Jschless81's Blog: All Categories

I speak to a lot of clients on a regular basis, and one question I hear frequently is “When will the real estate market shift back?” That’s a question that is on everyone’s mind. So let’s explore it and see if we can make any sense of it.

Real estate is driven by supply and demand. When there are more homes available than there are buyer’s buying, you are consequently in a buyer’s market, like we are in now. When there are more buyers than there are seller’s selling, you are in a seller’s market.

Buyer’s markets are good for buyers because they can get good deals on homes, sellers will typically pay more in closing costs and are more reasonable on pricing. Seller’s markets are good for sellers because housing prices appreciate because the demand is so…

Hampton Roads is a very military dominated area. Real estate here because of that is very stable. We have recently been ranked 5th most stable real estate market in the country, which should alleviate the anxiety that the media has been putting out there. Nationally, real estate has seen a correction of roughly 10%. Some may have seen more than that, like in the California market, but here locally in Hampton Roads, and especially in Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, and Norfolk, it hasn’t seen much of a correction at all, somewhere around 3%.

The main thing we are seeing right now helping our buyers and sellers is that buyers are asking for closing costs. They are trying to negotiate the price too, but for the most part, they just need their closing costs…

In today’s market, the most desireable and obtainable loans are the government backed loans. In total contrast to how the market was 4 or 5 years ago, where VA loans were frowned upon, they have become the norm.

The three most common loan products being used in our marketplace are the VA, FHA and the VHDA loans. The VA loan deals with military persons whether currently active or not, and offers 100% financing and very competitive interest rates with no mortgage insurance. FHA loans are open to everyone who qualifies and offers 3% down payment with competitive interest rates but does require mortgage insurance. Lastly, the VHDA loan program is targeted to first time home buyers, but offers a staggering 102% financing but once again, requires mortgage…

As we have all been witnessing over the last three weeks. The stock market has taken a tremendous hit. A reported 2 Trillion has been lost, possibly more, taken from everyone across the country that has money invested in 401K’s, stocks, mutual funds, ect……

There are conflicting comments on the volitility of the stock market, some are saying it’s a great time to get in, and others are saying to get out. Hedge Funds are some of the largest personal market investments out there, with minimum investment capital needed in the millions of dollars. It has been reported that 50% of all hedge funds have pulled out, which is one of the reasons we have see between 500-800 point drops in the DOW.

Personally, my opinion is that there is too much to risk in the…