Truth #4 about the Quad City Real Estate Market

Part #4 of a 19 part series giving you an inside look from my perspective, as a Realtor working in the Quad City (Iowa/Illinois) market every day.

WELCOME BACK! its been a while since my last post.  A quick announcement before I begin.  I will be accepting new applications for my VIP Buyer’s program. I have 4 spots that will go quickly for the Month of March.  This does not mean you have to buy in March, but just get enrolled in the program.  I am going to waive the $299 fee for readers of this blog, so make sure you mention it with your application.  Don’t risk the largest investment of your life with bad or no buyer representation.  E-mail me at Matt@WoodSellsHomes.com for your free buyer client application.

Now onto  Truth #4…

Truth #4- The Foreclosure ‘crisis’ you see on the evening news is NOT happening in our local market.

 Everytime you turn on any ‘national’ news program, you see real estate signs screaming out ‘Foreclosure’ in big red letters.  They show properties where families have got up and left their home.  You hear that the foreclosure numbers are huge and it is sweeping the nation.  In some areas, mainly Florida and California, and other areas with hyper-active appreciation in the past 5 years, there are tons-Sometimes the whole block! 

But WE, meaning the Quad City Area- The cities of Davenport, Bettentendorf, Eldridge, Leclaire, Blue Grass, Pleasant Valley, in Iowa, and Moline, Rock Island, East Moline, Milan, Hampton, Port Byron, Coal Valley, in Illinois.  

We ARE NOT seeing this kind of foreclosure market around here.  As of this post, off the top of my head, I think there are maybe 25 available foreclosures on the open market.  I would say again, off the cuff, that there were probably about an average of 15 on the market back when the market was said to be ‘good’ in the past 5-6 years.  So yes, there are more, but not the kind of numbers the media makes it out to be.  Some areas are in serious trouble with the amount of foreclosures, and some Realtors out on the coasts are taking bus-loads of people out to look at them. 

I am not saying that there will not be more as the year progresses, but not the amount that the other areas are facing.  I am not ignorant of the fact that we will see more, with the job cuts, and the tight economic times, I am just trying to get across the point that we are in ‘crisis’ mode, and probably won’t be anytime soon.  There are some good buys out there, no doubt, and if you are an investor with some liquid funds or the ability to get mortgage financing quickly, these homes are ripe for the picking and will be a solid investment.  But they will take some work, and they are not homes in the perfect family neighborhoods either. Some are, but most are not.  You can get a free list of these homes at www.qcaForeClosures.com 

I want to address the question I have gotten a lot lately…Why is the Quad Cities not affected as much as the rest of the nation?  Why can’t I go out and offer $20,000 less than list price and expect to buy the my dream home ‘on sale?’

A couple reasons, but there are more…

1. We did not have the rapid appreciation that many of these (now in trouble) areas had.  In Florida, some people were buying a home for $200,000 and turning around and selling it a few months later for $300,000.  In California, the market was so hot, most homes had as many as 5 offers on them setting up an auction-like atmosphere, jacking up the price sometimes $30,000 above list price! A simple response to that…What goes UP, must come DOWN! Anything that appreciates at that rate is bound to explode, somehow.   Real Estate is cyclical, and that was an unbelievable cycle that is now on the extreme, down cycle.  The bubble did burst in those areas. 

THAT DID NOT HAPPEN HERE.  Sure, prices appreciated quickly a few years ago, and we had multiple offers on the same property, but we still stayed in the circle, of ‘resaonable’, market value.  You may have paid a couple thousand more than you wanted but I bet you still are in good shape as long as you did not try to sell within months of buying it. 

2.  We did not over-buy here.  Maybe people live more in their ‘means’ and maybe we don’t have as many banks that are in it for the quick buck (although there were a couple no longer in business) that actaully cared about their customers well-being instead of the huge comission on the sale.  I can honestly say that I never sold anyone a home, that I thought was a bad-buy, or thougt they were over-paying for. 

I think we have a group of responsible Realtors in this QCA area, for the most part, who are looking out for their clients interests more than they are looking for a pay-check.  And the bad-apples who were in it for the quick buck, have all but disappeared, with the ethical agents still doing business today in the tougher market where you even have to make sure your clients are doing the right thing for thier family, even if it means telling them that this may not be a good investment at this time. My philosophy is that the long term gain of me being honest with my clients far out weighs the short term gain of a sale I would not complete if I were in their shoes. 

Thats all for now.  I will expand on this later in my examination of the TRUTHS, and as I observe the maarket throughout thios year. 

I am as eager as anyone to see how the year goes.  Right now, I think its about ready to bust loose as the temperature (hopefully) rises.  I think there is a very high demand of first-time buyers out there, wanting to take advantage of the  $8000 Home Buyer Tax Credit. So those who have homes in that $85,000-$150,000 range, its time to think abut getting your home on the market!  If you need a Free Market Value Analysis, click on the link for an over-the-net evaluation or email me directly at Matt@WoodSellsHomes.com

I will be back for Truth #5 taking a look at a projection of market activity for Spring 2009. It may be a time to jump ahead of the ‘herd’ to grab your home (or get your home on the market) before you have to compete once again….Yep, that means i think its going to get busy, quick, and it may be wise to stay ahead of the market!

As always, thanks for reading.  If you have any questions or comments, please leave them here or contact me at Matt@WoodSellsHomes.com

If you are searching for a home, just looking, please check out www.qcHomeBuyer.com .  Search for homes 24-hours a day!