George Stockes Realtor® Culpeper Home Sales

THE BIG ZERO! As much activity as we have had here in Culpeper the period of February 16 - February 23, 2009 saw no homes close. I am sure the we will have a flurry of activity this last week of February which will keep lenders, settlement companies, and agents jumping.

So far for the month of February 16 homes have sold in Culpeper County. The average sold price is $203,677. With 115 properties in escrow we should see a number of those changing to sold soon.

On the active front the good news is that 168 homes in Culpeper County are priced below $250,000. That's a nice inventory for first-time buyers to choose from. Don't forget, many of these are foreclosures that represent an excellent opportunity maximize your buying power.

If you are looking to purchase a new home and would like to learn more about the Culpeper area market conditions give me a call at 540.672.8019. If selling your home is in your future you might want to get a Free market evaluation before you make any plans. In either case feel free to contact me and learn more about your options and opportunities in today's real estate market.

Until next time have a great day!

I love baseball! Playing, watching, talking, you name it. When free agency starts, trading deadlines near, the excitement builds. Who will go where, what will my team do? As a Reds fan I always wonder what the general manager is up to and what moves he will make. The one thing I know for sure is that he will do everything in his power to help the Reds get better!

What would happen if the general manager of the Reds was also the general manager of the Cubs? How would he make sure that the Reds were getting the best deal in a trade with the Cubs or vice-versa? Why would the owners of the teams even allow that to happen? Sounds silly doesn’t it. Well in many ways it takes place everyday in real estate. You are probably saying right now; “What the heck is George talking about?”

In Virginia and other states real estate agents are allowed to practice what is called Dual Agency. So what actually is dual agency besides being an outdated practice many agents still utilize? In its simplest form one real estate agent represents both the buyer and seller in the purchase of the seller’s property. Why should this matter to you? Well, if your real estate agent is supposed to help you buy or sell a home at the best price and under the best terms, how can he do this for both the buyer and seller at the same time? Could a baseball general manager represent two teams at the same time in trade talks and get both teams the best deal possible? I don’t think so.

So the next time you are looking to buy a home remember that the agent must disclose if they or their company has a relationship with the seller. Learn what that relationship is and make the decision that best protects your needs. Don't hesitate to contact me or visit me on the web to get more valuable information about buying or selling a home.

Have a great day!

The old saying "What goes up must come down" is as true in real estate as it is in any thing else. The unfortunate thing is that in our society today either no one believes it or if they do, they feel it should not apply to them. Economic cycles are not based on our individual needs or desires. If you have paid any attention to history you have learned that government intervention only prolongs the correction to an economic condition that is on its way back down to normal or slow growth levels. Our government over time has convinced a large majority of our population that they can defy the laws of economics and stop or reverse any downward slid of our economy. In reality, they delay the process and we feel the drag on our economy for a longer period despite any short term appearance of success. In addition, the cost of this government intervention is passed on to all of us later in higher taxes, lower wages, and to future generations to absorb the costs and pain of paying for the actions of today.

As I read my local paper The Star-Exponent this past Sunday, they ran an article titled "Trampled By Foreclosure". In the article they indicated that my little county of 45,000 +/- is now the foreclosure capital of Virginia. Being a bedroom community of Northern Virginia and Washington DC the rapid build-out of new homes during the early to mid 2000's created a massive migration of home buyers from outside the county along with a huge jump in the median price of homes. Why wouldn't it? We were close enough for many to commute and home prices were cheap compared to other communities inside and outside the Beltway. The chart below illustrates the impact the housing bubble had on our community both going up and now coming down.

In 2006 the air started leaking out of the bubble. By 2007 the leak turned into a large hole! In 2008 the bargain hunters and investors begin taking advantage of the falling prices that were a direct result of the bubble bursting. As painful as it is the cycle is working! First-time buyers who missed out during the run up through the first half of 2006 are now finding great deals on homes and getting loans. Investors and property managers are adding homes to their rental inventories that will house those displaced as a result of foreclosure. This is how it is supposed to work!

Government intervention to force lenders to modify loans by lowering interests rates or adjusting the principal on homes to reflect the new market conditions sounds great. Unfortunately, the government yesterday announced that 58% of the loan modifications that have already been made are now in foreclosure again. This tells us one thing. The government should not be using taxpayer’s money to decide who should get to stay in their homes. As painful as all this is the numbers do not lie. Let the normal economic cycles play out. It will be shorter, less expensive, and not give people false hope that the government is capable of preventing the laws of economics from taking their natural course.

We all know someone who has suffered the lose of their home in the last 36-months and may know someone who is on the verge of losing their home in the near future. It is painful and sad. Sadder yet is our governments desire to make the rest of us pay to keep folks in their home that The White House and Congress have decided merit the privilege of home ownership. They do not have that right unless they are willing to extend that to all citizens of America not just the ones they have chosen!

*Home sales data was obtained form the Metropolitain Regional Information Systems, Inc.

My local newspaper ran an article titled “Trampled by foreclosure” on Sunday, February 15, 2009. It provided a synopsis of the plight of one unfortunate home owner and his family who lost 2 homes in the last 2-years through a series of events that we all hope never happens to us. In the article he states, “Half of it is my fault and half of it is because the government is a sellout.” “These banks, these companies, all these big shots, they don’t care about me or the working people. All they want is money, and they don’t care who they step on.”

In many ways he is right. Financial institutions loan money to make money for their institutions and stake holders. Each individual borrower is a number, a transaction. In a perfect world a vast majority of borrowers pay their loans back over time. The institutions make money be either holding the loan or bundling and selling them. Unfortunately, when these bundled loan packages contain a large level of subprime and high risk loans the chance of default is dramatically increased. And guess what, your note holder does not care why you can’t pay! They want their money or the assets that secures the loan.

Despite the public perception, a large majority of individual loan officers and lenders conducted business properly and helped qualified borrowers get into homes. But as we all know there are always some folks out there who conduct business differently and made a lot of quick money in the process. With the availability of no-interest loan packages, teaser interest rates, and no doc loans, you could get even the most unqualified person into a home. Some borrowers were naive but others knew they were taking a risk that they could refinance later when the clock struck midnight on their “let’s get you in the house rate.” Even the individual in the article stated; “I think it was one of those things where they qualify you even though you don’t qualify. To be honest with you, I didn’t understand it that well,” Does not understanding absolve him of responsibility? No. He is paying the ultimate price by losing both of his homes and having to start over. Unfortunately, we will never know if the individual that sold him the loan conducted business properly or not. We would all like to assume he did.

The individual in the story is like many across the country who have suffered a great deal over the last few years. While they own some of the responsibility, much of it must be placed on the lending practices written into law by our own government and executed flawlessly by our financial systems and institutions. The housing and financial collapse that has beset our nation and the world is the biggest economic correction many of us will ever witness. If you are fortunate enough to escape the loss of your home or employment as a result of this mess you still will not remain unscathed. The elected officials in Washington who enabled this fiasco, will make sure you and many generations after you pay for this time and time again under the illusion that they are fixing the problem.

If only we could get all of our elected officials in Washington to stand in front of a mirror at the same time they could see the problem!

The President today signed into law the $787 Billion Dollar Stimulus Plan that is designed to get or country turned around by putting 2.5 - 3.5 million people back to work and getting us all pumping money back into the economy. WELL I CAN’T WAIT!

I’m sure that extra $1.85 per day in the pockets of each American will get them running out to buy a new house, car, or truck. By the end of the year when that $1.85 turns into $1.14 per day will anyone really care while applying for their 3.5% - 4% government subsidized home loans? Of course not!

I’m glad to see that our elected officials in Washington put so much time and effort into developing this plan. They were relentless in pouring over the details and making sure every dime was going to be well spent. When that bill was signed into law today 12 people called me and said they were now ready to buy. Who knew that the power of the pen could have such a positive impact on the economy in such a short amount of time?

Seriously though, I don’t know about the rest of you but I’ll be using my $1.85 a day to dine at the Golden Arches. The dollar menu has a lot of options and I’ll only have to scrap up 20 cents extra each day to get a hot meal. Come January, I guess I’ll have to eat every other day to make up for the loss in my government stimulus funding. But the President did say we would all have to make sacrifices!