Category — Real Estate

2006 was a mixed year. We had records set in the stock markets and the housing markets. As I’m writing this the Dow has closed at a record high of 12,445.52 and looks like it will rise even higher before the year closes. At the same time, our housing market is setting records on the other end of the spectrum. This year we saw more homes available on the market than at any other time in history. Some people have done really well this year, other’s have lost nearly everything in the housing market bust. 2006 was a mixed year.

Enter 2007.

The Housing Market Will Normalize – Some areas will see growth, some will see prices come back down to where they should be. According to the article “Best and Worst Real Estate Markets” there will some spots that are hot and some that are not.

If you happen to live in the northeast, your market looks to be fairly steady with a few hot spots and a few cool spots, ranging from a projected 4.8% growth in Syracuse, N.Y. to a -3.6% drop in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. [Read more →]

Imagine that you want to invest in the market. Imagine that you’ve been saving up for years and have thousands of dollars accumulated. Would you go to the first stock broker listed in the yellow pages and ask him for advice? How about if he sent you a postcard in the mail that told you he was the best stock broker in town? Would you trust him then? Of course not!

When you are looking for investment advice you go to an established broker. You go to one that has a good reputation and one that has experience. If that is true for people’s equity investments, then why don’t they put as much time into researching the one that will market and sell one of their largest assets, their home? In this article I want to look at how to pick a Realtor in a slow housing market.

In 2005 the National Association of Realtors (NAR) took a survey that revealed over half of its members have four years or less of experience under their belts. This slump that we’re seeing in the housing market is the first in 11 years. That means that more than half of the Realtors in the United States have never seen a slow housing market! So what do you look for in picking an agent? Well, I think you already know my first point – Look for a Realtor with experience.

[Read more →]