Spring has sprung. Will the market spring back?

Posted by Maura on March 30th, 2008 — Posted in real estate

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The real estate market has been in a pretty deep freeze for the past two plus years here in the Lake Tahoe/Truckee area.

It is anybody’s guess…but as the snow is melting and the sun has been peaking its head out for longer stretches, there is a buzz in town…is the real estate market coming around? My buyers who have been in hibernation for the past, well, years, are slowly waking up and poking their heads out into the real estate market again. I have been seeing houses in my neighborhood go into escrow lately. Sellers are calling asking what I think their house is worth today.

Could it be the market is finally coming around? From what I am seeing in the past few weeks, I would have to say yes. And I am hopeful. Springtime in Tahoe does that to you.

I came across this article this morning online from Bankrate.com’s Sonya Stinson. It is a practical article on what renovations help sellers sell their house. While the market may be coming around, it isn’t the market we saw in 2004. Houses still arent flying off the market, and the improvements better be there. Sellers, prepare your house wisely if you want it to sell in this market. Give the article a good read.

My favorite Sunday ritual is to make a strong cup of coffee, and settle in for CBS’s Sunday Morning. I especially love the ending segment, which is done in total silence other than the sounds of nature in whichever place they choose. As I watched the first moments of the nature segment at the end, I looked closer and put my joe down…the familiarity of that stream, the look of the pine trees on the mountains, that looks like…yes! that is definately Squaw Valley! It put a smile on my face to see my beloved home mountain featured as the coveted closing segment. My Sunday has already begun on the right foot.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend, and have faith. The market is showing signs of rebirth.

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Feds cut Fed Funds Rate by .75%

Posted by Maura on March 19th, 2008 — Posted in real estate

Great news for homebuyers- Bernanke and his folks decided to cut the Fed by .75% to 2.25%.

I received this info yesterday from my friend Charlie Berg with PHH Home Loans:

“Today, the Fed elected to cut the Fed Funds Rate by .75% to 2.25%. This brings the Prime Rate to 5.25%, so if you have an equity line, it just got cheaper. Same goes for credit card payments if you are in good standing. Whether or not this cut will help mortgage rates is yet to be seen, but as of this morning 30 year fixed rates are down below 6% for the first time in a month or so. This is great news for homebuyers and folks that need to refinance. ARM and Jumbo rates are still quite inflated, but hopefully they will settle down in the near future. ”

Again, turn the t.v. off for an evening and try to filter the barage of bad news about the economy, the housing market and the U.S. dollar…and please think this through logically. I am talking to the buyers out there. It doesn’t get much better than this! The interest rates are phenomenal and sellers are nearing hysteria. This is probably the best time in history to buy. So why is everyone not buying? True, it has gotten more difficult to obtain a loan. However, it should have. We wouldn’t be in this predicament if lending practices were a bit more stringent. I will save that rant for another day.

Not since my Grandpa O’Brien purchased his house in Queens, N.Y. during the Great Depression were there deals this great!

I have said it before and I will say it again- Buy when everyone is selling, and sell when everyone is buying. Ahem…people, that would be now for the buying portion of that statement.

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