March 18th, 2009 11:52 PM by Manuel Couto, CRS, CRB
Beware the Ides of March.... they said to Ceasar....
and here we are, right past the Ides. Well, the good news is that the Real Estate Market has picked up, again. The Spring market historically has been one of the best times to buy and sell a house. I see record number of sales, plenty of qualified buyers, and motivated sellers. Put that together with the low interest rates and the stimulus package and you have the beginnings of a stabilization of the real estate market.
Bad news, the foreclosures that have been on hold are now coming into the market. Many of the foreclosures that I see are fraud or absentee owners. I feel for the tenants, but so many times the tenants refuse to talk to me until it's too late. They trust the owner who robbed them, or they decide to live for free and not contact me until we have to go to court. By then, it's too late. I won't have the authority to offer them relocation money, or do much else that try to broker a deal where they can move out with some pride, and the banks/servicers are happy that they moved out quickly. But I ramble, again.
NOW, is a good time to buy a home, and if things continue, there will be a good inventory of foreclosed homes, as well as motivated sellers and buyers. Why are so many people waiting? Heck, I don't know. What i do know is that tomorrow the rates may drop to a low of 4% because of Federal Government Action! But don't expect that to last too long. Call your lender and get prequalified NOW, and then call me, your local area realtor.