Did You Know...? Some Interesting Things You're Not Hearing Much About In The News

As professionals involved in the real estate and mortgage industries, we know all too well about the sensationalizing the press has managed to do with regards to the housing downturn and the mortgage crunch. Obviously, that's what they do best. And, in their eyes, they truly believe they are doing the right thing - you know, looking at our industries with a skeptical eye and keeping the public informed. However, every day we see another "headline grabbing" story about how terrible things are and if something doesn't happen soon, real estate throughout the country is going to sink into oblivion.

Well, in the interest of the consumer, here are some items you won't see widely reported in the media that will hopefully help bring some balance and perspective to the current situation.

All real estate is local. The national numbers don't equate to all areas of the country equally across the board.

While prices are down on average in 15 states, 35 states have stable or increasing prices. That's means 70% of the country is doing just fine.

35% of all homeowners do not have any mortgage debt.

94+% of all mortgage loans are performing well.

25% of all loans are subprime and 75% of those are performing well.

Only 6% or so of all mortgage loans are in trouble.

New laws and guidelines are being enacted on both the national and state levels to prohibit unscrupulous lending practices. Read more here and here.

The foreclosure mess is basically a story involving 7 states:

• Michigan, Ohio and Indiana have been hit the hardest by foreclosures. Their problems are being driven by severe manufacturing job losses that began in 2001.
• The other four, California, Florida, Nevada and Arizona are all suffering because of overbuilding and investor speculation. Over 25% of the foreclosures in these states are from investors walking away from their investment properties.

Help is being made available for those borrowers that find themselves in trouble. You can find more information about what types of programs are available here.

Experienced real estate investors and flippers understand the risks and take what they get, be it good or bad. Novices almost always get burned.

Real estate has always been a long term investment proposition. Short term plays should only be made with money you can afford to lose.

Historically, homes appreciate in the 3-5% per year range on average.

Prime real estate will always be just that, prime. Don't believe that just because prices are down, it means you can buy "everything" for 50 cents on the dollar.

Letting the insanity of what occurred to prices during 2005-6 influence what you do today is a fool’s game. If your house would have sold for 50 to 100 percent more than you paid for it then, don't believe it is still worth that value today. It isn't. The same can be said for trying to anticipate the bottom for the market. If you try to foresee the absolute bottom, you'll most likely have let it pass you by. If you want to know what is truly going on in your area, contact your local real estate professional and review the numbers for yourself.

Sometimes you have to look beyond what the press puts forth in order to see the forest for the trees. This is definitely one of those times. There are plenty of reliable real estate and mortgage professionals available to assist you in navigating through these tough times. With just a little bit of effort on your part, you should easily be able to find the right ones to help you.

Gulf Coast Associates, Realtors & Metro Mortgage Company
Contact us today at 888-617-3674

• Rate this Post!

  Select Your Rating:

  • 5 Stars (Excellent!)
  • 4 Stars
  • 3 Stars
  • 2 Stars
  • 1 Stars (Poor)

• Share this Post

  Share With A Friend:

  Your Name Your Email

  Friend's Name Friend's Email

  Optional Message

  Send

• Print
• Social Bookmarking

  Add to Bookmarks: