How to dig out of hole in a tough real estate market?
Basic human greed is the necessary ingredient for turning around the tough market we are experiencing. Even when the chips are down and consumers are faced with tremendous uncertainty in financial markets, families still dream about improving their housing situation. When greed outweighs fear, the housing market will turn.
My husband and I have lived in the same home since 1982. It is a spacious three story brick traditional in the Emory University neighborhoods of Atlanta, Georigia. Despite all the economic bad news we are being bombarded with from evey media outlet imaginable, we still took a few minutes this morning and looked at some "bargain" homes", priced far above our pay grade by the way, that are available in our community.
It occured to me while scrolling through photos of one very nice home on the MLS website that at some point greed will be the catalyst that finally gets the housing market in gear again. There will be a tipping point where families will decide they want that dream home bad enough to chance going against the grain and making a purchase. When a a couple fo families make this decision, others will jump on the bandwagon so they don't "miss out" on these incredible deals. When will this happen?....that is the golden question.
OBSTACLES TO HOUSING RECOVERY / Steps to a Housing Recovery
Potential buyers have a couple of hurdles to overcome before they will "make the leap" and purchase a home they have long considered way out of their price range.
1. Potential buyers need some reassurance from the marketplace that they are not going to be terminated. Job security has gone out the window and almost everyone considers their job to be threatened by our national economy. Our government leaders are working on this but we do not feel reassured at this point in time,
2. Buyers have to improve their credit scores to qualify for mortagage loans in the "new" economy. Lender guidelines have tightened and many potential buyers simply do not qualify.
3. Potential buyers must build up a cash down payment equivalent to 20% of the purchase price of their "bargain" dream home. Note: FHA has more flexibility.
4. Where homeowners are "upside down" in the mortgage loans on their present homes, they must negotiate short sales with lenders and bite the bullet on losses they incur. Congress could provide a lot of assitance in this area by removing the tax implications of debt forgiven by a lender.
5. Buyers who already own a home must get realistic about what their present home is worth in today's market. If they want to sell these homes (so they can purchase the "dream home"), they have to deal with the emotional aspects of the decline in value of their present home.
Our problems are man-made, therefore they may be solved by man. No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings......John F. Kennedy
Sally English and The English Team. Atlanta real estate agents.
Realty Associates of Atlanta LLC; 3350 Northlake Parkway Atlanta, Georgia 30345 |770-939-3174
View more of SALLY'S BLOG: Sallys Atlanta Real Estate Updates
Visit our WEBSITE: http://englishteam.com/ | http://sallyenglishblog.com/
All content copyright © 2009-2012 by Sarah Bryant English DBA Sally English and The English Team, Atlanta Georgia. This sale offering is made subject to errors, ommissions, change of price, prior sale and withdrawal without notice. Potential purchasers should make a physical inspection to verify all features independently. EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY. Sally English is not an attorney or CPA and ALL legal or tax advice should be rendered by a professional. Sally English is an Atlanta real estate agent specializing in homes and neighborhoods convenient to Emory University and The CDC. Thanks for visiting my BLOG!
Yep, what's needed most in the housing market and in the country as a whole is consumer confidence. People have money but they're holding on to in anticipation of.......take your choice of disasters.
Sally.....Welcome to ActiveRain. This is a great community to network with others as well a great place to learn from other's experiences and knowledge. I've enjoyed it; I hope you enjoy it as well.
Sergio Rebollo Jr.
Exit Prime Realty
Coral Gables, FL 33134
305-582-4062
Miami Short Sale Specialist - Profile
Congratulations on joining Active Rain. This is a great professional networking and referral site. Our Team is working here in the Spartanburg / Greenville areas of South Carolina. We would be thrilled for any referrals you might send our way - or any referrals that we could send to you. Hope you enjoy this site as much as I do.
Hi and welcome to active|rain.
There are thousands of tips, tools, and tricks of the trade here. Be sure to check them out. Best of luck and see you around.
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Welcome to the Active Rain community. This is a great site with lots of information. Have fun with it and hope to see more of your blogs soon! We have a team of three outstanding full time agents to assist your buyers and sellers in Spartanburg/Greenville, SC. Let us know if we can ever help. Again, welcome to AR!!
Hi and welcome to Active Rain, a great site to network, share, learn, and have fun. Good luck. And if you ever need an agent in the upstate of South Carolina please give me a call.
Good to have you on Active Rain. This is a good site for gathering information and interesting to see what others are blogging about. Contact us if we can be of service to you. We would be happy to send you a referral or to take good care of any referral you would send to us.