Clearwater, FL ( April 1, 2009) - For the last few months, I’ve been experiencing quite a different real estate market than the prior 18 months. Buyers are back, and THAT makes all the difference in the world. In the last three months, I’ve got almost as many properties under contract already as I sold for the entire year in 2008!
This is the very best time to buy – prices are as low as they are probably going to go, and interest rates are also very low. The selection is amazing, and I really think this is an opportunity to jump on.
Sure, it takes persistence and decent credit, but that is what I’d expect after the nightmare the banks have been experiencing recently. Too many lenders made money too easy to get, and that is one of the problems that caused the debacle we’ve all been witnessing. Now we’re all going to suffer for that. However, please do not believe the
rumors being spread that it is impossible to get financing, that just isn’t true at all. In fact, Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Loans are more popular than they’ve been in decades, allowing the seller to help the buyer with up to 6% of the price in costs to close, and a 3% down payment that can come from anywhere. It’s even possible to add money for repairs onto an FHA loan, which means that even homes needing repair can be purchased with an FHA loan.
Housing and Urban Development Secretary, Shaun Donovan just released a statement in mid-March that suggests the housing market is improving. Home prices in February started to stabilize for the first time in six months .
February also showed the largest gain in home sales since 2003, rising 5.1%. Unfortunately more than 45% of those properties were either pre-foreclosure, or bank-owned, but the fact that properties are being purchased is some of the best news we could have in real estate.
If you consider low prices, low interest rates, and that first time homebuyers are eligible for up to an $8,000 tax credit this year, I personally haven’t seen a better time to be a home buyer!
Please feel free to call me to see if you can qualify to take advantage of these low prices and interest rates!
Pam Ryan Anderson
Real Estate Broker
Ryan Realty
727-442-2822