A local news broadcast in Washington, DC, recently included a segment about real estate investors finding great deals in the market.

And apparently local investors are not alone: according to Hitwise Intelligence, the frequency of Internet searches with the term “houses for sale” just hit a two-year high.

(Via Inman)

Historic learning experiences tend to look better from the rear view mirror, so I can’t wait until we are at the moment in time to look at everything in hindsight…  Until then, what the heck does this all mean for the DC Metro area real estate market?  The answer is - probably not much.  Credit has already tightened and the Fed’s recent move to secure AIG indicates no further tightening of the credit market is expected.  Today anyway…  It is the availability of financing that has caused us great pain recently so I think the damage caused by the tightening has already been done.

The volume of real estate transactions is down about 17% from this time last year (depending on which segment of our local market you look at) but inventory numbers are up only slightly.  More foreclosures are selling quickly which is chewing through or excess inventory at a respectable pace.  The recent drop in interest rates has helped spike activity and everyone is cautiously optimistic that an administration change will mean nothing but good things for the real estate market.

Bottom line - nearly everything in the US is on sale right now, including some great deals in real estate.  We don’t know when the sale will end, but like all great sales - they don’t last forever!  Keep affordability in the forefront of your mind and make decisions that are right for your life right now - and don’t worry about the market.  If it makes sense for you to buy right now - based on where you are with your life - buy.  If you want to sell because it will help you move on to something else you want in your life - sell.

We are helping about six people every month sell and buy real estate.  Let us know what we can do for you.

Perhaps the biggest question in buyers and sellers minds is – should I make a move now or am I doing so at the wrong point in the cycle? To answer this question, we need to look at market cycles better and understand how they work. Take a look at this graph which represents markets over time.

The two diagonal straight lines represent the top and bottom of what I like to call the “safe zone”. The curvy line represents the cyclical peaks and valleys within the market as a whole. The space above the top line of the safe zone, yet below the curve line is the place I like to call the “unlucky buyer zone “(or the very lucky seller zone). This is when the market is the most expensive, and it is right before a correction. If you look below the bottom line of the safe zone to the space above the curved line, you’ll find the “buyer’s lucky zone”, (or the seller’s unlucky zone). All the rest of the space is the safe zone. What this means is there are only very small periods of time when it is really a bad time to buy (right at the peak before a correction) or to sell (right at the bottom, before an upswing). The vast amount of time you’re safe to make a move. Statistically speaking, chances of you buying or selling in the safe zone are far, far greater than buying or selling in the other zones.

You can’t time real estate so waiting for the right moment in the market to make a move doesn’t make sense. When was the last time you “timed” anything intelligently? Did you “time” your career move to be ideal? Did you “time” your marriage or commitment ceremony to be on the day without rain? Did you “time” that stock sale to sell right before the company announced a gigantic loss - intelligently? Most likely not – and you cannot “time” the real estate market either. The period of time of ideal buys and sells are simply too small, and impossible to determine until about 6 months after they have occurred.

Therefore, buy or sell when the market is in the safe zone – and pay no attention to the top or the bottom. It is foolish to rely on luck as a strategy.

One thing is for certain, the market is moving… are you?

Is now a good time?

If you’ve been thinking about buying this spring, attend our free seminar to learn the basics about the process and have your questions answered by experts in the field. With everything you’ve been reading in the paper, it is difficult to make sense of the chatter - we’ll help you figure out what the news about the mortgage market means for you.

Achieving Homeownership - Getting Started
The “How To” Home Buying Workshop
Thursday, March 27th at 7:00 PM
Brandon Green & Associates’ office
2410 17th Street NW Suite 200
Washington, DC 20009

Space is limited, to reserve a seat please contact us.

As seen in the Washington Business Journal: “Area Home Prices Down More Than 4%.”

There is no doubt that the market has declined and that we have returned to a much more normal market.

But what’s with the talk of doom and gloom? Are prices falling monthly? The answer depends on where you are—and by where I don’t just mean DC, Maryland, or Virginia. Trends vary by neighborhood, block, or even building.

Blanket statistics—the kind that appear in the media—rarely speak to how the real estate market affects the individual. Don’t get caught up in market stats (good or bad), but focus your motivation to buy or sell.

Most buyers are looking for homes to live in. It is always a good time to buy a roof over your head. If you’re buying only for appreciation gain, you need to be careful in this market.

Sellers selling today are doing so because they need to—not to be misinterpreted to say they are desperate. (If you want a big foreclosure market, you’re not going to find it in the DC area.) It is always the right time to sell if you need to do so. If you just took a job in Phoenix and want to buy a house there, but can’t afford the down payment unless you sell your townhouse in Georgetown, now is the perfect time to sell.

Remember, 80 percent of the marketing happens when you set the price. It is time to start talking about how normal the market is and how buyers and sellers every day enter into agreements that satisfy everyone’s goals.

A good deal, and a good market, is only a state of mind.