Change is Coming Kansas City Home Owners, Bring Out Your Change!
"Is it a good time to sell Kansas City Real Estate? I mean, interest rates are good, and the stimulus package should bring more Kansas City home buyers, right?"
Yes and yes. Add the fact that Winter buyers in Kansas City are traditionally more focused, and have less competition, and we are definitely in the "Selling Season."
So, what are the specific factors that drive our Kansas City real estate market? There are many factors that contribute, but the common influencers include;
1-$8,000 First Time Buyer Tax Credit
2-$6500 Move-Up Buyer Tax Credit
3-Record low mortgage rates
4-Stabilizing home values
5-Increased Buyer Confidence
Why "Increased Buyer Confidence", you ask? OK, I understand unemployment figures are still higher than anyone would like....A wage-earning, working person has more to be confident about than someone who may be unemployed, or underemployed...Makes sense. And I realize tightening of FHA home lending guidelines will make money tougher to come by in the second half of the year.
Yet the numbers tell a different story for the first half of 2010. Home starts are up and rising. Resale numbers are growing as well. And conversations with jumbo loan lenders lead us to believe that homes selling above the median (for us in the Kansas City Metro around $229,000) are picking up momentum....Consumers are EXPECTING good news.
In the face of short-term optimism, our local market will face challenges this year....
1-Interest rates WILL rise. The Treasury department voiced its intention to discontinue purchasing mortgage-backed securities....READ AS FAILING OR DEFAULTED MORTGAGES....FHA lending guidelines are tightening, with minimum score requirements and rising upfront mortgage insurance premiums adding fuel to an unstable fire.
2-Home values are stabilizing. Look, no more fat to cut, very few "low ball" offers accepted....Foreclosure sellers,and pre-foreclosure sellers have seen values stabilize. As sales on resale homes increase, the market is moving from a "Buyer's" focus to a Neutral focus....
3-Obama steps out. The Tax Credit Incentives are expiring, with contracts accepted into the program only until April 30th. The process to redeem the credit is also tightening....In a discussion with a well-known, local CPA firm, I learned that the program has had it's fair share of attempts of consumers attempting to dodge the guidelines in an effort to secure a credit they may not have earned fairly. As a result, processing the credit takes more effort, and receiving your check will take more time.
So What's Next?", you ask....
Hum....Sold my crystal ball at a mid-winter garage sale to Bernie Madoff's lead defense counsel, so I'm left with chicken bones and the coin toss....Or my ten year-old can make one of those paper thingys you run with both hands....LOVE CHANGE. Eat it with a spoon, embrace it.
You should be left with a fair number of questions about what best course to take as a home-seller, or home-buyer. If you are able, BUY NOW. Take advanttage of the programs available, and the current climate. Run with it.
Are you selling? Tougher questions for you....More variables than I can address in a blog post....Should we talk?
As always, "If you believe an professional is expensive, screw it up with an amateur and then call me to fix it."
Blog post written by the Dowell Taggart Team of RE/MAX Best Associates. Your Kansas City Real Estate Marketing Masters!
Technorati Tags: Kansas City, Real Estate, Tax Credit
"Is it a good time to sell Kansas City Real Estate? I mean, interest rates are good, and the stimulus package should bring more Kansas City home buyers, right?"
Yes and yes. Add the fact that Winter buyers in Kansas City are traditionally more focused, and have less competition, and we are definitely in the "Selling Season."
So, what are the specific factors that drive our Kansas City real estate market? There are many factors that contribute, but the common influencers include;
1-$8,000 First Time Buyer Tax Credit
2-$6500 Move-Up Buyer Tax Credit
3-Record low mortgage rates
4-Stabilizing home values
5-Increased Buyer Confidence
Why "Increased Buyer Confidence", you ask? OK, I understand unemployment figures are still higher than anyone would like....A wage-earning, working person has more to be confident about than someone who may be unemployed, or underemployed...Makes sense. And I realize tightening of FHA home lending guidelines will make money tougher to come by in the second half of the year.
Yet the numbers tell a different story for the first half of 2010. Home starts are up and rising. Resale numbers are growing as well. And conversations with jumbo loan lenders lead us to believe that homes selling above the median (for us in the Kansas City Metro around $229,000) are picking up momentum....Consumers are EXPECTING good news.
In the face of short-term optimism, our local market will face challenges this year....
1-Interest rates WILL rise. The Treasury department voiced its intention to discontinue purchasing mortgage-backed securities....READ AS FAILING OR DEFAULTED MORTGAGES....FHA lending guidelines are tightening, with minimum score requirements and rising upfront mortgage insurance premiums adding fuel to an unstable fire.
2-Home values are stabilizing. Look, no more fat to cut, very few "low ball" offers accepted....Foreclosure sellers,and pre-foreclosure sellers have seen values stabilize. As sales on resale homes increase, the market is moving from a "Buyer's" focus to a Neutral focus....
3-Obama steps out. The Tax Credit Incentives are expiring, with contracts accepted into the program only until April 30th. The process to redeem the credit is also tightening....In a discussion with a well-known, local CPA firm, I learned that the program has had it's fair share of attempts of consumers attempting to dodge the guidelines in an effort to secure a credit they may not have earned fairly. As a result, processing the credit takes more effort, and receiving your check will take more time.
So What's Next?", you ask....
Hum....Sold my crystal ball at a mid-winter garage sale to Bernie Madoff's lead defense counsel, so I'm left with chicken bones and the coin toss....Or my ten year-old can make one of those paper thingys you run with both hands....LOVE CHANGE. Eat it with a spoon, embrace it.
You should be left with a fair number of questions about what best course to take as a home-seller, or home-buyer. If you are able, BUY NOW. Take advanttage of the programs available, and the current climate. Run with it.
Are you selling? Tougher questions for you....More variables than I can address in a blog post....Should we talk?
As always, "If you believe an professional is expensive, screw it up with an amateur and then call me to fix it."
Blog post written by the Dowell Taggart Team of RE/MAX Best Associates. Your Kansas City Real Estate Marketing Masters!
Technorati Tags: Kansas City, Real Estate, Tax Credit
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