Many people are feeling a sense of doom and gloom over the current real estate market. However, this is not the first time that home prices have adjusted. In fact many times the housing market has taken different turns historically. Here are some quotes from periodicals that should make you smile:
"The prices of houses seems to have reached a plateau, and there is reasonable expectancy that prices will decline." Time Magazine, December 1, 1947
"The goal of owning a home seems to be getting beyond the reach of more and more Americans. The typical new house today costs $28,000." Business week, September 4, 1969
"Most economists agree. . . .(a home) will become little more than a roof and a tax deduction, certainly not the lucrative investment it was through the 1980’s." Money, 1986
"Financial planners agree that houses will continue to be a poor investment." Kiplinger’s Personal Finance. November, 1993
The thing to remember is that you alone can determine how long you are going to live in a house. If you think you will be in one place for many years, the odds are that you are making a good investment. Housing markets rise and decline over the years. Our team sold a 3 bedroom home in 2003 for $350,000. The seller had bought that home with her husband for $7,200 in 1947. She had raised two daughters there and had actually paid off the home in 1977. From 1977 until 2003 she lived there mortgage-free. When she and her husband bought the home in 1947, both of their parents told them they had made the most foolish mistake of their lives. You decide.
How do you start the process of looking for a home? Years ago, buyers went up and down streets writing the addresses of homes they thought they might like to see. This process was tedious and often times when the buyer got inside the house, it was far from what they thought they were going to see. All in all, the process was a waste of time for all involved.
Today there are ways to make looking for homes more effective. Your REALTOR® has the ability to email you listings with "Virtual Tours" on them. This will give a buyer even more information on a home. The agent can also send the buyer the price of the home (so no one looks at a home they cannot afford), specifics on the home (how many bedrooms, how many baths, etc.) and pictures of the inside of the home. So if a buyer is looking for a home with neutral décor and the house has red wallpaper in one room and pink wallpaper in another, a buyer can look for himself or herself to determine if they can live with the décor. We make sure you have seen the virtual tour of a home before you look. And if a home does not have a virtual tour, you could be surprised when you see it.
Nothing takes the place of looking in person, but you can start your search with the help of a licensed professional to make a more educated guess at which homes you would like to see in person. The Dynamite Team is here for you!
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