I suffer from SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder)… extremely mild case. I am overwhelmingly happy with the return of Daylight Savings Time… and even more so with the approaching opening day of spring! As I sit here with all the windows and doors open letting in the still pollen free air into the house closed up too long from the wintery weather… I am basking in temperatures in the mid-seventies wanting so much to get outside and work in the yard!
But alas, there is paperwork to do… and a column to write!
It was a busy weekend… two new listings for Sellers looking to take the next step in life… On the Buyer side… two full price cash contracts written for other Sellers… all wanting to close this week and I still had time for Church and a bit of yard work yesterday.
Yes, spring is here… and so too the long awaited recovery that grows stronger by the day.
You would think that everyone would be celebrating this re-birth/revival of the real estate market. But you would be wrong! I work with several investors who are struggling with the market’s resurgence… every offer seems to go highest and best, with the winning bid being too high to create a profitable flip opportunity. I just got off the phone with a fellow agent bemoaning that very fact!
With this huge shortage of inventory we have for the most part moved to a normal market… Some markets have even become a Seller’s Market (a market favoring the Seller)… with fewer and fewer Buyer Markets remaining.
Foreclosures are approaching normal levels; however, banks are now slower to deal… As a matter of fact, some banks are finally awakening to the opportunity to reclaim their loses by repairing properties and selling at or near full market value.
Yet many sellers remain on the sidelines, perhaps realizing that short sales and bankruptcy are painful solutions when another year or two will have them whole again. All of this is creating stress on the supply and demand equation causing a reduction in discounts and even an increase in prices.
Interest rates remain at or near record lows. So even though the deals may be harder to come by, today’s low interest rates make for a deal. If interest rates rise to 5% by year-end, as projected by Fannie Mae and the Mortgage Bankers Association, from where rates are today that is equivalent to a 20% increase in the monthly payments (Principal & Interest).
Yes spring has sprung… I hope you’re enjoying it as much as I am!
May the Market be with you.
