It passes the smell test!
Now is the time to purchase, and sell, real estate. How many times have we heard this “exclamation,” yet now truly is the time to purchase real estate. I know we receive a constant barrage of information stating how bad the “financial sector” is, but that is where the smell test comes into play. All “real property (real estate)” did not become a bad asset overnight. Knee-jerk reactions smell and are usually just quick responses with shakier actions. If one had time to review the situation a “little longer a different action almost always would be the result.” Real estate did not instantly turn into 5-day old fish.
Locally home sales are up, the market is moving, homes are selling, and real estate trends show `improvements if you review all of the information available. Inventory levels are declining, a leading indicator, and prices are stabilizing. Are they leveling off where we want them? No, but stabilization is the first step to bringing confidence back in the publics eye.
In Fauquier County, of the 576 homes are listed for sale, 301 homes have reduced in their “listed price” since first coming to market. In Culpeper County, of the 509 homes listed for sale, 247 homes have been reduced in “listed price.” Fauquier County data shows 106 homes currently are under contract of sale while Culpeper County currently has 92 homes under contract. These numbers show dramatic improvements when compared to those for the first 6 months of 2008.
Banks understand and homeowners are finally beginning to understand the economics of 2008. One of the first “keys” to buying or selling a home today is “getting keys to turn.” How do you get the key to the front door to turn…price. Sellers and buyers pay attention and price is the number one item of consideration. Getting the key to turn if you are a buyer means physically viewing the property; if you are a seller, it means placing your home at the price that gets the purchaser to your door. Buyers and sellers know pricing. They see the listed price of EVERY home in their price range to purchase, or that of the competition, homes competing for sale with their home. Homes are selling at market value. Market value today includes duress, it may not be fair, but it is improving.
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Data gathered September 29, 2008