In-Depth Look – Housing Market – Bloomberg
We all know it’s bad out there…With the severe credit crisis and the declining housing market, Fox, CNN, MSNBC, and even the President remind us of our struggles daily. Home foreclosures are at an all time high, even in my neighborhood in Austin Texas with many more foreclosures predicted to come. Housing resale values are at all time lows with no end in sight. Even the banks are going bankrupt as many Americans no longer qualify for credit.
Because of the recent credit crisis, many people don’t qualify for a new loan to buy a house right now, despite the incredibly low housing prices. Many home sellers can’t sell their unwanted houses because they owe more than their house is worth due to falling house prices. Many sellers can’t even rent their houses out for enough to cover their mortgage payments, taxes and insurance resulting in severe negative cash flow that bleeds then dry month after month. To make matters worse, many tenants end up trashing the house when they move out making it even more difficult and expensive to sell.
If they list their house with a real estate agent, their house will likely sit on the market for a long, long time waiting to sell since the buyers seem to have magically disappeared. Even if the house does finally sell one day at a greatly REDUCED price to get it sold, the owner has to pay a 6% real estate commission plus the majority of the closing costs. This often results in the seller writing a big, fat check at the closing table to finally get their house sold.
So what are my options to sell my house in Austin Texas fast in this depressed economy and housing market when many folks can’t get a loan? By trial and error, I discovered the following 3 alternatives to try to sell my Austin TX home quickly…
1. I tried to sell my house in Austin “For Sale by Owner” aka “FSBO”.
At first, selling my house by myself sounded easy enough, but it soon became my worst nightmare! What went wrong:
- At first I didn’t know how to attract buyers that might be interested in purchasing a home in Buford Georgia…The For Sale By Owner sign in the yard wasn’t working.
- I ended up spending a fortune placing classifieds in the local paper which resulted in few potential buyers.
- Those that did respond wanted to see my house at all different hours of the day or night. I was afraid to say no in fear of losing a potential buyer.
- I would have to keep my house clean and all picked up, only to have them flake out and not show up!
- Other times I had some pretty scary people show up with their rowdy kids in tow, trampling through my home.
I never did find my ideal buyer. Even if I did, I had no idea how to get them qualified, how to handle all the purchase and sale paperwork or how to get the house closed. I said “There has to be a better way to sell my home!” and I was determined to find it.
2. I listed my house for sale with a local Austin real estate agent.
I called an agent from a local, seemingly reputable, real estate agency and made an appointment for her to come out and see the property. The agent sounded like she really knew what she was talking about and got me really excited about the prospect of selling my home quickly. She said she would list my house in the MLS, on dozens of real estate sites throughout Texas, advertise my house in the local paper and other print publications, do multiple open houses, put out signs, balloons, flyers in an information box and went on and on about how she could sell my home and still get top dollar. How could I refuse? I didn’t.
I listed my house and waited, and waited and waited. The agent put the house on the MLS, but the market was pretty tough and, despite her best efforts, six months later, I still didn’t have a buyer. Meanwhile, my house had not only decreased in value because it would not sell for the list price, which had been reduced repeatedly, but also because of all the other listed houses and foreclosures on the market in my area of Austin. At this point, I was all out of ideas and praying for a solution. About that time, someone at my church told me about RedBuysHouses.com.
3. I contacted a local, professional home buyer from Austin, Texas.
My friend from church told me that she had similar problems selling her Austin house, but that she had contacted a local professional home buyer who bought her house in under a week! What? Is this possible? Could I sell my Austin Texas house in 7 days or less, too? She said there are professional house buyers out there, also known as “real estate investors”, who buy and sell real estate for investment purposes. You’ve probably seen their “We Buy Houses” advertisements around town but never gave them much thought. These are people who buy houses professionally and are always actively looking for more houses to buy. She gave me their phone number and web address (Locally 512-945-6006, website: www.RedBuysHouses.com) and I contacted them ASAP. A local Austin home buyer from there called me and said that if my house qualified and if I was flexible on price or terms, that they may be able to buy my house in the next 7 days or less. She said depending on my situation that they may be able to pay all cash, pay some cash now and some cash later or take over my mortgage payments giving me immediate debt relief. At this point I was definitely flexible and had nothing to lose by scheduling an appointment for them to come see my home and possibly allow me to sell my Austin Texas house fast!
So I scheduled the appointment with the Austin home buyer and she came out and inspected my home. She said it was just what they were looking for and that she had several buyers looking for a similar home. I was ecstatic! She made me several offers to buy my house as promised. I chose the offer that best suited my needs and we scheduled a closing the following week with a local real estate closing attorney. It was that fast and that simple to finally sell my house in Austin! I still can’t get over it. After waiting two years trying to sell my house on my own and through a licensed agent, I was able to sell my house in less than 7 days to a local professional home buying company!
If you have an unwanted Austin Texas house you need to sell fast, call 512-945-6006 or visit www.RedBuysHouses.com and complete their online Seller Questionnaire for a FREE, no obligation consultation. You have nothing to lose by contacting them and everything to gain. I was able to sell my Austin home fast and you can too!
Watch the video related to housing market
Interview and discussion with Robert Shiller of the MacroMarkets LLC. He talks about housing market. He says we are still in an ‘iffy’ situation on the economy. (Bloomberg News)
Help answer the question about housing market
Housing market?
I have chosen to do a report on the housing market in the US for my assignment in Economics. I have some information on the Seattle area as I am somewhat familiar with it but would love more insight from other places as well…Let me know what it is like in your area as well as answer the following questions…please only answer if I can quote you in my report…Thanks, Jenni
Describe any current or past news events related to wage inequality in your chosen industry.
What was the industry’s method for determining that there was an inequality?
Explain.
so many people foreclose without realising they have other options. In many cases refinancing can save not just your home but also your credit rating and your self respect.
therefinanceunit . com
is not affiliated with a broker or lender. It’s an information and education resource to help people avoid foreclosure.
If you’re in financial trouble, check it out – the future may be brighter than you think!
It's purely psychological. The "housing market" is really the "real estate" market which accounts for a lot of money. There is also a lot of related industries which is affected if the real estate market goes down. First is the home builders or construction industry (contractors), then there is the materials suppliers, then the mortgage industry which makes loans to buyers and then there's the real estate agents, title companies, escrow companies, home insurance companies, furniture companies – all their jobs hang on how well the housing market is doing. They were in fear for the past 2 years when the housing or real estate market peaked and began sliding down. Investors in the stock market finally decided that there is too much fear and decided to sell their stocks. Selling causes the stock market to drop.
Many experts think that the United States is experiencing a nationwide "Real Estate Bubble" similar to the "Internet Bubble" that the stock market experienced a few years ago. Extremely low mortgage interest rates have fueled a real estate market in which demand has outpaced supply in many parts of the country. This has led to rising home prices.
Low mortgage rates have enabled many people to buy homes that were previously priced out of the market. Many people found that they were able to "buy up". They found that they were able to sell a smaller home and move up to a larger house for the same or slightly higher monthly mortgage payment. In addition, real estate speculators entered the market and began buying properties anticipating that they could quidkly resell them at a profit.
This same scenario played out in Southern California over a period of time beginning in the mid 1980's. When the bubble burst and residential property values plummeted, many people found that they had paid far more for their homes than they could then get out of them. At this time, we are starting to see this take place on a nationwide basis.
Mortgage interest rates have been slowly rising for the last couple of years. So far, these increases have not significantly slowed the real estate market. Many economists think that we are getting close to the point of "critical mass" at which time higher interest rates will have a devastating effect on the real estate market. The number of new housing starts is down on a nationwide basis and we are beginning to see the market soften in some geographical areas.
I am optimistic by nature, but I also remember the cyclical housing markets of the 1970's and the near nationwide shutdown of the housing market during the Carter Administration when mortgage interest rates approached 20%. While I don't see that kind of catastrophic scenario playing out in the near future, I do think it is a time to be prudent in real estate investing.
In the end, my advice is to save as much cash as you can. When this market changes from a "sellers" to a "buyers" market, he who has the cash will be in a great position to make the best deal in real estate. Can't, or don't want to wait … do your homework before buying. Search out the "deal of your dreams" … not necessarily the "house of your dreams" and your investment will likely pay dividends.
Good luck with your real estate investments.
Keep on looking. If you see something with a huge yard or a fantastic view, or anything that makes the house fantastic for you, make an offer. Just be sure not to offer full price and ask the seller to pay for as much of your costs as possible. Real estate is not a short term investment. Just make sure you like your payment.
Real estate observers expect the slowdown to last into and through much of 2010. No one should even try to predict the market out beyond 18 months.
Type this, 'how do housing prices affect the economy' into google.com as I did.
You'll have enough reading and learning to keep you up VERY late tonight.
no it wont pick up then. the amount of people searching for a home may pick up in spring more then winter but ultimitely in a whole the market and the acconomy wont pick up by then. if your parents dropped their home price to a lower amount then the going rate they would sale their home easier the the guys next door. thats if your parents can afford to do that. also it is harder for people to apply sucessfully for a loan to buy a home. so that is another problem in homes sales. but to answer your question the market wont really pick up for a few years and that wont be even at its peak.
If you the funds it is always a good idea to buy a house.
Right now it is a buyer's market so you can negotiate prices much lower than their listings. With interest rates dropping & if you have a good credit than you would get a favorable mortage rate.
As far as when the market will hit floor… nobody know for sure. It depends on location. where jobs are abundunt the price will be stable and pick-up once the credit crunch is over.
Location Location Location – if you decide to buy in suburbia the price will keep dropping (i think) until the end of this year.
Research how many foreclosure has this area has, how many subprime houses sold, the rate of decline mean price…
new houses being built, how many houses were sold. – the information is available to local realtors or easily calcutated using public information.
I would say look for homes for sale with people problems. This may be someone needing a quick sale because of job transfer, divorce, or perhaps trying to get out from under a mortgage.
Talk to a mortgage broker about the realities of what kind of financing you can qualify for, then start looking with an eye toward monthly payment vs. monthly rental income. Keep in mind rental income will also need to cover insurance, property taxes and maintenance.
Depending on your area, prices may still be falling due to increasing foreclosures. Don't be in a hurry to buy. Take your time and only strike when the opportunity is right.
Northern Arizona is just like California
Waiting for the perfect storm.
We are in a 10 year drought.
Northern Arizona is about as dry as I have EVER seen, and I've lived in Arizona for 41 years.
I have already had one California buyer contact me about moving to this great state.
However they will NOT move to an area where the threat of wildfire will threaten their home.
They are looking in Scottsdale.
Hope this helps.
Terry S.
http://www.Welcome2Arizona.com
The housing market is not the reason why the economy and unemployment rate are horrible. It is from banks lending out way to much money to people that could never afford to pay it back which makes the people unable to afford their homes and other things like cars which results in the decline of sales. The decline of sales then forces companies to downsize. The only affect the house market has had on the job market is that nobody is building new houses because nobody has money which causes a decline in construction workers.