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Cold, windy and rainy… a good day for hot soup! This early fall season, we are not yet used to cooler weather – some want to stay indoors on a day like this. It is 51 degrees right now. Give me that in January!!
Where is the real estate market headed? I wish I knew, but I have a fairly good idea where it has been. One might extrapolate future moves by studying past motion, but they are just guessing. We have seen some continued improvement, although a snail’s pace compared to what many expected this year.
It seems to me the recovery is still going on. It’s almost a helpless feeling to witness the short sales and foreclosures shuffle through the process being sold. For those seemingly must go first, before many of the other homes are sold and claimed by new owners.
It’s not that foreclosures and short sales are better homes. They often have defects, but their low prices look too good to be true. It’s difficult for a buyer to pass over a distressed home for an owner occupied nicer home, when the price can vary widely. Is it because they don’t want to reward the homeowner that kept their home fresh and in good shape? They don’t want to pay for clean and shiny?
By the time a foreclosure comes back onto the market, after all of the aggressive lookers and profit minded investors have had their shot at it, the newest kid on the block now seeing it appear on a website may think there is instant equity in that home. And they might buy it for that reason.
But if that is true, why did none of the other 99 people who took a look then buy it? Each person, each prospect, has their own point of view on what is good value. If you are an investor, you are not buying to occupy and gradually fix up; you want to turn a profit in the first 6 months of ownership. If you are going to move in and do your own remodel work, you might build equity (known as sweat equity) and end up with a home worth well above the amount of debt you are carrying.
Many things to consider when buying a home… don’t hesitate to ask a home sales professional. You know how to reach me?
505-470-7153
