Picking Up Speed in the Real Estate Market

Despite media protrayed doom and gloom, the real estate market is surviving. Lessons learned from the Great Depression keep Realtors moving forward and creating new business.

Yes! There is still a movement of real estate across the country. With job changes, life changes, and the quest for the uncharted path in life comes the need for housing.  During the Great Depression, homes were bought and sold, land traded, and building continued on some scale.

Historically, there are eerie similarities that seem to have been repeated. So much from learning from history! The failing interest only loans issued preceeding and during the Great Depression were replaced with fixed rate mortgages which became the norm until the early 2000’s. Sound familiar?  Economists warned government officials in years preceeding 1921 of the impending issues that failing capitalism would bring. The educators and intellectuals of that era leaned toward socialism and ignored the warnings of the economists. Sound familiar?

Those who made money during the depression of 1921 were those who continued to build their wealth, to provide goods and services that people depended on such as household goods and housing.  Investment groups were born as people pooled their hard earned savings to acquire housing and income producing properties. Landlords became popular, seller financing increased, and yes, in some cases was abused, but in most cases it created win-win scenarios for home-owners and property owners. The need for housing was, and always will be one of the essential elements of survival. We are getting back to the basics, we are getting creative, and we are selling homes and real estate.

Today, we are getting back to the conventional mortgage. We are encouraged to save our money, to save for the dream of homeownership, to earn the right to own a home. The government is restructuring their loans, FHA guidelines are changing and being re-designed as we speak! One thing is certain, gone are the days of free money… but as my dad always said, “There ain’t no free lunch.”  There never has been free money.  We all share in the expenses of “free down-payment” money and “down-payment assistance” money.   These funds come from government, from non-profit organizations who receive funds from government, etc. Very few programs offer monies from private investors.  In almost all cases, there is a form of re-payment, and that comes with a price. There is always a responsibility that comes with home-ownership, the first being you have to pay for it!

The good news is, there is still affordable housing. There are homes for sale what are NOT short sales or foreclosures, that can be bought for reasonable prices. Can you expect a homeowner who has cared for their home, maintained their home and responsibly acquired equity in their home to give this home away for prices comparable to those who have not – the short sales and foreclosures? No, you can not. This is not true comparison shopping. If you are shopping for bargain basement properties, go to that market, if you are shopping for quality and value shop in that market. Be specific with you Realtor, be realistic in your expectations of time involved to acquire your properties. There is a huge difference in the distressed sale and non-distressed sale expected closing times.

The nuts and bolts of the market are this… it’s a great time to buy, it’s still a good time to sell and acquire a reasonable profit if you are not over-extended or credit-challenged and have gained steady equity during your period of ownership.  If you have not, that is where a Realtor can help you get creative, can explore your options for selling and purchasing.