would have before. However, the home that they originally wanted was priced at $329,900 and although it just sold to someone else, the good news is the sales price was $264,900. A difference of $65,000. When you look at that compared to the $27,500 "loss" on their home, they are actually ahead by $37,500. In other words, to purchase that same home today, they would only have to come up with $37,400.

Additionally, the interest rate 3 months ago was 6.375% today the interest rate is 5.5%. The difference in payment with the smaller interest amount and smaller principal is $311.01

We have all been talking about this to our clients conceptually, but when you sit down with real numbers and real clients, it is easy to see how buying a home now is a great financial decision!

This Thanksgiving I am thankful for my career choice too!

Joleen Brann

www.joleenbrann.com