Are we There Yet?
I just heard a report from a broker of a national firm…in it he states that we are at the bottom of our cycle…prices will flatten and start to climb next year. I have been asked that question hundreds of times and try to do my best to answer as honestly as possible. My take? We have not reached the bottom but we are near. What we do have is savvy buyers scooping up underpriced properties. We are seeing multiple offers again but for differnet reasons but with some of the same results. Lenders have decided to aggressively price their REO’s and in some instances agree to below market(REO market) pricing. the consequence is a host of offers form a rabid group of buyers. The problems becomes simiilar to underprpricing when the market was booming…chaos and buyer frustration. I have had two recent examples where my client made a reasonable offer and didn’t get the property nor a response. That in itself is part of the real estate game. When you are competing for a property for your own hame against investors it can be very frustrating because they have more knowledge and sometimes mor capital. My answer has been the same for years: If it is where you want to live then pay the price, and in this market, more than asking to get the neighborhood you want. We have many more homes yet to hit the market as REO’s and sometime in the near future we will bottom out. In the meantime if you are an investor, deal like one. If you are buying for your own home, check your priorities. Get qualified and get ready to act-and act quickly. Call me for questons 707-579-9540
April 11th, 2009 at 1:13 am
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