Word on the Street
I apologize for missing a few blog entries. My tech gurus tell me I am supposed to stay consistent with the blogging but sometimes we get busy! And this summer was busy (thank God!). Summer is normally a busy time for residential real estate as Buyers start to consider a move prior to the school session re-starting so they can make the adjustment without disrupting the kids. This summer, however, was also helped along by four additional motivations for Buyers: 1) Return of consumer confidence. For many, the rebound in the stock market seemed to signal a forward-looking rebound in the economy and so…people felt better about their lives, jobs and stability. 2) Lower prices. Real estate prices, depending on neighborhood, have fallen considerably and many bargains exist! 3) Lower interest rates. Interest rates have been bouncing around between 4.5-5.5% all summer and that is phenomenal. (Don’t forget to read my blog entry “DE or IN…flation that is” which discusses the advantages of being in a fixed rate mortgage in inflationary times!) 4) $8,000 first-time homebuyers tax credit. Free stimulus money from Uncle Sam for first time homebuyers gives you a December 1st closing deadline so that adds compression to the summer sales cycle. So what’s the effect in the trenches? The summer rush probably moved some inventory and slowed the downward pricing pressures but stay tuned for Q1 of 2010…we may need more government stimulation if #3 and #4 on the list above end without broad based organic recovery behind it. (Ill save that for the next blog)
