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powayseller
ParticipantYes, and I will post my analysis of the UCLA Anderson report on your site first. I’m still collecting employment data…
ParticipantLostkitty, I decided to ignore fellows who stray from the manners of a gentleman. I decide to limit my comments and replies to posts showing thought, intelligence, insight, or questions. This simple action will keep this forum elevated, if we can all do so. I prefer the company of gentleman, don’t you?
ParticipantTalk to the realtor. Within 5 minutes you’ll know if they’re in for a quick buck, or care about your long-term goals. In the first 5 minutes, I either figure out the realtor’s spiel is “prices never go down” or “only buy if you can afford to stay for the long term”.
My one realtor friend said that several times he submitted offers, good for 24 hours, and the buyer’s agent said, “I can’t get together w/ my clients for 3 days”, and thus didn’t even tell the buyer there was an offer! Just because the agent couldn’t fit it into her schedule. How do you avoid that? How would a referral help with that?
About referrals: I don’t give them too much weight. Most people will trump up the doctor or realtor they previously used, to convince themselves they made a good choice, and justify their own decision. Second, even people with mediocre experience will use the same professional again out of convenience.
ParticipantThe media can’t get enough of the housing bubble these days. Thanks for the link.
ParticipantThe level of detail given in this post leaves no doubt you are indeed busy. Congratulations to you. My realtor friend has 3 closings by the end of May, and is really happy about the spike in activity. So you and she are getting more of the share of sales. Way to go!
ParticipantThanks.
Participant80% of homes are sold over the internet. Sellers need good photos, and a narrated video tour. Buyers choose the homes they want to see. When the buyer sees the house, is the realtor going to say, “I won’t show you that one, it’s already in pending?” I wouldn’t put it past some of them.
And that’s why Open Houses are a waste of time for realtors. Serious buyers no longer need to drive around to Open Houses. They preview on the internet. Of course, you still get all the looky-loos at the Open Houses. But I think most realtors have found that Open Houses are the old way of doing business. The new way is internet-driven. Effective realtors have a web portal, which has MLS listings and market data. That’s how you get your customers, your prospective buyers. JJGittes, you’re absolutely right – people ARE looking on the internet for their homes. Gone are the days when you called the realtor and gave him your criteria, he pulled up the list of eligible homes, and you both drove around to preview, or you found Open Houses on your own. That’s the old way of doing stuff. But many realtors have not adjusted yet.
ParticipantJawbone, I think this blog has had a lack of courage, as people have avoided sticking up for the truth. As long as you give generalized berating comments, and don’t attack any one person individually, your comments are fair game. I do think your language is strong, but you have a right to say it.
I am in regular contact with several realtors, some of whom are my friends, and the good ones are saying, “Hey, only buy now if you can afford to ride out the next 10 years because they’ll be bumpy and your house value will decline before it goes up. Get a fixed rate mortgage. Can you handle riding it out and getting a fixed? If no, don’t buy now.”
ParticipantBob told me today that the continued decline in the under-500K buyer is skewing the statistics. Compared to last year, we have a 12% proportional drop in low-end sales, and a 33% proportional increase in high-end sales. How’s that for getting inside the numbers?
Another realtor told me today that in the 90s the median price did not reflect the total price drops, because houses were getting bigger. If you were looking at $/sq ft, the drops were larger than reported by median price data.
Participantzk, what is your perspective on the market and where it’s heading? Do you work in a business affiliated with the RE market?
When I go to the UCLA Anderson Forecast Economic Meeting this morning, I’ll ask about how to time getting back in, if I get a chance, to hear another perspective.
ParticipantWhat are the mortgage brokers and realtors, who lost their income, doing to get by? How long had they been in the business?
ParticipantNo offense taken, but I need to update, in this 2004 article:
“Poway has a history of maintaining a balanced city budget and consistently putting away money in savings.
The city’s ability to continue the pattern is particularly significant, though, in a year in which financial problems at the state level have forced cities throughout California to make drastic budget cuts.
Many municipalities are struggling with budget cuts and/or with using reserve funds to cover large financial deficits. Poway city officials said they’ve managed to avoid using any of the $3.1 million the city has stashed away in an “economic uncertainity” fund.”
ParticipantLostkitty, may I take this moment to thank you for sticking up for me, and keeping our threads positive.
ParticipantSpeaking as a homeowner and a renter, I can honestly say that life as a renter is more peaceful and enjoyable.
I’m actually happier now, without the worries of constant repairs and my insatiable desire to keep decorating and fixing up. In the rental, I don’t really care about replacing the mini blinds, spending 6 months’ salary on a kitchen remodel, replacing the sprinkler system, or spending an entire weeks’ pay at Restoration Hardware on gazillion-count sheets to match my organic cotton pure white duvet cover. After all, it’s only a rental. The neighbor kids all love me, and are constantly over at the house playing with my kids. I’ve got great neighbors.
My husband has so much leisure time, since he’s not constantly embarking on an improvement or fix-up project. He has more time to golf, play soccer, take the dog for a walk, go running, do electrical robot projects with the kids, read books…This leaves him more relaxed, and a lot more time for he and me to spend just being in the bedroom rather than remodeling it. (I hope adult humor is allowed here.) Believe me, homeownership is really overrated. I think the real estate industry has effectively brainwashed people into thinking it’s more meaningful than it really is. They lobbied Congress to enact mortgage tax deductions, and people figure if Congress thinks it’s good, it must be….
Although we will buy again, because eventually we want a home that’s paid off, I am enjoying my life as a renter. Immensely!
So I suggest that you think of what you’re yearning for, what you think that owning a home will provide, and perhaps you can fill that need some other way. Love to build? Check out Habitat for Humanity? Want to connect with neighbors? Go ahead.
I hope I gave some people a different perspective.
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