Hackney's Houses

Below is a Pdf flyer that I just received from the Washington Realtors and I can't agree more.  Even more so up here in Bellingham.  We live in a sought after area that will continue to grow and blossom.  With the Olympics coming through in 2010 this area will gain more notoriety much as it did in the mid 80's when the World's Fair was in British Columbia. 

sccar flyer20071025150816902.pdf

There’s much being said about the state of the real estate and lending markets in the media right now. It is safe to say that the media plays upon negativity and thrives on drama. The headlines easily catch our attention and often times create a sense of doom and gloom.

Much has been happening, but it is important to put everything into perspective. The market isn’t changing…it already has!!

Here’s what I see happening:

Our local market is healthy and strong! Although I make no crystal ball claims, I do believe that this will continue.

Market times have slowed down some, but priced correctly, homes are still selling. The large majority of price reductions we are seeing are those that were over priced to begin with. Sellers do need to understand that we can no longer use a “spaghetti on the wall approach to pricing” and that to sell their homes we must be smart and strategic.

As buyers, we still have historically incredible mortgage rates. The recent mortgage “crisis” actually doesn’t affect that vast majority of buyers, despite what the media would like to portray. Now is a great time to start positioning yourself to take advantage of investment opportunities, both locally and nationally. The general public I believe will miss these opportunities because of a media created fear. What we are seeing is nothing historically new and is actually very healthy and positive.

Regionally we are not experiencing what some areas of the country are going through. We are typically at the end of any nationwide ripple effect and we remain as one of the top relocation areas in the entire nation. Our national population continues to grow and people enjoy the quality of life that living here offers them.

I’ve written about “The Real Estate Bubble” before, but I’ll briefly mention it again. The only “bubble” I see is a real estate “agent” bubble. There are a plethora of licensees in the real estate and mortgage industries. Current market conditions will weed out the licensees and become a true professional’s market. This will raise the standards of excellence in the industry.

My recommendation: Don’t bury your head and wait for it to all go away. The current market is ripe with opportunities for those willing to take time to position themselves to take action. If you wait, it will be too late and you will find yourself at the slow end of the curve.

As the saying goes, those that don’t know their history are doomed to repeat it. Take the media and the office water cooler talk with a grain of salt. Real estate is a cornerstone of The America Dream. Make the dream your reality, whether it be your personal home or investment property.

It’s A Good Life! ~Sean