Sign Of The Times - Foreclosure
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It seems every time you pick up a newspaper or turn on the TV these days you’re bombarded with news like “housing crisis”, “financial crisis”, “mortgage crisis”, “foreclosure crisis”, or “pick your crisis”.

The result of all these crises or in layman’s terms, a great big mess is that it has created one of the strongest buyer markets in history. A buyer’s market is defined as a period where the supply of homes is greater than the demand. A buyer’s market means there are lots of homes for sale and not that many buyers.

With underwriter’s guidelines becoming more strict and tighter than ever it’s also becoming harder for even very well qualified buyers to qualify for a loan.

For instance both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, who buy or insure almost 60% of the secondary mortgage market in the US, will only underwrite a loan on a brand new condo where the percentage of owner-occupants is over 70%! The former guideline was 51%. This rule alone is making new condo developments very tough to sell.

Closer to home in Knox County there is a huge number of homes for sale. Today, June 26th for example, there are 4,161 residential listings in all price ranges with an additional 1,068 condos. That’s a total of 5,229 homes for sale.

Months of inventory at current sales levels in Knox County, Tennessee.

Months of inventory at current sales levels in Knox County, Tennessee.

Sellers who want to sell now have a choice. Either sell your house now in the current market at the market price or wait until the market improves (assuming it will improve at some future date) IF you can wait and don’t need or have to sell now.

There are some things you can do to put the odds of selling at the best price in your favor. You can get more in depth tips and guides from the “Sellers” and “Free Stuff” section of my website, www.KnoxvilleHomeCenter.com but here’s the 25 words of less version.

  1. Face the new reality; it’s a buyer’s market.
  2. Price it right! In a buyer’s market it doesn’t matter what you or your Realtor think it’s worth, the only thing that does matter is what a buyer is willing to pay.
  3. Research the local market and see which houses are selling and just as important, which ones are not. You’ll usually find that the ones selling are not only price right but are in ‘move in’ condition with no repairs needed and little if any cosmetic touch ups needed either.
  4. Have an effective Internet strategy. According to National Association of Realtors latest study of Home Buyers and Sellers in 2008, over 84% of all home buyers began their home search on the Internet. Evidence of my Internet effectiveness in selling homes is provided by the fact you’re reading this information; please give me a call if you’re thinking of selling.
  5. Make sure your house makes a great first impression, that ‘curb appeal’ and ’shows great’ thing in action. More tips and a free, 52 page eBook titled “450 Ideas to Make Your Home Seller Faster”, yours for the asking at www.KnoxvilleHomeCenter or just send me at email to [email protected] and I’ll get one back to you right away.
  6. Be flexible. Often buyers will ‘try you out’ with a low ball offer just to see what your reaction will be. Don’t take that as a sign you’re going to have to “give away the farm” to sell. Just counter back at a price you can live with and put the ball back in their court. As Michael Corleone said in that now famous “Godfather” movie: “It’s not personal, it’s just business.”
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