Two articles in the last coupe of days worth noting about the national and local real estate markets. The first, Realty Times is very BUY NOW. I’ve said it before so will say it again, “buy now” campaigns don’t make me happy. The decision to buy is personal and individual.
Get off that Fence! by Denise LonesI’ve been saying it for months, and I’ll say it again.
NOW is the time to get off the fence and buy!
And you’re doing a huge disservice to your clients if you don’t make sure they hear that message loud and clear!
Why am I so convinced that the time is now?
Well, it’s a combination of things. Regardless of whether you’re building a new deck, or whipping up a batch of cupcakes, you need the right ingredients in order to ensure success. For the buyer considering a purchase, the right ingredients are at hand.
She lists of her reason (low mortgage rates, the bottom of the market may be near, the First Time Buyer Tax Credit, seller’s are motivated). Realty Times is an industry media outlet.
The second article is from Forbes.com and was posted under the real estate section of MSN. It ranks Portland as the number four market in the country. They based their methodology on Case Shiller but then looked deeper. Detailing it here would require a complete cut and paste of the fairly length article so I’d suggested reading it over on MSN.
Bonus article: how badly do some areas have it? Read this one about Maricopa in Arizona in the Wall Street Journal:
For the first time, the Campbells figured, they could afford their own home, though that meant moving to Maricopa, about 20 miles from Mr. Campbell’s store. They scraped together a $50,000 down payment to buy a new four-bedroom home in Maricopa, for $250,000. It came with black granite countertops, cherry kitchen cabinets and a pool in back.
Today, Ms. Campbell figures, the home is worth perhaps half what they paid in 2005.
Even that might be optimistic. Along a nearby highway, young men hired by a local real estate brokerage wave red signs touting “Homes From $69.9 K.”