Epain Homes

Thought I’d post a nice comment in full from local blogger and Realtor Eric Rojas. Like I tell my wife, disagreement is good, it provides more ideas rather than just agreeing with one idea…

I might disagree with your “waiting game”. There is no guarantee the right deal will be there for you later. I personally have offered on a foreclosure (lost in a multiple offer) and have won a multiple offer short sale for my clients on another place this month.
Meaning, many preceived the prices as agood deal and jumped. This is still very rare, even in our worst months here after Red October.

You did acknowledge people could jump if it’s a steal. But finding the combo of good location, good building, good price is still tough… especially if you don’t write and offer.

I know of sales happening now that are $50K less (give or take) than previous sales on units for sale simply because the buyer wrote an offer (did not have to wait and compete when the price finally would be lowered).

Anyway, I’m biased here, but also put my own money where my mouth is. Making an arbitray decison when it’s better to buy based on the current market is like trying to time any market. I think if a home is what you want and you have a good understanding of the location… and you can afford it… take a shot.

If you were in the market today (say renting and needed a place for your growing family) you’d wait another 6 months even though a great house becomes availble?

Who would have known? I saw this piece in the WSJ describing a mortgage program buried within the Department of Agriculture.

To be eligible for a USDA-backed loan, a borrower can’t have income that exceeds 115% of the median county income, and the loans are restricted to areas with lower population density — generally towns of no more than 25,000 residents. So while home buyers in big cities aren’t eligible for the loans, residents of many of America’s fastest-growing towns and exurbs do qualify. The loans that come through the program are made by private lenders, then insured by the government and sold to Ginnie Mae, a federal agency that sells mortgages to investors.

Here’s an overview from USDA. Likely not eligible in Cook but maybe in a collar of a collar county.

A nice little reminder/overview from Kiplinger’s regarding end of year tax planning for homeowners.

Notably, the new up to $7,500 tax credit for new homes brought from April 9, 2008, through June 30, 2009 and the Private Mortgage Insurance deduction for homes bought since 1/1/07.

I saw the above on 60 Minutes last week…not exactly a cheery prognosis for the holiday season. Here’s the full text of the story. Obviously just one person’s quote, but still…

“We had the greatest asset bubble in history and now that bubble is bursting. The single biggest piece of the bubble is the U.S. mortgage market and we’re probably about halfway through the unwinding and bursting of the bubble,” Tilson explains. “It may seem like all the carnage out there, we must be almost finished. But there’s still a lot of pain to come in terms of write-downs and losses that have yet to be recognized.”

Hello friends,

This is a very busy Christmas season for us, so we decided to trim the fat from our holiday numbers.

The daily numbers will be on hold until January 1st, but we will continue with the weeklies. I hope the most loyal daily watchers won’t mind too much…December stats are kind of dull anyways IMO.

The sales numbers are on track to surpass that of November. Mortgage rates are dropping and affordability is improving every day. Perhaps some buyers are beginning to look for bargains?

Merry Christmas and happy holidays to you all! I trust you will enjoy some quality time with your loved ones, and I will see you at the month end for all the usual charts and analysis.

Paul