Home buyers tend to get caught up in national headlines surrounding the housing market. Hearing things like "the housing market is up" or "the housing market is sinking" or anything like that can stir one's emotions, especially since you're talking about money. But most of these statements are made about national housing market trends, and not the trends in your area. In fact, you'd be lucky if you got such upfront news about your area's housing market. So you need to do your own homework to figure out just how your local housing market is doing. Here are some ways you can go about accomplishing this.
Getting a Read on the Local Real Estate Market
Predictions are usually made by a group of "experts" or "industry leaders", but are mainly just people who have good camera presence that can make it on the news. Truth be told, it's rare that they can pinpoint anything correctly and give you accurate information that you can make an educated decision on.So what do we do? We look to our own key market indicators. The first indicator that will allow you to see just how your local market is doing is seeing just how much new construction there is in the area. It boils down to simple supply and demand, which is something that everyone learned in business class, but most "experts" tend to shy away from. If there is a lot of construction in your area, that means there's more houses to meet demands from home buyers. What you need to figure out is if your area is saturated with new homes, and if it's exceeding demand for housing. That would easily make for lower selling prices.
Another way to figure out how your local housing market is doing is figuring out the job growth levels in your area. If they're growing rapidly, that means that there is a higher demand for housing. More demand equals higher selling points.
There are just a couple of ways to see how your local housing market is doing. You always want to check your local home listings and see how the prices are for homes that are selling, and why certain homes aren't selling. This will also give you an idea about what you should expect when buying a home. It's all about focusing on what data is applicable to you, and to use that to your advantage when buying a home.
New Link List
- FSBO forum
- Rather interesting forum about FSBO. As I see new posts appear every hour. Good way to be updated in real estate topic!
- Homes For-Sale-By-Owner
- It is a really good web-site that which may help you to make a good penny-worth.
- Trulia
- There you may ask anything you interested in or share your own experience about FSBO.
- FSBO&Pets
- This page may help you to sell your house in case you have a pet. Find out what the problem is and read about solution.
- Bathroom - FSBO impact.
- There are a lot of different ways to increase the attraction to your home. One of this ways is to remodeling and updating your bathrooms. At this page you may find some advices of cheap and easy remodeling.
- Preparing for sale
- Here are some tips that will help you know just what to change and modify in your home to make it more appealing for sale.
- Reasons of FSBO
- In case you are just thinking of selling the house you should visit this page. There is some information that explains why so many people choose FSBO today.
- Home appraisal
- Do you think that potential homebuyers are only people you should create an impression on? In that case you are absolutely wrong! Why? Read this article to get an answer.
- Home taxes
- Is paying taxes on a home a great problem for you? In real today people pay more taxes than ever before. Do you want to now more?
- FSBO_seller
- FSBO has a lot of advantages. First of all you will save the 6% commission and have full control over the sale of your house. But it isn't as easy as you may think after prima facie. Do you want to now what complexity you may be confronted by?
- Real_estate_boom
- What is the real estate boom and why it became true.
- Deal_arranging
- House preparing and showing are only a half of problem. Do you really know what you should do after taken an offer? There are some tips that may help you to put the axe in this helve.
- Tidy home
- Do you want to be shore that potential buyers see the things you want them to see? And how to create a positive first impression of your house? All this information you may find on this page.
- FSBO_marketing
- Here you may find a lot of interesting information that consist of FSBO marketing strategy.
- Sell reanson
- Do you know that there are some special sure sign that you should sell your house? When to sell the house and what way should you choose? You may find answers to this and other questions at this page.
- Selling tips
- One of the most important questions that every home seller asks is: «How to prepare you house for selling». In case you want to find an answer you should visit this page.
- FSBO difficulties
- It is not a secret that in case you start anything you have never done before; you will have a deal with a lot of different difficulties. What are they in FSBO?
- FSBO checklist
- In case we have decided to buy a house we have a lot of different questions. Some of them are tiny, other huge. But any way we have to be prepared for all this difficulties. One of the tips that may help us with this is checklist. Do you want how to make it? This is the reason to sit this page.
- Price analisys
- Do you interested in selling price comparative analysis? You may find this information here.
- Auction
- Have you already thin about selling your home by auction? Really? Visit this page to find more information about Real Estate Auction Fundamentals.
- View
- Do you think that view of the house is the most important thing? Yes, it may be lovely, nice, but not main%u2026
- Rent or buy
- It is really difficult to decide what the best way is. A lot of people ask themselves: "Should I rent or buy the house?" In case you have the same problem you should visit this page?
- Offering Benefits
- There you may find some tips that would help you to make homebuyers offering
- FSBO&Internet
- There you may find some tips that help you sell you house%u2026 but only in reason you selling it in internet.
- Refinance
- Do you interest when should you refinance your house? At this page you may find some scenario which would give you an answer.
- Know FSBO
- There are some secrets and interesting tips which you should know before you FSBO.
- Internet_buyers
- Do you want more about your potential house buyers and what are the reasons of using Internet? In this case you should visit this page. There you may find rather interesting info and statistics.
- Without an agent
- Do you really think that the agent may sell your house better then you? Or that you can't do it by yourself only because the market begins to change. At this page you may find some tips which would prove you that you were wrong.
- Own a house
- Before you decide to buy a house you should be completely shore that you are ready to an owner and what are you really want to have. Do you already know what would your first steps and what should you do to not make a mistakes.
- Speed up your sale
- One of the point of your choosing FSBO is quickens the sale of your home. Do you want Know more? Visit this page.
- Pictures for sale.
- It is very important for potential homebuyers to see you house, to imagine how they would live there. And the first step you may do to help them is to make a good pictures of you house. Do you want to now how to make it better? In this way you may visit this page.
- Help your house to stand out against a background of others'.
- After a person decides to buy a house, he has to look through a lot of different advertisements. And it is not as is easy for him to see your one. So you should help him with it. How? Visit this page and you will know it.
- Some things you may need to consider valuing your house.
- It's really nice site! Here u can find all the information required for figuring out the value of your home! They will also recommend how much do u need to loan. And it's really nice that they layed out the information how to state the value of your home yourself.
- How to sell your real estate at the time of (during) hypothecary crisis
- Do you wanna sell a house? Do you need some usefull tips?This site is what you need! They'll give you some really usefull tips how to show to the best advantage of your home! And all this for FREE! Don't lose an opportunity to sell your real estate for a higher price!
- House clean
- ...cleaning of your home becomes mandatory for every FSBO seller
- Mentality of House Buyer
- An interesting page which would help you to understand a mentality of house buyer.
- Price is the key to successful sale
- Price is the key to selling house by owner. So you should know exactly how to do pricing right. This page may help you with this.
- BelHard Group
- BelHard Group is one of the leading IT holdings in Belarus, and BelHard Outsourcing is its software development division.
- FSBO Prerequisites
- What should you know before entering any FBO deal? How to make a right choice and what is really important? You may find answers at this page.
- FSBO in Condo
- Selling your condo for sale by owner or FSBO can save you thousands and even tens of thousands of dollars. On a $300,000 sale of a condo, typically a seller pays a 6% commission which would be $18,000. Now sometimes in tough markets you need an experienced real estate agent to help you sell your condo, but sometimes you don't! Give it a shot and list your condo online for free and try and put those savings right in your pocket!
- What Do I Save if I Sell FSBO?
- A lot of people choose FSBO only because of saving money. How much money they could save and what is the right way for it.
- Steps of FSBO selling process
- FSBO is not so terrible process as you may think. You are really may do it by yourself. But of course you should know the main steps, which may help you to make successful deal.
- FSBO on Internet
- Internet - one of the transformations of real estate market. J Directions for use.
- FSBO Is Untapped Market For Realtors
- Few tips in communicating effectively with FSBO sellers!!!
- Real estate Appraisal
- At this page you may find a lot of interesting information about real estate appraisal. What is a Appraisal? How is Value Established? What is Poor Location? This and many other questions wouldn't make you to be nonplused any more.
- Choosing a house
- This page may help you to make the right steps on the way of choosing a house. You would be able to say what kind of house is right for you and determine the specifics you want or need in a home.
Rents Rise As Would-Be Buyers Wait
Fewer homes are selling because of volatile prices and subprime uncertainties, pushing up rents from San Francisco to Baltimore.
Fewer homes are selling because of volatile prices and subprime uncertainties, pushing up rents from San Francisco to Baltimore.Many potential first-time home buyers these days are waiting to see how the national housing slowdown, the local market bubble and problems in the subprime lending industry pan out before committing to a mortgage.
In cities such as San Francisco and New York, would-be buyers fear the market is inflated as prices rise even while properties take longer to sell. In other parts of the country, people are waiting for falling home prices to stabilize before they take the plunge.
The national picture looks like this: Fewer homes are selling and rents are on the rise. It's a big change from just a few years ago, when home prices were appreciating like mad and everyone wanted to benefit.
During the housing boom, the 'rent vs. buy' decision became a 'buy'. Now, nationally, the pendulum is swinging the other way. As a result, there are fewer vacancies and increased demand for apartments, allowing landlords to raise their fees. Tighter lending standards also are increasing competition for rentals by locking more people out of home ownership.
According to New York real estate firm Reis, the average U.S. asking rent rose 1.1% in the second quarter of 2007, to $1,002, 7.74% higher than it was two years ago. The national vacancy rate fell to 5.8% in the second quarter, from 6% in the first.
Waiting for the tipping point
How long will renting remain a more appealing option than buying? Right now, there are still many unknowns, despite widespread predictions that the market will turn around early next year. On July 10, credit-rating agencies Moody's Investors Service and Standard & Poor's (like BusinessWeek.com, S&P is a unit of the McGraw-Hill Companies) said that the subprime situation could get worse as many adjustable-rate mortgages reset between September and June, and borrowers consequently default.
But if rents keep rising and prices keep falling (and the NAR says the national median existing-home price will slip 1.4% this year, to $218,800), fearful buyers could slowly become bargain hunters.
When negative news comes out, from a consumer's point of view, they just see 'housing is bad. But that just doesn't make sense in all markets. Eventually, renters will say, 'I'm tired of putting my rental payment into some landlord's pocket - I want to build equity.'
Tips to Successful Real Estate Open Houses in a Slow Economy
In the last 18 months there has been a higher inventory of unsold homes. That has contributed to an increase in the use of open houses as a sales tool. It is an effective way to get the word out in the immediate neighborhood about your property. Also, your neighbors can be your best sales team because they know people - friends, family, and colleagues - who might like to live nearby.More People Going Online to Find Open Houses
We've seen a shift in buyer behavior over the last few years. They are doing more on-line research, which makes it easy to find open houses listed. When they like a property that has an open house scheduled, they will go to the open house. Then, if they like the property, they will come back with their agent for a second look. Make sure you have an Open House information displayed on your Fizber listing (Manage Listing -> Edit house details -> Open house).
Open Houses Motivate Potential Buyers
An open house can be a good way to motivate hesitant buyers who are already interested in the home. It lets those interested buyers know they may suddenly have some competition, and that can be all you need to get an offer on the table.
Open house are also one of the few ways to attract ?impulse buyers,? the kind of buyer who sees a house for sale, takes a good look at it and falls in love with it.
More Time for Open Houses in a Slow Market
Open houses are more common now than they were a few years ago in a slower real estate market.
More Tips to Successful Real Estate Open Houses:
- Sunday afternoons are the best times for attracting visitors to an open house.
- Mail post cards to invite neighbors and prospects. Also list in the local newspaper and on Websites.
- Be sure the home for sale is as clean and neat as possible for the open house.
- Empty the garbage cans, clean out the closets, get rid of the clutter and polish the bathroom fixtures. Think model home.
- Think of creative ways to attract word of mouth marketing that could lead to a sale.
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Bikini-Wearing Actresses Against Foreclosure
What: Hollywood actresses in bathing suits will be protesting to save foreclosure victims in front of the Bank of America building in Hollywood. The Hollywood actresses will be supporting homeowners who are metaphorically losing their shirts because of bad loans. The protest will take place before the 4th of July to emphasize the idea of the American Dream that was lost because of bad home loans.Who: Hollywood actresses from film and television and Forbes contributor and financial expert Robert Maltbie.
When: Thursday, July 3rd at 10 a.m.
Where: Bank of America
6300 West Sunset
Los Angeles, CA 90028
Tips For Buying Foreclosed Property
Linda Davis, a RE/MAX Realty Group broker who writes the Eastern Connecticut Real Estate Blog , passed along these tips for those interested in buying foreclosed properties:1. Complete all the bank requirements before submitting an offer. If the bank requires you to sign and initial 41 pages of documents, don't debate the subject unless you really don't want to buy the house. That is why they are called requirements.
2. Your attorney will hate the required bank addendum and try to change it. (See #1)
3. Don't assume a bank foreclosure is a great deal. In my experience, great deals are hard to find, and most foreclosures are listed at fair market value. If you are willing to do repairs, you may find a good (maybe even great) deal on a house that needs work.
4. Although the price on a bank foreclosure may drop eventually, banks usually don't accept a "low ball" offer. In some cases there is even a secret formula of how much lower than the list price an asset manager can accept. Once the price is dropped, the formula is reapplied.
5. Closing dates can't be mushy. Time is of the Essence. Bank sellers expect you to close on or before the closing date of the contract. They don't accept excuses and will often charge a per diem if you are not ready when they are.
Source: Fizber.com
Garage Trends
# The two-car garage is outdated. Families are growing. People own "summer" and "winter" cars. Teenagers own cars.Some home buyers base their entire home-buying decision on the type of garage that comes with the house. One home buyer specifically decided to purchase a certain home because it had a four-car garage. He ran a landscaping business and needed to park four cars, plus have RV access. One house in Sacramento fit those needs, so he bought it.
# Auto Elevators. For less than it costs to buy a used Honda, you can hire a company to install an auto elevator in your garage. It works like this: you drive into the garage, get out of the car, push a button and your car rises. Then you can park another car underneath.
Or you can dig out the ground below to provide subterranean parking. The lift and your car will be completely concealed.
*
Garages Are Getting Bigger
Back in the '80s and '90s, a standard-sized garage measured about 21 feet by 21 feet and was 7-feet high.
Consider the length of a H2 Hummer, about 15 feet long, which doesn't leave a lot of room for typical garage items such as a lawnmower, gardening tools or workbench. A 17-foot Bayliner boat, with trailer and hitch, won't fit in a smaller garage, either. To accommodate our larger vehicles, garages need to be at minimum 22 feet by 22 feet. To fit an SUV, the height should be at least 9 feet.
Garages Moving to Rear of Home
To increase the number of homes on lots, builders are moving garages to the back of the home. The garage is accessible by side entry or from an alley, just like the 1950s. Although some are attached at the rear, the trend is moving toward detached garages. Rear garages, builders say, emphasize the fronts of the homes and encourage interaction between sidewalk strollers and porch sitters.
Source: Fizber.com
Add a Garage to Increase Home Resale Value
With home values decreasing recently, more than ever you want to be sure that any home improvements you make will help add value.A long know fact in the real estate industry is that the smallest and least expensive home in a neighborhood typically gets a higher appraised value per square foot than the largest and most expensive home in the same neighborhood.
With housing prices soon to reach a bottom and begin increasing again (real estate typically moves in 7 to 10 year cycles), now is a great time to buy a classic fixer upper and add long term value by making the right improvements to your home!
But with so many potential home improvement projects, how do you know which investments to make?
If your home does not have a garage, adding one can be another good investment to increase resale value; especially if you live in a northern location with a cold climate. For warmer climates, the return on investment may be less significant than other home improvement projects.
Source: Fizber.com
Real Estate Investors Invade California
If the real estate market is in a meltdown, California real estate investors haven't gotten the memo. In fact, residential real estate investment activity has grown over 65% in the past year alone.According to an analysis of current California real estate statistics, residential real estate investors are the most rapidly growing population of buyers in California. RightNow Consulting announced today the results of a research project analyzing purchasing activities of California residential real estate buyers. Preliminary July 2008 residential property data reveals that the percentage of residential purchases by investors has risen from 6.74% to 11.41% since July of 2007. This represents a 69% increase in year over year proportional activity.
Source: Fizber.com
The Dime
Bobby was getting cold sitting out in his back yard in the snow. Bobby didn't wear boots; he didn't like them and anyway he didn't own any. The thin sneakers he wore had a few holes in them and they did a poor job of keeping out the cold. Bobby had been in his backyard for about an hour already. And, try as he might, he could not come up with an idea for his mother's Christmas gift. He shook his head as he thought, "This is useless, even if I do come up with an idea, I don't have any money to spend."
Ever since his father had passed away three years ago, the family of five had struggled. It wasn't because his mother didn't care, or try, there just never seemed to be enough. She worked nights at the hospital, but the small wage that she was earning could only be stretched so far.
What the family lacked in money and material things, they more than made up for in love and family unity. Bobby had two older and one younger sister, who ran the house hold in their mother's absence. All three of his sisters had already made beautiful gifts for their mother. Somehow it just wasn't fair. Here it was Christmas Eve already, and he had nothing.
Wiping a tear from his eye, Bobby kicked the snow and started to walk down to the street where the shops and stores were. It wasn't easy being six without a father, especially when he needed a man to talk to. Bobby walked from shop to shop, looking into each decorated window.
Everything seemed so beautiful and so out of reach.
It was starting to get dark and Bobby reluctantly turned to walk home when suddenly his eyes caught the glimmer of the setting sun's rays reflecting off of something along the curb. He reached down and discovered a shiny dime. Never before has anyone felt so wealthy as Bobby felt at that moment.
As he held his new-found treasure, a warmth spread throughout his entire body and he walked into the first store he saw. His excitement quickly turned cold when the salesperson told him that he couldn't buy anything with only a dime.
He saw a flower shop and went inside to wait in line. When the shop owner asked if he could help him, Bobby presented the dime and asked if he could buy one flower for his mother's Christmas gift. The shop owner looked at Bobby and his ten cent offering.
Then he put his hand on Bobby's shoulder and said to him, "You just wait here and I'll see what I can do for you." As Bobby waited he looked at the beautiful flowers and even though he was a boy, he could see why mothers and girls liked flowers.
The sound of the door closing as the last customer left, jolted Bobby back to reality. All alone in the shop, Bobby began to feel alone and afraid. Suddenly the shop owner came out and moved to the counter.
There, before Bobby's eyes, lay twelve long stem, red roses, with leaves of green and tiny white flowers all tied together with a big silver bow. Bobby's heart sank as the owner picked them up and placed them gently into a long white box.
"That will be ten cents young man," the shop owner said reaching out his hand for the dime. Slowly, Bobby moved his hand to give the man his dime. Could this be true? No one else would give him a thing for his dime!
Sensing the boy's reluctance, the shop owner added, "I just happened to have some roses on sale for ten cents a dozen. Would you like them?"
This time Bobby did not hesitate, and when the man placed the long box into his hands, he knew it was true. Walking out the door that the owner was holding for Bobby, he heard the shop keeper say, "Merry Christmas son."
As he returned inside, the shop keeper's wife walked out. "Who were you talking to back there and where are the roses you were fixing?"
Staring out the window, and blinking the tears from his own eyes, he replied, "A strange thing happened to me this morning. While I was setting up things to open the shop, I thought I heard a voice telling me to set aside a dozen of my best roses for a special gift. I wasn't sure at the time whether I had lost my mind or what, but I set them aside anyway.
Then just a few minutes ago, a little boy came into the shop and wanted to buy a flower for his mother with one small dime.
"When I looked at him, I saw myself, many years ago. I too, was a poor boy with nothing to buy my mother a Christmas gift. A bearded man, whom I never knew, stopped me on the street and told me that he wanted to give me ten dollars. "When I saw that little boy tonight, I knew who that voice was, and I put together a dozen of my very best roses." The shop owner and his wife hugged each other tightly, and as they stepped out into the bitter cold air, they somehow didn't feel cold at all.
May this story instill the spirit of CHRISTmas in you enough to pass this act along.
Have a Joyous and Peace-filled season.
Goodness is the only investment that doesn't fail.
Source: Fizber.com
Ever since his father had passed away three years ago, the family of five had struggled. It wasn't because his mother didn't care, or try, there just never seemed to be enough. She worked nights at the hospital, but the small wage that she was earning could only be stretched so far.
What the family lacked in money and material things, they more than made up for in love and family unity. Bobby had two older and one younger sister, who ran the house hold in their mother's absence. All three of his sisters had already made beautiful gifts for their mother. Somehow it just wasn't fair. Here it was Christmas Eve already, and he had nothing.
Wiping a tear from his eye, Bobby kicked the snow and started to walk down to the street where the shops and stores were. It wasn't easy being six without a father, especially when he needed a man to talk to. Bobby walked from shop to shop, looking into each decorated window.
Everything seemed so beautiful and so out of reach.
It was starting to get dark and Bobby reluctantly turned to walk home when suddenly his eyes caught the glimmer of the setting sun's rays reflecting off of something along the curb. He reached down and discovered a shiny dime. Never before has anyone felt so wealthy as Bobby felt at that moment.
As he held his new-found treasure, a warmth spread throughout his entire body and he walked into the first store he saw. His excitement quickly turned cold when the salesperson told him that he couldn't buy anything with only a dime.
He saw a flower shop and went inside to wait in line. When the shop owner asked if he could help him, Bobby presented the dime and asked if he could buy one flower for his mother's Christmas gift. The shop owner looked at Bobby and his ten cent offering.
Then he put his hand on Bobby's shoulder and said to him, "You just wait here and I'll see what I can do for you." As Bobby waited he looked at the beautiful flowers and even though he was a boy, he could see why mothers and girls liked flowers.
The sound of the door closing as the last customer left, jolted Bobby back to reality. All alone in the shop, Bobby began to feel alone and afraid. Suddenly the shop owner came out and moved to the counter.
There, before Bobby's eyes, lay twelve long stem, red roses, with leaves of green and tiny white flowers all tied together with a big silver bow. Bobby's heart sank as the owner picked them up and placed them gently into a long white box.
"That will be ten cents young man," the shop owner said reaching out his hand for the dime. Slowly, Bobby moved his hand to give the man his dime. Could this be true? No one else would give him a thing for his dime!
Sensing the boy's reluctance, the shop owner added, "I just happened to have some roses on sale for ten cents a dozen. Would you like them?"
This time Bobby did not hesitate, and when the man placed the long box into his hands, he knew it was true. Walking out the door that the owner was holding for Bobby, he heard the shop keeper say, "Merry Christmas son."
As he returned inside, the shop keeper's wife walked out. "Who were you talking to back there and where are the roses you were fixing?"
Staring out the window, and blinking the tears from his own eyes, he replied, "A strange thing happened to me this morning. While I was setting up things to open the shop, I thought I heard a voice telling me to set aside a dozen of my best roses for a special gift. I wasn't sure at the time whether I had lost my mind or what, but I set them aside anyway.
Then just a few minutes ago, a little boy came into the shop and wanted to buy a flower for his mother with one small dime.
"When I looked at him, I saw myself, many years ago. I too, was a poor boy with nothing to buy my mother a Christmas gift. A bearded man, whom I never knew, stopped me on the street and told me that he wanted to give me ten dollars. "When I saw that little boy tonight, I knew who that voice was, and I put together a dozen of my very best roses." The shop owner and his wife hugged each other tightly, and as they stepped out into the bitter cold air, they somehow didn't feel cold at all.
May this story instill the spirit of CHRISTmas in you enough to pass this act along.
Have a Joyous and Peace-filled season.
Goodness is the only investment that doesn't fail.
Source: Fizber.com
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