Epain Homes

Who’s buying and why are they buying now???
For a while there i thought it was just me who was having one of the busiest months in the last few years. The news was still reporting increasing unemployment along with increased personal and commercial bankruptcy rates. However, as the month carried on, i realized it wasn’t just me- its everybody. My office is buzzing with activity, my friends downtown office is the same and a realtor that I refer business to on Gibsons said he expereincing more activity now than in the past year. I was also talking to a mortgage broker colleague of mine the other day and he informed me that in his industry many of them are working 12-14 hour days to keep up with the increased market activity. Below is a sample of some current rates being offered:

Fixed Rate Mortgages:

1 Year…………. 2.90%
2 Year…………. 3.05%
3 Year…………. 3.15%
4 Year…………. 3.79%
5 year…………..3.75%
7 Year…………. 5.15%
10 Year……….. 5.25%

For a $300,000 mortgage with five year fixed term at %3.75 your monthly payment would be $1536 for a 25 year amortization or $1278 for a 35 year amortization.

In my opinion this current market bounce is being driven by first time buyers attracted into the market by low rates and the opportunity to look at properties at a much slower pace than years past. This in turn has had the trickle up effect on the market. Sellers of condos are buying townhouses, sellers of townhouses buying detached homes and so on.

We’ve seen an almost across the board sweep for the bulls for April:

MOI -24% (MOM) This one caught me off guard. Just over 5 months of inventory. All those expired and cancelled listings never came back on in force. When/if that does happen and listing counts start to rise again…look out.

SALES +30% (MOM) . First time buyers getting those %3.79 rates are the driving force behind this one.

AVERAGE PRICE SFH: $815,099( +6.8% mom) AVERAGE PRICE CONDO $397,404 (+4.9% mom). I think we learned that sometimes as the market can fall quickly that it can rise just as fast. I’m not saying this will continue but man did it happen fast.

Litmus test will be the summer for sure.

I will conitinue doing the daily, weekly and monthly stats for while longer. Im going on vacation for 8 days starting on monday so nothing for next week.

Thanks for all your support. I wish everybody well and have a great summer.
Cheers to all!!
Gavin

Here’s the story and the list from the Tribune’s piece:

•How long have you worked in real estate, and how long have you been licensed?

•Are you a Realtor? What professional designations do you have, and what special skills do they certify?

•Do you work alone, or do you have an assistant or support staff?

•How often will we be in touch during the searching and buying process?

• Can I look at homes without you?

•What makes you stand out among your peers, and do you have references from clients?

•Will you act as a buyer-broker, or do you represent the seller?

•How will you get paid, and may I have that in writing?

•How many other buyers are you representing?

A fair list I suppose. On the Listing side, I’d want to see a full marketing plan as to how he/she would be marketing your home…very specific: Internet, newspaper, signage, open houses, ect. Surely view other property’s he/she has currently listed.

On either side I’d want to know about community connections. When I think of an agent or two I work a lot with and think highly of, they are individuals who have a home in the community, perhaps have kids who’ve gone through or are in the schools, are involved in things like service organizations, Chambers of Commerce, ect.. I can think of a couple who are on the local school board.

I’d say the “real estate” stuff is more of a minimum bar to get over and the non-real estate knowledge and networks are how to really find an excellent real estate professional.