Home staging has arrived to nearly every price range of home.  See the difference for your self in this short video about the benefits of staging.

Since the beginning of the real estate “bubble” headlines much has been made of the “median Price”.  Could there be any other indicator that might help people understand what is actually happening in the real estate market?  You can find report after report citing the median price and it doesn’t seem to connect to the value trends that are reported.  
Bob Hunt explains: Focusing on the Median Price Can Be Misleading.

If you are in the market or considering a purchasing your first home you should consider the economic factors and market conditions.  Forecasters are telling us that mortgage rates will continue to fall slightly before stabilizing.  We hear regularly that the housing market is at or near the bottom and a turn around is likely to begin later this year. I think most would agree that housing values are depressed.  As mortgage rates fall you are able to acquire a mortgage at a very affordable rate. 

That means you have a perhaps once in a lifetime (certainly a once in a long-time) opportunity to buy a home at a discount and finance that home at an extremely low interest rate.  It’s known as Buying Power and today’s first time buyers have it.

Savvy buyers and investors are taking advantage of this buying opportunity.  We are already seeing multiple offers on properties that are priced well or below the market.  Take for example a property that sold for 168,000 just 2 years ago.  It was recently listed at $137,500 by the lender that foreclosed on the property.  There were competing offers.  The property needed clean-up and painting totaling approximately $3,500.  That’s a $27,000 discount from the market high of 2 years ago (more if you don’t mind painting).  Factor a low interest rate on the mortgage and there is additional savings.  If you have seen an increase in your earnings in the past 2 years you can factor that in the equation as well.  Keep in mind that this is just one example and not the normal discount you should expect in the Metro St. Louis market but I used this one to illustrate the opportunities that are available.

The truth about whether a home is a good investment.

Overnight Real Estate Rates Sink Further Inman News

Latest Housing Forecast from National Association of REALTORS

Housing Market Ready to Rebound?

Search the Metro St. Louis MLS database.  Tip: look for properties with reduced prices.

Do I qualify for a mortgage given the tightening guidelines?

Daily Real Estate News  |  March 13, 2008
Foreclosures in February were down 4 percent from January, but the rate of foreclosures remain high year-over-year. The February rate was up 57 percent from February 2007.

“The year-over-year increase this February was significantly higher than the 19 percent year-over-year increase in February 2007, indicating we have still not reached the peak of foreclosure activity in this cycle,” says James J. Saccacio, CEO of RealtyTrac, which markets foreclosed properties.

The 10 states with the highest foreclosure rates were, in order, Nevada, California, Florida, Arizona, Colorado, Michigan, Ohio, Georgia, Indiana, and Tennessee.

The 10 states with the most foreclosures were, in order, California, Florida, Texas, Michigan, Ohio, Arizona, Illinois, Georgia, Colorado, and Nevada.

Source: RealtyTrac (03/13/2008)

Daily Real Estate News  |   February 25, 2008

Is housing about to enjoy a spring thaw or will it remain in the deep freeze? Some observers are optimistic.

“I think this is the best buyer’s market that has existed in a decade, maybe longer,” says Russell Shaw, in his 30th year with John Hall & Associates real estate in Phoenix. “There is tons of inventory, great interest rates, and the prices are back in line. If people have a good track record of paying their bills, the loans are there.”

Likewise, Floyd Scott, president of Century 21 Arizona Foothills, which has 10 offices and 460 associates in Phoenix, says: “If I would have described this whole process as a hurricane coming through Phoenix, I would tell everybody that for the last month I’ve been taking the shutters off the windows because I think the eye of the storm and most of it is behind us. Now we’re in the process of picking up the debris.”

Others are having trouble seeing beyond the roadblocks.

“We have this continuing battle with tightening lending standards and it’s going to be tough for prospective buyers, even though they want the homes — that’s going to be an obstacle,” says Young Kim, an economist at Stone & McCarthy Research Associates in Princeton, N.J.

Source: Reuters News, Lynn Adler (02/25/08)