The number of Valley homeowners losing their homes to foreclosure has shot up 566 percent so far this year, a result of the housing market’s slowdown and rising interest rates on a variety of risky mortgages……..

To read the rest of the article, click on this link:  AZCentral.com.  As homeowners, this is just one of hundreds of articles we see posted everyday.  It’s no secret.  Home values are falling. 

So what’s a homeowner to do?  Or a perspective buyer?  Well, I am going to weigh in on these questions.

As a homeowner myself, if I did not have to sell, I would sit tight and wait.  The housing market will settle and values will start to rise once again.  So if your home is working for you, stay put and let the market settle.

If you need to sell, make your house shine.  Make it stand out.  There are a lot of websites out there with tips to help your home sell.  Houses that are priced well and look good, are still selling.  So listen to your real estate professional.  He/she will offer tips and solutions for getting your home sold quickly.  It’s a business transaction.  It’s not personal.  But often times, as homeowners, we find it to be personal to us.  Having lived in the home and spending time there with our families, having memories of those times, can sometimes cloud our judgement.  That is why a realtor is so important.  They can take it from a personal level, to a business level….where it needs to be.  And remember, although you may have to sell for less than you would have a year ago, you will also be buying for less.  It all evens out in the wash.

As a homebuyer, all I can say is NOW IS THE TIME TO BUY.   So many of my clients are asking if they should wait until we hit bottom.  My only question is, how will you recognize “the bottom?”  It’s only recognized once prices start going back up.  And then it’s too late.  The deals are now.  If you can qualify, then get in on some great home prices.  Get into that first home.  You will be glad you did.

Feel free to contact me with an questions.

With all the news stories the past couple of months about the rate reductions, you would think buying a home or refinancing in the current financial market should be cheaper than buying a burger for dinner.  So is it??????  NOOOOOOOO, try again!

The plain hard fact is that with all the rate cuts by The Fed,  the consumer doesn’t seem to be seeing the benefit of the cuts.  Why is that?  Well, really there are a lot of complicated reasons but the quick easy answer is this.  The investors who purchase the loans on Wall Street are looking for a higher return on their investment now that the investment itself seems more risky.  Therefore, the lenders that make the loans are charging a higher rate in order to sell those loans on Wall Street.

The other piece of news is that The Fed has signaled that as soon as they feel that inflation is becoming a danger, they will reverse those cuts as quickly as they gave them.  The wild card is what the rates will do.  Hard to tell in this market but it makes sense that they would have to go up too.  I guess only time will tell……Continue to feel that you can contact me with any questions or problems that you might have!!