Hey Jeff, any tips? (OT)

Jeff has the correct take on real estate. However having just gone through the process with my son, I found that the first two houses we put an offer on actually sold for more than the listing price. In both cases we were told there was another bidder and I took that as being a sales tactic. Of course there apparently really was and we came up short. However, in the long run we put an offer on a house comparable to the first two and got it for 20K less than they went for. So it just takes patience. And Willow.com did seem to be pretty accurate for house values. May not be in all markets but was in the one we looked in. MikeW

Everyone seems to be in a wait and see attitude for home sales and the like right now. I send out every Wednesday mortgage interest rate updates for people that have applied online with my company and I attached this article:

MBA: Home loan demand hits three-year low - Aug. 30, 2006*

I have had the most response from this article with people in agreement that it is a waiting game as far as mortgages than with any other article or interest rate update that I have sent since July.

Bob Miles Tucson AZ

Here is the link to the article if anyone is interested:

Bob Miles Tucson AZ

T'ain't so... Austin is still booming as are a few other places.

JT

Lee Aanderud wrote:

Most experts forecast the current downturn which is the one of the worst in the past thirty years to continue for at least a couple of years. Most properties are overvalued and many will be dumped on the market within the next 24 months.

I have long term interests which I expect to be on hold at least to 2008 if not longer...

JT

John Poulos wrote:

There's always going to be pockets, like Joe mentioned around Fort Bragg where 25,000 troups were reassigned. Austin is still riding the Dell & HP boom. Are houses selling as fast as they were last year in Austin?

I'll correct myself, "For the most part the country is in a real estate slump". Analysts are already talking about the real estate market being ready for a market correction.

Lee

I don't buy the slump jargon. It's a normal economic cycle that follows the cost of money that follows the Fed Reserve tweaking the banks interest rates. If there is going to be a correction, it is because of overbuilding when the cost of money (ie: Mortgage rates) were lowest. I would not define it a 'slump' when records were set for building a year before. Betcha if you look at the long term graph the 'slump' followed a 'spike' and the trend is right on the normal curve lines. Sure, if a factory shuts down, or a military base shuts down (or ramps up) there is going to be a local effect. Knowing what the trend is and getting yourself positioned to take advantage of that trend is what makes the difference. But that's the $64 question for most things... Jeff (I have pains in joints that never hurt before) Rice

"Lee Aanderud" wrote...

Lee Aanderud wrote: The whole country is in a real estate slump...

Austin (like most of Texas) is a boom or bust environment. The bust will get here but probably not for a year or so. High tech is back with several billion in new construction going on.

A friend is a realtor who is doing quite well but he is shrewd and plays circumstance against circumstance successfully.

I know people in other parts of the country who were contemplating buying but opted to rent for at least a year due to the down trends. It's a slippery slope but might be worth a wait due to uncertainty.

JT

Lee Aanderud wrote:

In Tucson, where I live, there is a slump and property types generally have been slow. I originate home loans in Texas and right now the market is good to great in general for the state. The state of Texas has some very high property taxes, but home prices are better for the size of the house in Texas. My Mortgage pricing for a Texas home is somewhat better to compensate for that factor. Again, everything is always in a cycle in the housing industry, as the rest of the economy. Our company is a mortgage bank operating in all 50 states and we are keeping busy right now.

Anyway, N8N sounds like you have a winner! 75K off the asking price is terrific, and I am sure thhe home inspection will come out clean.

Bob Miles Tucson AZ

We'll find out tomorrow (sorry JP; only got so many vacation days to use.)

nate

Here's what is happening in Austin...