10 Reasons to Buy a Home Now!

10 REASONS TO BUY A HOME
from The Wall Street Journal

1. You can get a good deal! This is a buyer’s market. Prices have come down quite a bit since the peak, 20-50% depending on the area. Prices have now been going up for 8 months. Could they fall again? Yes, they could, it is nearly impossible to time the bottom of the market but it doesn’t matter in the long haul.

2. Mortgage rates are incredibly low! You can get a 30-year loan for around 4.3%— this is a record low. Less than 2 years ago interest rates were around 6.3%. This drop lowers your monthly payment by 1/5th. If inflation picks up these rates will disappear. If have deflation you can refinance.

3. Tax Savings! You can deduct your mortgage interest from your taxes,

4. It will be YOUR home. You can remodel whatever you want. You can paint to your liking. And most of all, you are earning equity in your home every month.

5. You’ll get a better home. Do the math between renting and owning, it is quite possible you can afford to buy a nicer home than you can rent.


6. Owning offers some inflation protection. This concept isn’t perfect but studies by Case-Shiller and other economists suggest that owning property, over the long-term often beats inflation by a few percentage points each year.

7. It’s risk capital. Your home isn’t a piggy bank or the stock market and shouldn’t be bought as a means to get rich, but in a few years your home will be worth more than it is today. Equity in your home is another way of linking part of your portfolio to the growth of the economy.

8. It’s forced savings. If you can save $400/month by renting instead of buying will you save the $400 for your future? Probably not. If your mortgage payment pays a portion of the principle you are in return paying yourself and building equity.


9. There is a lot to choose from. While most of the “great deals” are short sales in San Diego there are tons of homes to choose from. At the time of writing this we have 182 detached houses and 62 condos on the market in 92106 and 92107.

10. Sooner or later, the market will clear. Economists say the recession is over and housing prices have been slowly creeping up for 9 months. Will it dip again this winter? Maybe, but with interest rates this low now is the time to buy!

Questions?
Wonder what is for sale in your neighborhood?
Call us ~ we are here to help!
(619) 224-7249

Happy Real Estate Summer!

The real estate market has continued to improve over the past year, but now that the Federal first-time buyer tax credit is OVER where will we go from here? With only about 1/2 of the California State "first time buyer" tax credit left will our market dip again?

May was an off-the-charts month for my business, personally, our escrow office was swamped and my office had the highest number of closings in the past 2 years. Of course, many of these transactions were taking advantage of the federal AND state tax credits, a lucky select few have been able to take advantage of BOTH credits, saving up to $18k. We will know by July 1st how the market will react post-federal tax credit (credit expires June 30th) and by that time the state money will be running low as well.

A big positive I have seen is far more "regular" sales in condos in Point Loma, Ocean Beach and nearby. I recently took a client out to look at 6 condos and EVERY SINGLE ONE was a REGULAR SALE... this was unheard of last year.

If you have any questions or are looking to buy or sell please call or email me 619-224-7249 or adegen@coldwellbanker.com

San Diego Real Estate Market-- It's getting "better"!

Good news for the San Diego real estate market is causing frustration for buyers-- Summer has shown a positive change in the housing market and prices are turning. On par with the season, with beach congestion, tourism has brought more buyers to our city which is great for our economy and real estate but it is causing buyers to frequently be "outbid" on purchases. Almost all [detached] houses priced under $300k are being sold with many offers for over asking price.

Buyers whom 3 years ago could barely afford San Diego's condo market have recently become able to purchase a detached house and a year ago could still "negotiate" the offer and price. Yes, the bulk of these sales were/are foreclosures and short sales but in the past few months low-ball offers have become a thing of the past. Sellers are under-pricing listings, allowing the buyer pool to bid up the price and determine the actual value in the property.

Conservative loans and government loans (FHA) are also restricting owner-occupied buyers from purchasing homes that need a little TLC. Cash buyers and large-down conventional purchasers are scooping up all the small fixer houses because strict loan requirements make a house with excessive peeling paint [etc.] un-loanable.

It is still a great time to buy but buyers need to be confident in their purchase, know the comps and write their offer aggressively.