It seems no matter what news station you are watching or what radio station you are listening to; they are all claiming that the housing market is awful right now. We have not seen the bottom and that it is going to get worse.
Yet, interest rates are at record lows. Home affordability is at the highest it has been since World War II. Buyers have a wide range of choices availble to them out there right now. Buying a home in most cases right now is less expensive than renting. So why are the news people portraying it so negatively?
During the past two weeks I have been involved in six different situations that leads me to beleive that the housing market is not as the media is portraying it. I had two listings go to a multiple offer situation in under 30 days. I had four different buyers get involved in a multiple offer situation on a home. If the housing market is as bad as the media is making out to be...where are these buyers coming from?
Buyers do have a good selection of homes to choose from. The question is are they willing to make the leap to home ownership. In the cases of the individuals and families I have presented offers on behalf it was do to simple economics. They realized they could afford the home they want. They did not have to drive down the street and dream of one day owning that home. They could make it a reality. Truth is that for half of them the homes they are looking at will be less expensive than what they are paying in rent currently. Based on that why would you not be out looking at homes?
The econimists are telling us that the bottom has hit in most markets and that inventory levels are coming down. Sales had risen year over year through August. September (the last month reported) showed a decline. But there will always be bumps in a road. A steady month over month growth is unsustainable. We have witnessed the effects of housing prices increasing month in and month out for an extended period of time. Do we really want to go through that again?
One constant I seem to have noticed is that there are home buyers out looking to purchase a home. They may not be out in the vast amounts they were a few years ago; but they are out looking at homes. They are taking longer to buy; but again they are buying homes.
If you are reluctant to look for a home or to put your home on the market; think about what the market has avaible right now. For buyers interest rates hovering around 4% and home prices at 2007 levels which has made home affordability at an all time high. For sellers, motivated buyers looking to buy a home and take advantage of the great rates and find that special place they can call home.
Dave diCecco
Realtor/Broker
www.davedicecco.com
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Monday, November 15, 2010
What Is A Walk Through And What Am I Looking For?
When you purchase a home you have viewed it a few times prior to putting an offer in on a house. Then once the offer has been accepted you have had a home inspection on the home. So chances are that you have viewed the home a few times now.
As you get to the day of the closing your Realtor will tell you to do a final walk through on the house prior ot closing. depending on the time fo day you are closing it can be the day of closing or the day before. But waht are you looking for when you do the walk through? Do you now what to look for?
Most people are unaware of what to expect at the walk through. You had viewed the hosue prior to placing an offer and during the home inspection process. The home owner has done some repairs to the home. So, you want to make sure the home is in the condition it was in when you viewed it at the time you placed an offer. Also, that the repairs you requested and agreed upon with the seller were performed...
It is crucial that you do this prior to closing. Because once you sign the papers for the new home you now own it. There is no turning back and you cannot go after the seller for anything that you did not notice initially or may have happened after you last saw the house..
So, make sure you find time to do a proper walk through on a house the day of closing or the day before....
Dave diCecco
Realtor/Broker
www.davedicecco.com
As you get to the day of the closing your Realtor will tell you to do a final walk through on the house prior ot closing. depending on the time fo day you are closing it can be the day of closing or the day before. But waht are you looking for when you do the walk through? Do you now what to look for?
Most people are unaware of what to expect at the walk through. You had viewed the hosue prior to placing an offer and during the home inspection process. The home owner has done some repairs to the home. So, you want to make sure the home is in the condition it was in when you viewed it at the time you placed an offer. Also, that the repairs you requested and agreed upon with the seller were performed...
It is crucial that you do this prior to closing. Because once you sign the papers for the new home you now own it. There is no turning back and you cannot go after the seller for anything that you did not notice initially or may have happened after you last saw the house..
So, make sure you find time to do a proper walk through on a house the day of closing or the day before....
Dave diCecco
Realtor/Broker
www.davedicecco.com
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Customer Service....Does Your Realtor Provide It?
Today technology has changed the way we do business and conduct our everyday lives. Ten years ago text was just starting out. Now that seems to be getting ancinet as we move to video texting on our phones. As technology changes we change the way we do bsuiness. Be it from shopping for clothes to buying a house. The interent and more specifically, the world wide web has helped us get more information in less time. But, throughout all the changes that are going on around us; there is still one variable that has not changed..... CUSTOMER SERVICE.
No matter how good a product is; or how how much we want it; if the customer service is not there we are left with a bad taste. That bad taste carries over for us to a negative feeling and impression about that brand or store. That impression factors into whether we do business again with that brand.
Well the same is true for Realtors. We work under an umbrella of a company brand and the service we provide decides how successful we are in this business. I have written a lot about home buying and how this is the largest purchase a person makes in their lifetime. It is also the largest single sale they are going to do in their lifetime. Do Realtors owe it to their clients to provide them with the best possible service available?
I was prompted to write this based on an event that occurred to me the other day. I had a closing. I represented the seller in the transaction. The seller had mentioned to me a few days prior to closing that they felt I did everything I could to help them get their home under contract and ensure that we were goign to close. They said that the level of service I provided them was a refreshing sign of what they had expected out of their Realtor; but had not received from their previous Realtors over the years. Thus, I received an opportunity because of the lack of customer service provided them by previous Realtors.
At the closing table I was there early ( I always am) and the buyers showed up prior to their Realtor. I introduced myself to them and they in turn thanked me. They said if it was not for my level of my service they did not beleive they would be closing on this house. They felt that their Realtor was not providing them the service I was. (the home had some issues that arose during the inspection process).
Has technology gotten in the way of what we should be doing? What happened to the old fashioned values of keeping the clients needs first and making sure they are taken care of. I live by one simple rule in my real estate business: "Treat others they way you would want to be treated." By doing this I feel that I always will provide each and evey client with the best possible service they could ever receive.
Dave diCecco
Realtor/Broker
www.davedicecco.com
No matter how good a product is; or how how much we want it; if the customer service is not there we are left with a bad taste. That bad taste carries over for us to a negative feeling and impression about that brand or store. That impression factors into whether we do business again with that brand.
Well the same is true for Realtors. We work under an umbrella of a company brand and the service we provide decides how successful we are in this business. I have written a lot about home buying and how this is the largest purchase a person makes in their lifetime. It is also the largest single sale they are going to do in their lifetime. Do Realtors owe it to their clients to provide them with the best possible service available?
I was prompted to write this based on an event that occurred to me the other day. I had a closing. I represented the seller in the transaction. The seller had mentioned to me a few days prior to closing that they felt I did everything I could to help them get their home under contract and ensure that we were goign to close. They said that the level of service I provided them was a refreshing sign of what they had expected out of their Realtor; but had not received from their previous Realtors over the years. Thus, I received an opportunity because of the lack of customer service provided them by previous Realtors.
At the closing table I was there early ( I always am) and the buyers showed up prior to their Realtor. I introduced myself to them and they in turn thanked me. They said if it was not for my level of my service they did not beleive they would be closing on this house. They felt that their Realtor was not providing them the service I was. (the home had some issues that arose during the inspection process).
Has technology gotten in the way of what we should be doing? What happened to the old fashioned values of keeping the clients needs first and making sure they are taken care of. I live by one simple rule in my real estate business: "Treat others they way you would want to be treated." By doing this I feel that I always will provide each and evey client with the best possible service they could ever receive.
Dave diCecco
Realtor/Broker
www.davedicecco.com
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