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Sometimes it’s hard for sellers to believe there are people actually buying homes. The National Association of Realtors performs a consumer survey every year. Here is some information from 2009 transactions that might help you tailor a marketing approach for your property.
Two phrases come to mind when describing the state of the real estate market lately.
The first I attribute to Dan Forsman, President of Prudential Georgia Realty, which goes like this: “As the pieces of the pie get smaller, the table manners get worse”. I cannot recall so many people, both real estate professionals and their clients, having such a bad attitude toward other people. Just because it’s a “buyer’s market” does not give anyone the right to forget what their mother taught them about common courtesy. (more…)
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A couple of weeks ago, I made a statement reflecting analyst predictions that interest rates would reach 6% by year end. I’m not even sure the ink is dry on that one, and now interest rates are trending lower. Now before you make fun of me, I can explain. (more…)
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So as of last Friday, the home buyer tax credit can rest in peace. I never got the feeling that it ever really took off like we expected. I had some clients that took advantage of the $8,000 credit to provide or beef up down payments, but I think they would have purchased a new home anyway. The credit just helped them along. That means that in many cases, all we did was spend tax dollars for a non-stimulus, which is typical of government intervention.
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The Oval Office has revamped the foreclosure rules yet again. Maybe this change will work since the program has been largely a failure prior to this. Effective
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I’ve been doing a little reading lately, and a little listening too. There is this guy named Stephan Swanepoel, who is supposed to be the Grand Pooba of real estate forecasting. Most people have never heard of him, which makes him even more mysterious. Like most of the gurus, he never seems to remember when he was wrong, but he is right most of the time. There is another guy named Dan Forsman, who happens to be the CEO of our company, and is also a CPA and pretty shrewd number cruncher. If you pay attention to them you can learn some things. (more…)
Obama wants to makes changes to the $75 billion loser program “Making Home Affordable” that might make things even worse. http://tinyurl.com/yh9agzn
Personally, I am fed up with this administration throwing money away for nothing. As the article states (from the typically liberal New York Times), the changes will likely shift the focus of the program from those who might be able to get back on their feet with a little help, to anyone who can fog a mirror with their breath. It will only prolong the foreclosure crisis by temporarily reducing the number of active foreclosures, which will no doubt be heralded as a major victory by the White House Administration.
We need to remember that the current economic crisis was caused by fifteen or twenty years of government intervention into banking and finance. In the name of votes and ego gratification, that will apparently never go away, unless we vote them out. Thank you Massachusetts!
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I was going through some papers last week (okay, I was cleaning up my junk pile) when I came across an article written by John Adams in the AJC. It was called “Inside Advice” and titled “2008 prognosticators show existing home sales going up”. (more…)
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Our job as professional Realtors® these days is to listen to all the excuses people use to put off buying a new home. “The market will keep going down. The interest rates are staying low. The windows are a little dirty. There is no reason to hurry in a buyer’s market. I’m looking for a $350,000 home for about $140,000.” I’m sure my fellow agents can come up with a few more. It would be hilarious if it were not so tragic, watching people wring their hands in “analysis paralysis” while the deal of their lives slips away before their eyes. (more…)
STATE OF GEORGIA
Sonny Perdue
GOVERNOR
For Immediate Release Contact: Office of Communications
Thursday, September 17, 2009 (404) 651-7774
Statement of Governor Perdue Regarding the Department of Human Services Contract with ACORN (more…)