I just sent out my market activity reports to my listing clients. In general I said.
There is some good news.
Freddie Mac reports a decline in the 30-year fixed mortgage rate to 5.47 percent during the week ended Dec. 11 from 5.53 percent last week and 6.11 percent a year ago.
Nn number of homes have sold in our market in the last 6 months.
Quality homes that are well maintained and priced attractively in order to represent good value are continuing to excite buyers to the point of making an offer that the Sellers can accept. These Sales are the product of realistic expectations and a reasonable amount of compromise from Buyers and Sellers during the negotiation process to arrive at an agreeable price and terms. It can be done.
With that said; it is time to examine your options. Depending on your circumstances you can either take your property off the market or continue to list it and make periodic price reductions and/or property improvements until we create a perception of value in your property that is too good to miss.
If you take your home off the market now you could:
•1. Make the decision to keep your property and make any improvements necessary to enhance your comfort and enjoyment as well as future saleability;
•2. Wait for the recovery in the housing market and re-list it at a price appropriate for the market at that time; or
•3. Rent your property out. Unfortunately, the low demand for rental housing in our market and the low rents that properties are getting in the current rental market will mean that renting will only be a solution for a few of you.
If you continue to list your property then it may be time to make an adjustment in the price and/or make property improvements until we create the perception of value in your property that is too good to miss.
It is your decision and I look forward to discussing it with you in person or over the telephone.
We need to provide good information and professional counsel to assist our clients in making decisions and taking actions to accomplish agreed upon goals.
Agate Beach is a local secret. The beach is off the beaten path yet easy to access. It is remote away from development of any kind and a beautiful contrast of pine forests, sand, waves, and sea stacks. It is great for picnics, walks, and beachcombing for driftwood, or agates. Agates were formed thousands of years before the Ice Age. With names like moss, cloud, jasper, carnelian, moonstone, rainbow, and ribbon, they are more fun to hunt than Easter eggs.
Here are some agates my wife and I found on agate beach.
Here is a here is a heart shaped agate that we found.
This is Hubbard Creek Beach looking west in 1 photo and north in the second photo toward the commercial fishing port in Port Orford. It is 9:15 am in the afternoon on 11 December 2008. The temperature is 52 degrees and the sun is warm.
This photo speaks to our life style here in Port Orford where the Pine forest on the coastal hills extends down to the beach.
There are no surfers right now they are waiting for the larger waves that preceed an incoming storm approaching from the northwest. This is the favorite spot for ocal surfers. The alternative beach for surfing is Battle Rock Beach.
Looking North
Looking Northwest
This is Battle Rock Park Beach looking south at Humbug Mountain. It is low tide at 3:15 pm in the afternoon on 10 December 2008. The temperature is 59 degrees and the sun is warm.
This photo speaks to our life style here in Port Orford where the Pine forest on the coastal hills extends down to the beach.
There are no surfers today but our local surfers like to surf here and the migrating whales frequently stop to peruse the waters of Battle Rock cove.
This is Battle Rock. It was named Battle Rock to memorialize a bloody battle between the indigenous people and a expeditionary force that preceded the arrival of early pioneers.
On the 4 of July our volunteer fire dept. does our annual fireworks show at this location to the delight of young and old alike.
This month, the Center for Economic and Policy Research has made two recommendations for stabilizing the housing market.
The CEPR recommendation states: Since the private institutions have left the secondary market, the GSEs would have total control over the secondary market for purchasing home mortgages. If the GSEs refused to buy mortgages in the targeted markets the primary mortgage lender would be forced into a position where they couldn't issue any new mortgages until the purchase price for these homes conformed to the price that represents 15 times the annual rent for an equivalent property in the same market.
The CEPR believes that home prices would quickly adjust as sellers realize that buyers will not be able to buy their homes until the price is adjusted downward to their goal for home prices in the target areas.
Additionally, the CEPR suggested that the GSEs could simultaneously redirect funds to buy mortgages to non-bubble markets to support the housing market in these areas and prevent the contagion of declining prices on non-bubble markets.
The CEPR recommended protections for the people who will face foreclosure as a result of the loss of equity. They suggested that the best way to help these people is to temporarily change the rules on foreclosures by offering homeowners the option to remain in their house as renters. In their distorted perception and misunderstanding of human behavior and banking practices, they believe that this token gesture would give homeowners security in their home and will also give banks a real incentive to negotiate terms that allow homeowners to stay in their house as owners
I disagree. This draconian approach to establishing a new base price would ultimately reduce housing prices by as much as 30% below current prices. Many owners and sellers would lose all of their equity and quite possibly find themselves with mortgages greater than the market price of their homes. Home owners victimized by this brute force approach would be severely demoralized and inclined to walk away or to just stop making their mortgage payments to save their money for a new start somewhere else.
It is just fanciful thinking by the CEPR to believe that owners would consider any thing more than a short term rental beyond the time necessary for them to make more suitable arrangements; or to believe that lenders would be more inclined to negotiate terms to allow homeowners to stay in their house as owners.
The CEPR recommendations demonstrate a startling lack of understanding of people and of lenders and it would result in more foreclosures, more lender losses, more bank failures, and more downward pressure on home prices
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An Oregon licensed Realtor & Sole Proprietor, I am focused on building relationships, obtaining current market & property specific information from reliable sources, & providing professional service.
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