One of the most asked questions by sellers and buyers today is “Are we at the bottom of the market yet?”. My answer is: Think of this market like you would an elevator. The lower floors that are serviced by the elevator will generally go up and the doors will open. The upper floors will be a little different. You hit the button for the 30th floor and the elevator will only take you to the 26th floor.
Hyperbole aside the lower end of the market appears to have stopped falling as compared to 3 to 4 years ago. The upper end, however, is still looking for a place to settle. Much of this is dependent upon the availablilty of financing. The “Jumbo” loan ( over$729,750.00) is on the endangered species list. To obtain one of these you must have excellent credit and the property you are purchasing must fit neatly into all of the financial institutions underwriting criterea, otherwise as they say in New Jersey “Fuggetaboutit”.
The major redeeming aspect of this is if you are forced to sell your property for much less than you feel it is worth, the money you net will be worth more in terms of a replacement property in todays market. You are essentially “trading dollars”. If , however’ you sell today and want to bank your money and buy a replcement property say 2 to 3 years from now, you will probably lose ground.
This spring will be a good indicator of where our market is heading. Last year at this time sales were beginning to pick up and continued to do so until July when the market ground to a halt. It was as if the buyers out there suddenly stopped and looked around and thought, “Gee, the recovery isn’t moving as fast as I thought it was”. Even if we do see a substantial increase in sales this spring don’t look for a big upswing in home prices. There is still alot of inventory out there that will serve to keep the prices steady.
Now, for those of you, like myself, who are digging through the pile of horse manure looking for the pony, there are aspects of this market to be optimistic about. Properties are more affordable than they have been in 10 years, interest rates, if you can get a loan, are at historic lows and there is a large inventory of great properties to choose from. If you are having trouble finding financing there are many ways to structure a real estate transaction that can save you from the dreaded experience of the underwriting gauntlet. To accomplish this you will need to find an experienced real estate agent/broker who has the background and experience to guide you through this. You need look no farther than Carmel Realty Co to find an experienced elevator operator. We will get you to the right floor!
