Sweet Summertime….  Sorry about the email/blog silence lately…  in June, Chris Berg and I started a radio ad on 102.3 & 620, and they needed some analytics from the running of that for awhile.  We didn’t want to mess it up with analytics from the email/blog.  It’s been so weird not sending this out for awhile though.  Always remember that if you ever have any questions you can always email, call, or text me anytime.  I am always here to help.  I also have all of these on the blog page at www.learningtobuyahome.com too.  You can also browse through those too.

Now… the Clark County Fair starts this Friday!   The fair runs from Friday, August 2 through Sunday, August 11th.  Chris Berg and I will be at the Clark County Fair again this year… because we are crazy.  Please, stop by and say, “hi!” to us… it is the one thing that keeps up sane while we are there.  It’s a long 10 days and we will be there EVERY day.  I will be at the booth (inside the cool big exhibit hall, second booth to the right of the main doors) from 10am-4pm, and Chris will be there from 4pm-10pm….  EVERY DAY.  So, please… stop by… talk to us… help us preserve what little sanity we have left…. AND … tell us you saw/read this post AND we have something pretty cool for you. Why? Because I went a little crazy on the promotional items, and I need to get them out of my garage so I can park in there again before the weather starts to turn.  Help a gal out…

  So this week let’s talk a bit about the market…  I’ve have a few people ask me if the market is starting to ‘turn’… and my answer is a mixed bag.  First things first….it’s summer, and weather has a LOT to do with real estate, which is kind of weird, but there is a reasoning behind it.  The BEST months of the year to be a buyer is always going to be the winter months of November, December, and January.  There are couple of reasons for this ….  weather (cold, crappy, rainy, and sometimes snowy), and the holidays…. not many folks want to be out looking or selling during the holidays.  Because of these reasons, home typically ‘sit’ on the market for a bit longer.  This is good for buyers because it gives people time to think before jumping on a home and making an offer, and because the market is a bit ‘softer’ during these months, there are less multiple offer situations and more sellers are willing to pay some closing costs.  The down side of these months is that there aren’t usually as many homes for sale on the market….this is an upside for the seller, as there is less competition for the seller.  The second BEST months of the year to be a buyer are JULY and AUGUST…  why?  because again….it’s HOT, and surprisingly the hotter it is the less people are out looking at homes.  People want to go the lakes, rivers, and beaches when it is hot….they don’t want to go look at homes.  Also, there is less buyer competition during these months because it is summer, and during that time of year there are additional childcare costs, getting ready for school costs, and vacations.  One of the pluses about the summer months over the winter months is that there is usually a lot more homes for sale during these months.  The craziest time of year to be a buyer is always during February through June as this is usually the busiest time as people have tax refunds to use for down payments (if you don’t have one though there are programs to help with this), and closing costs.  February and June can go either way….depending on the year, but during this time there tends to be less homes on the market and a LOT more buyer competition so more multiple offers, homes sell for more than listing price, and sellers are less likely to pay any closing costs.  
  So what if you have a home to sell, and need to buy one too?  The summer and winter months are your best friend too.  The spring might be easier to sell, but as a buyer you will have a more difficult time with that ‘sell my home first’ contingency (more about this on an upcoming blog). The summer and winter months will give you a more solid buyer, and availability to purchase your new home with being contingent on the sale of your current home.

  Does this explain the price drops you are seeing?  Yes… the market is always on steroids during the spring, and when people list during the summer they see this, but as the home sits on the market for a bit longer, the price drops start happening. For buyers this is good….  multiple offers are difficult for everyone, and many buyers need some closing costs assistance. If you are a buyer…. go look at homes when it is hot as hades out there…  it is a good thing!  
  The home market really follows interest rates  Interest rates went up for a bit, and the market softened a bit.  Interest rates dropped again recently, and that has helped some buyers with the amount they’re pre-approved for.  Remember that you are pre-approved for a monthly home payment (not a purchase price).  The monthly home payment is directly related to interest rates….so as rates go up, a buyer is pre-approved for less.  I’m talking to my buyers right now, and reminding them that the home they purchase is really a 7-10 year home.  The market has been going up for quite awhile, but it’s not skyrocketing like it was.

  We see many more homeowners following the interest rates, and seeing home prices start to soften, so we are seeing more home inventory hitting the market….again… this is a good thing as it will ease up the low supply/high demand that caused home prices to skyrocket.

   Please remember a couple of things….I might have been called a witch a time or two, but my powers of seeing the future are not very good. My magic wand is a hit and miss, and that silly 8 ball lies to me quite frequently.  All we can do is listen to the economists, watch and follow the trends, and rely of past economic predictions. 
  Good news is that YES, due to higher inventory and lower demand and this infernal heat, we ARE seeing price drops.  We are also seeing sellers assisting with buyers closing

  Is there a crash coming?  Not that anyone sees….no…  What the economists are talking about is a ‘market correction’  where rising interest rates control the skyrocketing home prices.  When that is coming is anyone’s guess though….   Please remember that your home is just that…your home.  While it is an investment…it’s an investment in your future.  Owning a home is a long term investment.

  Now for those of you who love this heat….  I am too fluffy, pale, and my hair is too frizzy for this kind of madness…. 🙂