Show #363 Airing Sunday, November 12th, 2006
If you’re thinking of buying or selling a home in 2007, what can you expect? Here to peer into her crystal ball of real estate is our property prognosticator, Rachel Torchia, from Gateway Title Agency.
Question: 2006 was a really tough year for real estate. Can you explain?
Answer: This year the home-selling market was in flux, moving from a sellers' market to a buyers' market, and this cause a lot of confusion.
Recently, up to this year, sellers were looking for a big price for their homes. People were actually buying homes and then putting their old homes on the market, confident that they would sell the old home in 30 days. Buyers accepted that prices were going up and were "buying high," figuring that their new homes would continue to appreciate in value.
This year, that all changes. Hearing that it was becoming a "buyers' market," buyers began to look to "steal" a home, to get it at a very cheap price.
Question: What can sellers and buyers expect for 2007?
Answer: Next spring, the changes will be firmly in place. It will be a buyers' market, but the market will be settled-not in flux. Buyers will get a better deal and a more reasonable price, but there will not be as much room for negotiation as there may have been this year. There will be normal appreciation again, although it will be lower (4% on average, lower in less popular areas or with starter homes).
Sellers will have accepted the change in the market and will rethink the prices they will ask for.and perhaps even rethink the selling at all. In any case, they will be working with less equity, and they will know it.
Question: I understand this means that more sellers are looking to sell by owner.
Answer: Yes. We have more sellers walking in asking for assistance to sell by owner. They realize that they can't get as much money for the home, and they want to keep the equity they can get.
Question: What do sellers need to know if they choose this option?
Answer: Sellers considering sale by owner really have to think it over. They will be responsible for the entire transaction, and it's likely one of the largest they will do in their lives. They need to:
- Educate themselves.
- Be realistic on the marketplace.
- Engage a real estate attorney who knows and understands the market.
- Find a title company that specializes in for sale by owner.
If a home sale or purchase is on your calendar for 2007, you'll want to be prepared. Gateway Title holds free workshops. Call for more information and you can receive this free closing kit as well. The number's next. My thanks to Rachel Torchia.
