I received some of this information from John Kurtzer, a CyberStar colleague of mine from Livermore, CA. It's an excellent representation of what we're seeing in the real estate market today. There are some great opportunites to find homes and investment properties which are well under prices from earlier this year or even last year.We've all been working with prospective buyers here in New Bern, and many of them feel that they should wait until the housing market is at the bottom before they buy. Let's look at an interesting take on "the Bottom of the Market", and how it will affect your buying decision.
In this 
graph, the "V" represents the housing market. The left side represents the market going down to the "V point", and the right side represents it going up. If we were to ask you where the housing market is right now, most would probably select somewhere near the Red arrow.If we think that the market is moving towards the bottom, . . . How will we know then it actually does hit the bottom?
Experience tells us that the housing market has hit the bottom when prices start to go
back up. It will be difficult to be sure that the market has hit bottom for a few months. It’s not a sudden shift, it’s a gradual shift. You’ll be able to tell that the market has turned when prices reach this point (green arrow).
back up. It will be difficult to be sure that the market has hit bottom for a few months. It’s not a sudden shift, it’s a gradual shift. You’ll be able to tell that the market has turned when prices reach this point (green arrow).What is the difference in housing prices between the red arrow and the green arrow? Not much… but there is another difference and it is major.
If you buy a home on the left side of the graph, it is considered a buyers market. You would be more likely to get concessions from sellers or builders including price reductions, repairs, upgrades, closing costs, etc. If you wait until the market turns and you buy on the upswing, you and every other buyer that has been waiting for the market to hit bottom will be bidding on the same house. Those types of situations create a sellers market.
There really is no better time to buy a house than now for a few reasons:
1. There is a wonderful selection of homes to choose from right now.
2. Sellers are very willing to negotiate on price, terms and perks.
3. Interest rates are still at an historical low.
I'm suggesting we take a good look at the above examples and decide what percentage the prices will have to drop before a buyer thinks housing prices have hit bottom and offer that price. For example, if you think that prices will go down another 5%, then submit an offer at 5% below the asking price. Sellers will either counter, accept or decline.
The message here is to take advantage of the market today! The opportunity is knocking.
November and December are historically the best months to buy Real Estate, since demand is low. The Real Estate market always increases after the holidays and rates start increasing as the demand turns back up.
If you would like us to share what we see as the best bargains on the market today, just contact us and we'll put our 30+ years of experience (in both up and down markets) to work for you!
Dianne Dunn & Team New Bern, Keller Williams Realty - Toll Free: 888-781-8800
