Yvette & Dennis Gardner

With the lower interest rates, homes are more affordable than ever. Interest rates are reasonably stable at around 5% for qualified buyers and as low as 4.25%. When compared to 7.5% rates just a few years ago purchasers have a lot more buying power. Today home buyers can purchase a very nice three bedroom, two bath single family home for $120,000 and pay $626 per month*. This is much less than rent for a similar property. For First Time Home Buyers, who qualify for the Tax Credit of $8,000, it's like living free for the first year.

Move-up buyers with a current mortgage of $200,000 at 7.5% are paying $1398 per month*, can now move up to a mortgage amount of $250,000 and pay about $100 less*. If the Mortgage amount is $300,000 the move-up is to $400,000 for the same payment*.

Downsizing Buyers also benefit. These are home owners who want less space, lower utility cost and may be on a fixed income. If they have a $400,000 mortgage amount they can move to a $300,000 mortgage and save more than $1200 per month*.

The other element, making now a great time to buy, is the ratio of supply to demand. Those looking to purchase will find a more than adequate supply of homes to meet their needs at prices of three to four years ago. No matter what price range you are looking at purchasing, there is a great selection of homes to meet your needs.

Spring kicks off the "Buying Season". This is a period of 6 months or so, when the number of potential purchasers will make decisions on their next home. If you are considering making a move, we highly recommend you use the services of a qualified real estate professional to represent your best interest in the transaction.

*Payments are calculated on principal and interest and do not include Taxes and Insurance. Check with your Mortgage professional for current rates and payments.

Economics wizard we are not! As Realtors® we take a different view of how the Economic Stimulus Package will impact those looking to purchase a new home or sell their existing home.

The key point of the plan is to stimulate the market from the bottom up. Give first time home buyers an incentive to purchase a home ($8,000.00 Tax Credit!). Many of these will be existing homes and those selling their home have the opportunity to move up to a more expensive home. As they enter the market place they too stimulate the market by moving up to a more expensive home and so forth.

The other key area is to help people keep their homes from going into foreclosure and therefore reduce the inventory of existing homes. These foreclosures (and short sales) account for as much as 30% of the market in our area as high as 85% in other areas.

The third key area is to reduce mortgage interest rates. This benefits purchasers of all homes and home owners with high interest rates that would benefit from refinancing their existing homes to reduce their monthly payments. (See Affordability Below)

The anticipated result of these key elements should result in more potential home purchasers and less inventory which will help those trying to sell their home. It should also stimulate New Home Construction which in turn creates more jobs and impacts our local economy.

Will it work? In theory, this "trickle-up" strategy should improve the real estate market and bring property values to where they should be (although our home values have been more stable than many other areas of the country). It should also bring back the infusion of home buyers wishing to move to our wonderful upstate area once they get their homes sold in Michigan, Florida and many other states.

This is no quick fix. It took years to get into this mess and it will take some time to get us out of it. The Tax Credit for First Time Home Buyers expires December 1^st, 2009. Those wishing to take advantage of this great opportunity need to act soon or they will miss their opportunity. If the surge of anticipated buyers does not come, it will certainly slow the recovery.

If you work with buyers you know many of them find the home of their dreams but are reluctant to "pull the trigger" and write an offer. Making that commitment can be difficult. They use a number of excuses such as we need to sleep on it, there is one more house we want to see next weekend, I want to talk with my Mom and Dad first and so forth. Great Buyers Agents will often put things in perspective by asking; "If you delay your decision and decide in a couple of days to make an offer and I have to tell you that this house is under contract, are you going to be happy with that?" The answer is almost always NO! For them, the fear of loss is greater than the anticipation of gain.

Buyers may think that the market we are in today is going to be like this tomorrow or whenever they decide to make a decision. It is not! It's important that we explain that the interest rates today will not be here forever and neither will the inventory! Delaying the decision could cost them the home of their dreams and a lot of money$$

It's easy for an agent to get caught up in all the hype. Even experienced agents in this shifting market search for ways to improve their business and sometimes get away from the things that have made them successful.

When we first got into real estate, every agent gave us different advice. One said work FSBO's, another Expired Listings, others Farming and so forth. We tried them all and nothing worked. It didn't work because no one told us we had to be consistent in our efforts so after 90 days or so we gave up.

We identified that the problem was lack of training and leadership with our office. We made a move and today we've finally figured it out and have focused on new ways to perform these task (the ones that work for us) in a more efficient and effective manner. We learned that you should figure out what works best for you and do it very well.

If you feel like you're Running in Bubble Gum, take a close look at where you have had success and find ways to make it better. If you need help and can't find it where you are....MOVE!