Reasons to Buy a House Now in Lee County
By Elizabeth Dougherty
When Chicken Little was hit on the head
with a falling acorn she went around in a panic
yelling, "The sky is falling! The sky is falling!"
When the public was bombarded day
after day after day about the "immediate" and
"impending" real estate crash, they began to react
the same way.
Well, the sky never fell and the real estate
bubble never did burst.
True, some parts of the country had tremendously
over valued houses that had their prices
readjusted closer to their true value.
But even with the investor-driven, infl ated
values of some large metropolitan areas (in states
like Florida and California) overall national housing
prices did not decline – even this past year. You
would, however, have had a hard time fi nding this
fact in the national news.
According to the National Association of
Realtor's Chief Economist, David Lereah "…a national
bubble never burst in housing. In fact, since
the Great Depression, the nation has never experienced
a national price decline. Price appreciation
registered a positive 1.3 percent last year."
So why is it time to buy in Lee County?
1 It's a buyers market - for now
The supply of houses on the market
in Lee County is larger than it has been in
past years. Buyers have been nervous about buying,
but sellers did not panic and prices have not
plummeted.
If there really had been a crashing market,
sellers would have slashed their prices and bargain
buyers would have scooped up the deals. This
did not happen. Well, more accurately, it did not
happen here.
2 This is Lee County - not California
While Lee County is not immune from
a national housing slow down, there is little
question that it is insulated from it. As one Realtor
here described it, "If the national economy gets
pneumonia, we just get a slight cold." Lee County
has continued to grow. Besides the ever-stable Auburn
University, we have major industrial and retail
growth happening right now. While other areas of
the county may be experiencing an economic slow
down, we are not.
3 The selling season is coming soon
All the bad press about declining
markets and housing booms that were going
to bust, seems to have been overstated. True,
some areas of the country had red-hot housing
markets where the prices were skyrocketing every
week. These areas became overvalued and when
they began to adjust downward the national press
seemed to print story after story about the crashing "national" housing market.
Homebuyer confi dence is coming back. But
more importantly the "buying season" is just
around the corner. Buyers tend to move over the
summer. Kids are out of school, people have vacations
and that is when many, many homebuyers
shop and buy.
For families with children, there is a need to
be settled by August. Since it normally takes a few
months to search, view, make an offer, close on a
property and move – you can see that the "buying
season" is just around the corner. Now is the time
to beat the crowd and get the house you want.
Sellers are making concessions - now.
4 Lenders are competitive for your
business
There was no crash, but there were fewer
sales. As such there were fewer loans. Lenders are
very competitive for your business today and have
great products and great rates right now.
5 Interest rates are low - now
While you can't really predict the actions
of the Federal Reserve Board, interest
rates on mortgages are very good – for now. It
seems unlikely that they will be going lower anytime
soon. "Fed's Federal Open Market Committee
(FOMC)… has held the Federal Funds rate steady
at 5.25 percent for the past fi ve FOMC meetings,"
states Lereah. It won't stay there forever. Take
advantage of great rates – while they last.
Elizabeth Dougherty, a resident of
Auburn, is a former Real Estate Broker
and Mortage Broker. She can be
reached at EADougherty1@aol.com.
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