I’m back with part 2 of my series answering the often asked question from buyers to Realtors®, “Should I buy a house now?” Using a new buyers guide that Keller Williams Realty has provided titled 7 Reasons Why Now is a Great Time to Buy a Home! I intend to answer that very question. Home affordability and low interest rates were the rock stars of Part 1 in this series. Now for the next three in this edge of your seat 
series about why now is a great time to buy.
Reason #3: Home Prices are Trending Up
With all the talk these days about home prices falling and falling you might be surprised to hear that home prices are bouncing back…slightly. They are nowhere near where they were a few years ago. It’ll be a long time before that happens again but after 30 months of declining values nearly every major U.S. market appear to be stabilizing or even appreciating.
This doesn’t mean that they can’t drop further. I have even heard through the grapevine that some experts believe they are going to drop even further. This might be likely but it depends on your market. In a desirable market like Sonoma County your going to see a small decline if any. Basically this is telling you not to try and beat the market because you could be missing a great deal now.
Reason #4: Sellers are Motivated
The definition of a buyers market is when supply exceeds demand and that’s what we are in right now. The reason for this actually rather unfortunate. The economic downturn has brought about a glut of homes on the market called distressed properties. This doesn’t mean that they are in disrepair (even though a good number are) this means that they have either been foreclosed on or are in short sale. Short sale is when the current owner owes more on mortgage than the property is worth.
What this means for you is that as a buyer you are in an incredible negotiating position. Sellers are now competing against each other to get your business. It’s been a long time since we’ve seen this kind of market but it’s here and its time to utilize it.
Reason #5: Lenders are Back in the Game
After the real estate crises exploded a couple years ago it was all over the news that banks were over correcting and not lending out money. This was very true at the time but what this did was bring the underwriting process back to a normal state. The funds are there now for qualifying buyers. If you have a job and show that you are able to make the payments then you’ll most likely be able to qualify. This why I have already written about the importance of getting pre-approved for a loan.
Stay tuned for the third and final part of the answer to “Should I Buy a House Now?”.
Thanks!
Tim Sartori with Keller Williams Realty. Phone: 707-583-7007 Email: tim@thesartoriteam.com
