Should I stay or should I go...
Today you can go on the internet and pull up numerous articles all giving opinions of when the economy and real estate market will recover. Actually, if you would like good news about the state of our economy, I am sure you can find some articles commenting on how recovery is just right around the corner, and then there are also those that will say we are not even close to recovery.
“I’m not sure anyone really knows when we can expect things to turn around,” says Heidi Hines, a local Charlotte, NC/Lake Norman/Highland Creek real estate expert.
We do know some factual things, such as interest rates are still very favorable for buying a house, as well as home prices. We do know that it is a sure bet that home mortgage rates are will rise and possibly rapidly in the near future. The rates have been held down in hopes that they would create an incentive to purchase a house, but the plan has not worked.
The fact is, in approximately 90 days the “shadow inventory” of Bank owned houses will be flooding the market, causing another decline in home values.
Should you wait to sell your house or should you sell now? The next 90 days will probably be your best chance to sell during 2011. This is the time of the year when more buyers are in the market.
Interest rates are almost certain to rise, and in the near future when the bank owned properties flood the market, your present value could and probably will take another hit.
Based on those facts, now is a good time to make your move. If you choose to wait for values to rebound, I believe you can count on waiting at least another three years before you see any significant increase in values, and by that time interest rates will probably be around eight percent or more.
And here is your morning coffee...
INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:
AWAKE THE SLEEPING GIANT!
So . . . which brochure have you been reading? Maybe it's the one that promises "clear sailing" or "romantic sunsets" or "excitement guaranteed!" Maybe you're into the financial brochures that read "no money down" or "financial freedom in 30 days" or "sell a million dollars a month without leaving home."
For many years now, the brochures of our lives have promised and delivered success, satisfaction, and wealth. It's been a good run. There's another brochure many of us have signed onto - "for better or for worse." Notice that the "for better" comes first, and so it has been for a long time.
Nevertheless, our country experiences cycles, as do our lives. Few of us living today have ever experienced a serious "for worse" part of the national cycle. Yet, it has been those periods in the history of our country that have brought out the best in us. The Great Depression of the thirties was the catalyst for the strong work ethic of the baby boomers. Two world wars taught us to value our freedom.
So, maybe life isn't always "what the brochure promises." If we're entering one of those periods when we are to be tested, so be it. We are a resilient people. While we may have been dozing at the internal security wheel, lulled by the smooth purring of our national economic engine, we are also able to awaken in an instant. Our purpose and principles can quickly be brought to full throttle.
No matter the threat, we are a people united by the brochure's great promise of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness - ready, willing, and able to serve. Be alert and be of service!
