Putting Today’s Real Estate Market Into Perspective
Some comments on our Blog accuse us of being overly pessimistic. Why don’t we emphasize the good news like the recent Case Shiller report that the 2nd Quarter of 2012 had about 5% more sales than the 2nd Quarter of 2011? We do not get paid to be pessimistic, but neither is it part of our job description, as it is for some of our related real estate industry professionals, to try to stimulate market confidence and activity with unfounded optimism. Speaking of our beloved friends, the realtors and loan officers, we sometimes find a healthy perspective from these two loan officers with a daily video blog you might find fun to watch: “Think Big/Work Small”.
The bottom line is this: a 5% increase is great, but it was obtained at the cost of your tax dollars! Most industry analysts agree that of all the homes they have foreclosed and repossessed, FHA, FNMA, and FDMC have delayed returning over half to the market! Some are being rented under a new governmental initiative, but most are either eating up tax dollars to maintain or are depreciating rapidly as vacant homes tend to do! When those homes hit the market and inventory is allowed to expand to its natural levels, the natural consequence is that prices will dip significantly. If you are in the market for a home or an investment property, this is probably not a sound reason to delay purchasing. But if you are considering entering the market to sell an upside down home, this is a very sound and compelling reason to get moving on that short sale right away. Don’t forget that certain tax incentives for short selling one’s primary residence may also disappear in 2013!
If our current market was created by only about 3,000,000 foreclosures over the past few years, how much worse might the short sale market become for sellers if they wait to market their homes against nearly 11,000,000 other delinquent homeowners well on their way to foreclosure across the country?
Be decisive and proactive about moving toward a financial fresh start! Talk to us today about your options.
