My Advice for Buyers
In today’s market - there's no guarantee that prices have hit bottom yet - but that doesn't mean that you can't get a great deal in this market condition.
• You can't time the bottom
Pace yourself, find the perfect place and drive a hard bargain: ignore the seller's asking price and bid below what comparable homes are selling for. If the seller balks, move on. Don’t forget that if you're trading up, your home could sit. Ideally sell before you buy.
• One of the reason to buy now - mortgage rates
Homes are plentiful and most likely will remain so, but financing will be getting more expensive. True, the Federal Reserve has slashed interest rates, but fixed mortgages don't directly follow the Fed. They reflect the bond market's expectations about inflation, which remains a concern.
As for variable-rate loans, the spread between conforming ARMs and fixed loans is too narrow to do you much good.
• Don't buy cheap - buy good neighborhood.
By now you've heard from somebody who knows somebody who got a great deal on a foreclosed property. Don’t forget when you buy a home; you're also buying into a neighborhood. And foreclosures tend to be bunched in areas where residents and speculators alike took out exotic mortgages to get into homes they subsequently found they couldn't afford. That's not a recipe for stability. Prices and quality of life could both decline further.
Similarly, avoid developments that popped up in the past few years. They too likely have a lot of owners with risky loans and little equity.
There are only few my professional advices for the home buyers in today’s real estate market. If you are looking to buy a home please contact me to discuss current market situation and available opportunities.
