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Rates Fall Again!

Now is a great time to buy a home!

According to Bloomberg - Oct. 8th:

Mortgage rates for 30-year fixed U.S. home loans fell for the second consecutive week, pushing borrowing costs to near record lows.

The average U.S. 30-year rate dropped to 4.87 percent from 4.94 percent last week.  The 15-year rate was 4.33 percent, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac of McLean, Virginia, said today in a statement.

Falling rates helped boost home-loan applications last week to the highest level since May.  The Mortgage Bankers Association's index of applications to purchase a home or refinance rose 16 percent.  Rates around 5 percent, slumping home prices and a government tax credit for first-time homebuyers are bolstering demand for housing.

September 14, 2009

Here is a press release from Mainstreet Organization of Realtors.  Things are getting stronger in the housing market.

August Marks Third Straight Month of Year-to-Year Increases
DOWNERS GROVE, Ill. - Sales of single-family detached homes went up 8.6 percent in August compared with the same period a year ago, according to statistics released today by the Mainstreet Organization of REALTORS® (MORe), indicating the third consecutive monthly increase.

MORe measured activity on homes in about 120 southern and western suburban communities through information from Midwest Real Estate Data LLC.

"We're definitely seeing many first-time homebuyers take advantage of the various economic incentives available to them," said Mike Drews,…

We are celebrating 20 years selling real estate in Chicago's western suburbs. Although this market is certainly more challenging than in the past; we still  have the same purpose and direction when selling homes as we have had in better markets.

 Our purpose is to find houses that our clients can call their homes.  We arent about how many houses we sell but how many 'right houses ' we can find for our clients. They have to walk in and know they will be happy in a home they choose. It has to be comfortable and functional for their family's needs. It also should make then say "ah" everytime they pull up to it as they finish off the day and arrive 'at home'. 

 It's not only about resale value or what they can sell it for in 2-3 years, although that is…

 The media has brought us down to their level of thinking that this market is in the tank. Yes, we all know it is slower but we need to have the facts. We must look at the stats as it may not be as bad as the media  makes it out to be.  This point was made clear to me as my seller and I looked at the recent sales stats for homes between 1 million and two million so we could come back with a reasonable counter during negotiation.  After searching out listings that sold in the last 90 days, our research provided us the facts. For the last few years our average sale to list price has been 95%. We discovered sale to list price from our survey to be 92%. Down - yes-but not doom and gloom.

  I feel we need to have those stats handy and ever ready to combat all…

 It seems like we are in a much slower market than we have experienced in quite a long time.  We as real estate agents can catch a  complacent attitude since the market is not moving as fast as it has been in recent years.  We have to warn our buyers against having this attitude and thinking that homes wil alwaysl be there in terms 'of their very slow decision making' time frame.

 A couple that I have been showing homes to for quite some time was in for a surprise when the home they put an offer on was also chosen by another buyer at the same time. In this market??!! How could that be!!??  Well, the reason was : pristine home in a nice location and very well priced.  These are the homes that are still selling and selling fast even in this market of a low…

Mistakes that shouldn't be made if you want a quicker than average sale in this slower than average market...