Truth #1 about the Quad City Real Estate Market

(This will be an ongoing post revealing the 19 Truths that will help you if you are thinking of buying or selling a home in 2009)

Truth #1: It’s a strong Buyer’s Market.

You may not remember  about 3 years ago when the market was at the opposite extreme, and was a very strong seller’s market.  Those were the days where seller’s could just put their home on the market, and expect multiple offers, sometimes well over the list price.  Buyer’s were active and wanting to buy, and seller’s were running away with enormous profits even if they only owned the home for a couple years. 

First I will define both a seller and buyers market, just in case you are wondering what the difference is exactly.  To put it simply, a seller’s market is like I described above where there are more buyers than there are homes available for them to buy so prices are bid up and buyer’s do not get as good as deal and the sellers have the advantage.  In a buyer’s market it is the opposite.  There are more homes for sale than there are buyer’s for the homes, so the advantage is in favor of the buyer and very often, the sellers will have to make improvements to the homes to get the buyers to choose their home instead of one of the many others on the market.

What is really odd is that now that its a ‘buyer’s market, ‘Buyers aren’t buying as much as they were when it was a ’seller’s market’ a few short years ago. 

Why?  I have no idea?

It is strange that home buyers were a lot more active when they had to face competition from other buyers for their dream home, but now that their is nobody else looking at that home, they have stopped making offers. 

Quite a paradox when in reality,  if you are looking to buy now, you should be most active because the odds of getting a better deal are in your favor. Sellers are motivated, especially if they are trying to sell their home to buy another one.   With this motivation brings added value to the buyer in that sellers are sometimes making improvements to the home that the buyer would normally have to make when they moved in. Sellers may also be more willing to move off list price, offer money for closing costs, or leave an appliance they weren’t planning on leaving, ultimately saving the buyer huge out-of-pocket expenses right up front. 

Add the historically low interest rates in and you have yourself one of the best buyer’s market’s in history. Did you know that a 1% drop in interest rate from 6 to 5 will save you about $100 a month, or move you up so you can buy a higher priced home?  As of this post rates were right around 5% for a 30 year mortgage-Visit www.qcHomeLoan.com to get pre-approved now!

And another good thing, real estate is cyclical just like every other long-term investment.  Prices may be low now, but they will increase once again and  maybe even another seller’s market down the road when you are ready to move. So if you buy right now, when the seller’s market returns, you will be the one making a profit!

So Truth #1 is that if you want to buy a home, DO IT NOW, don’t wait for everyone else to figure this out OR you will be back to the bidding war days where you are actually paying more than you need to when in reality, you could have been the only one making an offer, and getting that good deal everyone is looking for. 

And I am not just saying this to sell a home, I am saying it because its the TRUTH.  If you really sit down and think about it, why wait until everyone is doing it and turning your dream home into an E-Bay auction.  Use this buyer’s market to your advantage! Why buy at market rate, when you can buy below market just as easily.

Search all homes at www.qcHomeBuyer.com . If you would like a free personalized list of homes or have any questions,  please e-mail me at Matt@WoodSellsHomes.com.

I am accepting applications for my VIP Platinum Buyer club for January 2009 now.  Contact me to get more details and your Free application and membership benefits.  If you ever needed a pro in corner, now id the time.  Don’t do it alone or it may cost you Thousands!

Stay tuned for Truth #2 after the first of the year detailing how sellers looking to move up can still do it profitably. 

Cheers to 2009!  See you next year!

-Matt