During recent conversations with friends and family members I’m asked where the housing market is headed and if I think there’s another Great Depression coming. The fear is real estate will lose another huge portion of its value; when will it all stop.
Well I’ve never shied away from giving my perspective on such matters and I think something we should all note is the attitude of the man who is considered the greatest investor of all time – Warren Buffet. As I have mentioned before, he has purchased $8B in preferred stock. Even more dramatic is that $5B of it went to a financial company (Goldman Sachs).
Not only is he not running scared, he’s running strong with this market – taking ground and improving his position. We all know there are some tough times ahead, and so does Warren. But he demonstrated his ultimate faith in the economy, in the markets and in the fact that now is the time to gain ground and not pull back.
Well done, Mr. Buffet, you’re a good role model for all of us.
The fact remains over 2,000 residential properties have sold in Stark County in the last 6 months; 30% of which sold in the first 30 days they were on the market. It is a great time to be in real estate, particularly if you are a first time buyer, moving up to a larger home or an investor. Interested in more positive facts, contact me anytime.
Stay tuned. And oh by the way... I'm never too busy for your referrals.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
A Crisis of Confidence…
At times like this, the one thing you need most is confidence. Do you believe this is a good time to buy? Do you believe in the value of real estate? It’s amazing to me how many people, including fellow Agents are asking themselves if this is a good time to buy real estate. My answer is, “Interest rates and home prices are as low as they’ve been in ten years, and there is a great selection of homes … trust me that the intrinsic value of real estate is going to increase. If you want to know what opportunity in real estate looks like … it looks like this market, right now.”
I’m not asking anyone to be Pollyanna or to ignore the current circumstances, but to embrace 100 years of empirical data which shows without questions that if you hold real estate long enough you will see an increase in its value. It’s time to get informed. That’s what we do; we pride ourselves on educating our clients. As an Agent, I’m confident in this market and am planning to stay with it full-time for the long term. What we offer our clients is a trusted professional; a trusted advisor. The credit markets will sort themselves out. Banks need to loan money to make money. Like you and I need air to breathe.
Real estate is the only industry in the world that when our products are at a deep discount and we’re having our ‘lowest prices in ten years’ sale, we get depressed and act like someone just shot our dog!
There are deals to be made. Warren Buffet’s buying right now, why shouldn’t we? There is no reason not to be confident in real estate. I’m a local Agent, a local expert in a local market; we have the facts. I’m also part of a national network of the best Agents in North America. So whether you are interested in NE Ohio or Las Vegas, NV, we have the experts available to help you take advantage of 'opportunity'.
A final thought; did you know there are eight times more millionaires made in a down market than in an up market? You can take that fact to the bank.
I’m not asking anyone to be Pollyanna or to ignore the current circumstances, but to embrace 100 years of empirical data which shows without questions that if you hold real estate long enough you will see an increase in its value. It’s time to get informed. That’s what we do; we pride ourselves on educating our clients. As an Agent, I’m confident in this market and am planning to stay with it full-time for the long term. What we offer our clients is a trusted professional; a trusted advisor. The credit markets will sort themselves out. Banks need to loan money to make money. Like you and I need air to breathe.
Real estate is the only industry in the world that when our products are at a deep discount and we’re having our ‘lowest prices in ten years’ sale, we get depressed and act like someone just shot our dog!
There are deals to be made. Warren Buffet’s buying right now, why shouldn’t we? There is no reason not to be confident in real estate. I’m a local Agent, a local expert in a local market; we have the facts. I’m also part of a national network of the best Agents in North America. So whether you are interested in NE Ohio or Las Vegas, NV, we have the experts available to help you take advantage of 'opportunity'.
A final thought; did you know there are eight times more millionaires made in a down market than in an up market? You can take that fact to the bank.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Great Depression?
I’m getting asked on a regular basis where do I see this market going. It feels like we are going into a depression based on the news reports of doom and gloom. Appears many people are reacting to the news when they should be taking a step back to understand where we are and how we got here. It is very important to go back to the facts; nationally and our local market.
Panic doesn’t cause depression; bad policy does. Foolish decisions regarding increased taxes, trade tariffs, and monetary policy are what caused the Great Depression. A great read on the subject is a book called The Forgotten Man – A new history of the Great Depression by Amity Shlaes. You’ll see how the 1929 stock market crash did not cause the Depression.
Another great example of how different a time this is to 1929 is that during the Great Depression countries, especially America, were isolationist by nature and tried to enact a win-lose economic policy. Just last week the Fed, European/British and Canadian Central Banks all lowered rates in unison and even though this cut won’t do much to bring up the credit market, it is a radical contrast to what took place during the Depression.
We are obviously in a recession and will be for a time but, as we are already seeing out West, there’s plenty of demand for discounted homes. Many short sales and foreclosures are in multiple bid situations. There’s money to be made in times like this but it requires us to take the emotions of our fears and apprehension and pour it into the diligence of our daily activities to generate leads.
The best indicators of a turning housing market are inventories and properties sold. In Stark County we continue to follow a very predicable seasonal trend. We typically have two “bumps” in the market; early Spring and late Fall. In fact September sales did jump after declining over the Summer. Inventories remain steady.
There are good values in the market today. Based on 100 years of National Association of Realtors data, home sales will again appreciate. For at least the next 2 years this will remain an ideal market for first-time home buyers, home owners wanting to move up to a larger home and investors.
I don’t know about you, but I am keeping my eye on the situation and putting my head down and getting back to work. OH, by the way… we’re never too busy for your referrals.
Panic doesn’t cause depression; bad policy does. Foolish decisions regarding increased taxes, trade tariffs, and monetary policy are what caused the Great Depression. A great read on the subject is a book called The Forgotten Man – A new history of the Great Depression by Amity Shlaes. You’ll see how the 1929 stock market crash did not cause the Depression.
Another great example of how different a time this is to 1929 is that during the Great Depression countries, especially America, were isolationist by nature and tried to enact a win-lose economic policy. Just last week the Fed, European/British and Canadian Central Banks all lowered rates in unison and even though this cut won’t do much to bring up the credit market, it is a radical contrast to what took place during the Depression.
We are obviously in a recession and will be for a time but, as we are already seeing out West, there’s plenty of demand for discounted homes. Many short sales and foreclosures are in multiple bid situations. There’s money to be made in times like this but it requires us to take the emotions of our fears and apprehension and pour it into the diligence of our daily activities to generate leads.
The best indicators of a turning housing market are inventories and properties sold. In Stark County we continue to follow a very predicable seasonal trend. We typically have two “bumps” in the market; early Spring and late Fall. In fact September sales did jump after declining over the Summer. Inventories remain steady.
There are good values in the market today. Based on 100 years of National Association of Realtors data, home sales will again appreciate. For at least the next 2 years this will remain an ideal market for first-time home buyers, home owners wanting to move up to a larger home and investors.
I don’t know about you, but I am keeping my eye on the situation and putting my head down and getting back to work. OH, by the way… we’re never too busy for your referrals.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Housing Issue? Bank Issue?
I have shared with you that I don’t believe we have a serious real estate problem; we have a banking problem. This week has certainly confirmed that. These are turbulent times indeed and nobody has a crystal ball. However…the world’s greatest investor just bought $5B of Goldman Sachs stock and several $B GE shares – which is why he is the world’s greatest. He is buying when everyone is bailing.
How this whole government bailout program works out is anybody’s guess but I do know this; people keep having babies, folks are living longer and economics is based on supply and demand. As time goes by excess inventory will be picked up, prices will continue to stabilize and the market will find a new normal. Even now in the Stark County market activity is increasing as we realize there are some very good values available.
Real Estate is local. Inventories are moving down as we see a couple months of consistant sales. These are good signs for our market. Stay tuned for additional updates, trends and opportunities.
How this whole government bailout program works out is anybody’s guess but I do know this; people keep having babies, folks are living longer and economics is based on supply and demand. As time goes by excess inventory will be picked up, prices will continue to stabilize and the market will find a new normal. Even now in the Stark County market activity is increasing as we realize there are some very good values available.
Real Estate is local. Inventories are moving down as we see a couple months of consistant sales. These are good signs for our market. Stay tuned for additional updates, trends and opportunities.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
