A Great Time To Invest, Buy, Scoop Up, Grab, Gobble, Get Some... REAL ESTATE!

I can't tell you how sick I am of the media and their gloom and doom reports about how "horrible" the real estate market is today. Yes, I understand it is difficult to SELL right now. Sellers can't squeeze every possible penny out of a property, nor can they show a property "as is". It actually takes a bit or work and a realistic attitude about pricing to sell a home right now.

Buying a home however is a no brainer. Even with guidelines being tightened on sub-prime "B paper" loans, this is one of the best times in the last 30YEARS to BUY property.

According to the Federal Reserve historical data on Conventional mortgages, www.federalreserve.gov/releases/h15/data/annual/h15_mortg_NA.txt

the annual conventional mortgage rate has only been under 7% 7 times in the last 30 years. In addition, the average mortgage rate over the last 30 years was 9.74%, with the highest rate occurring in 1981 at 16.63% and the low being 2003 at 5.82%. \

When you combine that with the amount of product on the market, be it new construction or re-sale homes this is a "Target Rich Environment". I have never, that's not almost never, or hardly ever, but NEVER seen Builders and Re-sellers offering so much to begin with and being willing to negotiate so much to sell a home in all the time I've been selling real estate. Everything from swimming pools being offered by builders to closing costs and drastic price reductions from re-sellers.

Buyers can pick from a historical high water mark of homes on the market. Buyers hold the keys to the city today, just the same way Sellers held the keys in 2004, 2005, and just like then, things will change.

The key is buying low and selling high...just ask Eddie Murphy and Dan Akroid...the peak on selling came in 04, 05. The people that bought their homes prior to the spike picked up an investment that they lived in for several years, then SOLD it when the time was right. So if you are a seller, is this the perfect time to sell, no. If however you are going to sell and move up, you are going to be able to take advantage of being a buyer, the same way the buyer that purchased your home took advantage of the buyers market when purchasing yours.

Ideally what you want to do right now, if you have the means, is to pick up some investment property. Property that already has a tenant in it, and yes they are very easy to find right now. Your tenant pays most if not all of the mortgage on the property, and as the market increases in value, which it will eventually do, you get to take advantage of the increase in market value, as well as the equity created by paying down the principle...

Another variation is to buy a move up home and rent the home you are currently in. Again, put a tenant into your home to pay all or most of the mortgage, and move up into a new home.

Or if you are buying without having to sell or rent out another property, this is YOUR TIME!!!

With any of these scenario's you have to be realistic about what you can afford and with income property you have to count on the fact that when tenants move out, you'll have to cover a vacant period as well as getting the property back to pristine condition for the next tenant. Which is why its important to make sure you've got a good tenant to begin with, that doesn't have a history of taking a chain saw to the kitchen cabinets, or cooking up meth in the bathtub...property management companies help here, but require a piece of the monthly rent...usually 10%, but that is negotiable with the management company.

The point is this is not a 'HORRIBLE MARKET"...its awesome if you are buying, its difficult if you are selling, but with interest rates still well below historical averages, more buyers can "buy" those tough to sell homes, and buyers are in hog heaven!!!!

Its kinda like when the salmon run...kinda sucks for the salmon but its a great time for the bears...and hey not all the salmon get gobbled before getting to "do their thing"