Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Is your home still a good investment?

I sell real estate in Cleveland Ohio. We are in a declining market. That means values are going down. So what do you do if you are thinking of making a move? First of all some moves can't wait. If you are in the process of getting a divorce, settling an estate, faced with a relocation, etc.
The faster you get into reality of the present market and look at what the market is doing as compared to your property the faster you will see a sale pending sign in the yard. Homes are selling. The buyers are educated and armed with more information than ever because of the Internet. Gone are the days when some poor jerk happened into your open house and fell in love and purchased your home. Buyers look up your past history. I know when they are interested because they tell me what you bought your house for. They look at the neighborhood through websites like Realtor.com and Zillow. They can see what the average is for market time, sale price per sq ft, etc. for each neighborhood. Realtors are no longer the gatekeepers of information.
You have to be the best looking home and the best price. Price is the driver in this market. If you are trying to sell your home for what you think is a comfortable price then you are not priced right. The only clients that have a sold sign on the front lawn are the ones that sold for what they felt was a painful price. That is what happens in a declining market. If you are looking to purchase a new home and take advantage of this excellent opportunity to upgrade, than this is how your have to approach your move; 1.Realize that you are getting great price on your
purchase 2. Realize you have to give a good deal on your house. You are just trading assets. Hopefully, the new home purchase is in a more expensive, more stable area. When the market returns you will be fine. Decide which property you want to be riding on when the market starts to go back up. Realize the losses are larger the higher the value . You are going to have to ride this out where ever you are. You might as well take the opportunity to upgrade now instead of later. If you are happy with your home and aren't considering a move. Look at the foreclosure down the street from you and think about buying it for rental property. You can sell it when the market goes back up and in the mean time you have helped stabilize your own neighborhood.

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