Real estate

Why Northern VA is the Place to Be in Real Estate

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Northern
Virginia is fortunate to have the fundamentals to be one of the top real estate
markets in the country.  Residential real
estate prices in the area had declined considerably in many areas over the past
few years but have likely bottomed in 2009. 
The demand for real estate in Northern Virginia continues to be on the
rise because of the strong job markets of Washington, D.C. and the surrounding
areas.  Many new corporate headquarters such
as the offices of Northrop Grumman, SAID, Volkswagen, Hilton and Merck have
recently moved to Northern Virginia bringing thousands of families to the
suburbs.  Contributing to the demand for
residential real estate in Northern Virginia are the many students and faculty
of several Colleges and Universities in the area, including; George Mason
University, Marymount University, Northern Virginia Community College and the
graduate and part-time student satellite campuses of Virginia Tech and the
University of Virginia.

Now
is a favorable time to invest in real estate in Northern Virginia.  Property values are affordable relative to
recent years and are expected to rise over the next several years as jobs
continue to be created here locally. 
Additionally, mortgage interest rates are near all time lows which
enable investors to capture higher returns on their investments.  Inventory numbers are down as more homes are
selling than are going on the market. 
The inventory levels are down this week 54% from the same week last year
and are down 70% from two years ago.  New
construction home builders are also reporting increased activity and sales in
recent months.  There is currently only a
2.5 month supply of homes in all of Fairfax County, Loudoun County, Prince
William County, Arlington County, Fauquier County, Alexandria City, Fairfax
City, Falls Church City, Manassas City and Manassas Park.  For rental properties in these areas, there
is only a 2.1 month supply which adds to the housing demand.

In
a recent Forbes article it was also noted that the premium for rent versus
mortgage payments helps determine when an area is determined to be a good
buying opportunity – well here is an excerpt from this article: 

For
people who want to own a home, the premium to buy—the spread between what
they’d spend to rent and what they’d pay for a mortgage—is much lower than the
15-year average in many cities.

To determine what
cities are smart buys, Forbes magazine computed the premium and also identified
locales where economists predict home prices will go up the most over the next
five years.

Here are the top
10 cities the magazine chose as the best places to buy right now.

  1. Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Mass.
  2. Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord,
    N.C.-S.C.
  3. Chicago-Naperville-Joliet,
    Ill.-Ind.-Wis.
  4. Cincinnati-Middletown,
    Ohio-Ky.-Ind.
  5. Denver-Aurora-Broomfield, Colo
  6. Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington,
    Minn.-Wis.
  7. Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington,
    Pa.-N.J.-Del.-Md.
  8. Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton,
    Ore.-Wash.
  9. San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont,
    Calif.
  10. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria,
    D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.V.

 

As
a “Top Ten City”, we are even more encouraged to recommend buying in Northern
Virginia.

Two
particularly “hot” areas of expected property value increase over the next few
years are the neighborhoods of Herndon which are located within a two mile
radius of the future Herndon-Monroe stop on the Silver Line of the Metro and
the neighborhoods of Dumfries which are in close proximity to Fort
Belvoir.  The current Silver Line project
was secured by federal funding in December 2008 and will be completed in two
phases between 2013 and 2016.  With easy
access to public transportation, there will be more demand for housing in
Herndon.  In 2005, the Defense Department
announced that it would be shifting 18,000 jobs to Fort Belvoir.  This increase in jobs will cause more of a
demand for rental properties which, in turn, will keep inventory rates down, force
rental prices up and property values to rise.

We
believe that investors with a long term outlook on real estate will be well
served by investing today in Northern Virginia. 
If you have any additional questions or concerns, feel free to call …

Don’t Stress It!

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As Realtors we often don't take enough time for
ourselves – letting our business take over.  The article below has some
great tips from agents and brokers, including myself, who have developed
systems that carve out space for everything they must do along with those
things they want to do.  

Who Ya’ Gonna Call? Stress Busters!
Overcoming Stress by Staying Organized and Fit

By Michele Lerner

Time is money, particularly for independent contractors such
as Realtors®. Unlike salaried workers, agents won’t continue to earn money when
they take a day off.
Under those circumstances, Realtors® may be tempted to work as many hours as
they can until they collapse from the lack of sleep and pressure. Yet some
agents do manage to stay on top of their careers while maintaining a satisfying
personal life. How do they do it?
Spending a day at the spa or a week at the beach may seem like the ideal way to
de-stress, but many busy Realtors® find taking that much time for themselves
impossible. Some agents and brokers have developed systems that carve out space
for everything they must do along with those things they want to do.

Organization and
Scheduling: The One-Two Punch For Fighting Stress
“There’s no one way to do business, and many agents have different systems that
help them, but I believe the best way to handle it is to be extremely organized
in your business and in your personal life,” says Maureen O’Hara, managing
broker of a Long & Foster Real Estate office in Reston. “I know that agents
have to be even more flexible than brokers, but they need to make a daily,
monthly and yearly plan, even if they have to change it later.”
O’Hara concedes that every day has to have an allowance for the unexpected, but
believes that certain things should remain consistent.  She stresses the
importance of having something related to business development on a Realtor’s®
daily to-do list, such as working on lead generation by getting in touch with
past clients and potential new ones.

“The real estate business is stressful when you are not in control of your time
or your clients,” says O’Hara. 


Staying organized and keeping a daily schedule with something planned for each
day to generate business can help agents feel less stressed.

“Anyone who tells you that you can balance your life is crazy,” says Derek
Blain, a Realtor® with Keller Williams Realty in McLean. “All you can do is
counter balance it.”

Blain uses time blocking and scheduling to handle stress. “I schedule lead
generation time and time for administrative tasks and vacations, too,” says
Blain. “I also schedule time for exercise.”

Scott MacDonald, a broker and owner of two Re/Max Gateway offices, including
one in Chantilly, says that setting goals should be the first step toward
handling stress.

“You have to know what you need to do to attain your goals daily, weekly,
monthly and yearly, and then you need to manage your time to get yourself
there,” says MacDonald. “I schedule my work time very tightly by meeting with
agents in the morning one-on-one, then doing other brokerage work from 11 a.m.
to 2 p.m., then working with clients in the afternoons and evenings.”

MacDonald also closes his door at the office when he isn’t meeting with staff
or clients so that he can focus without distractions.

Controlling your Clients and your Communication
MacDonald uses a BlackBerry for emails and sets priorities for the urgency of
every message so that he can set aside time to deal with each one.

 “I recommend that everyone remove the ‘sent from my BlackBerry’ signature
line from their emails, because once you have that, everyone expects you to
answer every email immediately from your BlackBerry.”

 MacDonald also pays about $30 per month for a service that automatically
turns every voice mail into an email.
 “Instead of listening to my voice mails, which can take a lot of time, I
can read them quickly and then forward them to someone else to answer if that
makes more sense,” says MacDonald. “The great thing about this system is that
you can keep your own number, unlike [other systems], which [require] an 866
number.”

O’Hara suggests that agents take control of their clients and their
communication.

“Recently I left someone a message whose voice mail said they return calls
daily between 3 and 5 p.m.,” says O’Hara. “That’s a great idea, because then
you don’t get caught up in this cycle of constant calls.”


She suggests that agents attempt to have their clients work with them on their
preferred schedule whenever possible, which allows the agents to have some
control over their time.

MacDonald coaches two basketball teams for his children in addition to
maintaining a complex work schedule, so he schedules his practices and games as
appointments.

“When I am working with clients and they ask to meet during a practice time, I
just tell them I have other appointments, and we schedule our appointment for
another time,” says MacDonald. “Actually, when you are working with clients I’m
not sure it’s so great to say you are wide open. People don’t want to work with
someone who doesn’t have any business.”

Agents can easily lose control of their time by being constantly available for
phone calls or other communication with clients.

“I prioritize my emails and my voice mails, because some are urgent and some
are not,” says Blain. “Anything that can wait, I will leave for the morning,
which is a great time to catch up on less urgent emails.”

 

Outsourcing and the
Team Approach
“I share an assistant with other agents so that I can pay her on an hourly
basis,” says Blain. “I also outsource as much as I can, such as direct mail and
brochures, which can be streamlined through my office.”


Hiring part-time help as often as possible to help with routine administrative
items and things such as direct mailing works for Mike Malferrari, a Realtor®
with Avery Hess Realtors® in Springfield, who does not have a full-time
assistant. 

MacDonald works with a real estate team and a team of managers for his offices.
“I really believe that you should ‘do what you do best and then delegate the
rest’,” says MacDonald. “I’ve been very careful to hire people who work well
together, and this has increased our volume of business tremendously.”

 MacDonald maintains that good time management begins with being able to
communicate well with everyone. All of his meetings have an agenda that is sent
to participants ahead of time, so that each meeting can be as short as 15
minutes if possible.

Diane Edwards, a Realtor® with Century 21 New Millennium in McLean, says she
relies on back-up support from her office, especially for brochures.

“One thing that helps me with stress is the ability to work from multiple
locations,” says Edwards. “I have a completely outfitted home office so that I
can relax physically while still getting work done. If I need help, I can get
online support from my regular office.”

Reaching out to your Broker and Colleagues
While some agents think handling the roiling real estate market of the past
few years may require professional mental health counseling, others rely on
their office mates for “talk therapy.”

“I work with all my agents to identify the problems that are causing stress and
possible solutions to the problems,” says Jo Anne Johnson, managing broker at
Westgate Realty Group in Falls Church. “For instance, recently an agent was
facing an extremely frustrating situation with a client, and we eventually
realized that they just could not get along. I took over the final steps of the
transaction instead of the agent, including the walk through and the
settlement. Agents need to see that one solution for stressful problems can be
turning to their broker.”

Johnson says that she tries to be available at every possible moment for her
agents, no matter the time of day.


“If someone calls and they are in the middle of a settlement or have another
urgent problem, I need to be there for them no matter what I am doing,” says
Johnson.

Johnson fosters camaraderie among the agents in her office with guest speakers
and frequent meetings. They know they can trust her and each other to help them
with difficult issues.

Edwards agrees. “We work hard to share our frustrations and problems because we
can help each other with solutions or just by listening,” she says. “We also
have an extremely supportive manager. No problem is too big or too small to
discuss with our manager.”

O’Hara says work can actually be a great stress-reliever for people with
problems in their personal lives.


“If you can get involved in what you are doing you can sometimes leave the
other stress in your life at the front door of the office,” says O’Hara.

A
Sound Mind and a Healthy Body
“Working out is very important,” says
Blain. “Your body is a multi-million-dollar-producing machine, so you have to
work at keeping it in the best possible shape.”

Malferrari runs three to four times every week, usually in the morning. “I find
that while I am exercising I am free to think away from the phone calls and
emails that normally interrupt my time,” says Malferrari. “I like to do it in
the morning because it helps me plan my day.”

Morning exercise seems to work best for many agents as a way to find time for
themselves physically and mentally.


O’Hara says, “I get up early and I am exercising by 6 a.m. at least five times
per week. While I am exercising, my brain gets in gear, too, and by the time I
am dressing for work I am working on my mental list of things to do.”

The Upside of Down Time
When it’s time to take a true vacation
rather than an hour or a day off, many agents opt to schedule a trip between
late October and early January to take advantage of real estate’s traditional
slow period. 

“Luckily my child isn’t in school yet, so we are able to take vacations at
non-traditional times,” says Malferrari. “We plan our vacations around the
quiet times in the market.”

Refreshed by time away from home, agents can begin the New Year with enthusiasm
and plenty of plans for a productive year. Whether it’s relaxing at the beach,
unwinding on the treadmill, or commiserating with colleagues, busy agents
should take advantage of opportunities to minimize stress. These personal
investments ultimately will yield positive business results.

Article can be found here: 
http://nvar.com/PublicationsbrnbspampMedianbsp/UPDATEMagazine/2010UpdateIssues/JanuaryFebruary2010Issue/ArticleStressBusters/tabid/583/Default.aspx

The Market Is What the Market Is…

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Platinum
Group and Haymarket Real Estate Exchange in January

AMSHI
is charging $5,000 to buyers and $5,000 to sellers to negotiate short sales…short
sales are getting tougher – for example, Bank of America is taking forever and
in many cases sends you back to square one. 
Banks are setting unrealistic expectations for closing dates with
approvals on their short sales.  Banks
aren’t up to speed on lending rules and regulations when giving the approvals.  Employees at these banks are not educated –
fresh from college, calls are often outsourced, and they have not been trained
properly.  Bank of America is now using
Equator; therefore, there is no one person to speak with which makes the
process even more frustrating.

Foreclosures
are coming – it’s ground hog day – we keep hearing the same thing over and
over.  One agent has 6 in the pipe line;
another has 5 in the pipeline and 6 under contract and is getting about 1 every
2 to 3 weeks.  We are below the national
average as far as default rates and our inventory level is 33% distressed. 

We
discussed “shadow” inventory that we just don’t see, but the media continues to
talk about.  If banks are going release
foreclosures into the market, it will be a slow and steady release and not a
“dump” on the market scenario. 
Foreclosure filings were down 26% in Prince William County in 2009 –
stay tuned!

It’s
tough to find properties under $400,000.

We
are waiting on the FHA mortgagee letter to be released to hear about new
guidelines – increase in down payment with credit scores under 580, increase in
upfront mortgage insurance, reduced seller concessions, and the waving of the
seasoning requirements for flips – we shall see…

VA’s
max loan is now $758,000.

Inventory
levels are slowly increasing which give the appearance of things being slow,
but it really isn’t – especially in the lower price ranges.

Need
to build urgency in buyers – prices are affordable, interest rates remain
attractive, home buyer tax credit is still in place, and loan programs are in
place today that may not be available in the future.

A Real Threat?

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The
question surrounding our market lately is shadow inventory and how will it
affect us.  Well in my opinion, it is a
very good question as it is a question I have been asking myself and our agents
for several months.  Over the past 18-24 months we have heard about
foreclosure being released into the market – it hasn’t happened as of
yet.  The latest indication from asset managers is that properties will be
released in the 2nd quarter of this year.  We shall see if it
occurs.

 

The
question I ask is for agents to look around their neighborhood for vacant
properties not currently listed for sale, and ask their neighbors and friends
if they see many unlisted vacant houses.  The answer I typically get is
no, there aren’t that many. 

 

We
ask how many of your friends or neighbors outside of real estate are unemployed
locally.  The answer, not many.  We ask our agents if requests for
BPO’s (broker price opinions) are on the rise, steady or going down – here you
get a very mixed bag but mostly we hear they are going up, but only
slightly. 

 

We
run MRIS numbers Friday mornings in Fairfax, Loudoun, Prince William,
Arlington, Fauquier, Alexandria City, Fairfax City, Falls Church City, Manassas
City and Manassas Park for resales only in the categories of actives, under
contract, settled the last 30 days, vacant, and rentals to help us determine
trends in the market.  As of this past Friday, there were 4,727 active
resales in these areas.  335 were listed as foreclosures, 931 were listed
as short sales and 41 were listed as undisclosed (which are more than likely
short sales) which represents 28% of the inventory.  These numbers are
below 2008 numbers when we experienced our foreclosure boom.  And, our
inventory numbers are down 54% from the same week last year and are down 70%
from 2 years ago.  Plus, we only have a 2.5 month supply of homes.

 

So
where will the shadow inventory come from is the question and I believe it is
foreclosures and unapproved short sales.  What dictates
foreclosures?  Unemployment is one of the biggest factors.  The job
loss to foreclosure ratio is 6 – 1.  I understand that unemployment in
Northern Virginia is around 4.2% which is very low.  Job relocation and
subsequent inability to sell.  Well national unemployment is over 10% and
companies are relocating here so we are seeing fewer relocations out of the
area.  Divorce is another factor – it is my understanding that they are
down because people are under water with values and can’t afford to finalize
divorces.  So it seems unlikely we will see a huge influx on inventory
from these areas but we do have two real threats in our future – Prime loan ARM
readjustments and the eventual unapproved short sales inventory being reentered
into inventory.  The only issue is we are unsure of the true number we
have here in our area and if it will have any significant impact.

 

We
will have “shadow” inventory but I don’t believe it to be a real threat to our
market as our inventory level is low and we should be able to absorb it with
the pent up demand we are experiencing with the home buyer tax credit expansion
and extension coupled with low rates and reduced valuations of properties.  Get it? 
Got it?  Good!

 

Now,
go sell something!

Time Flies…

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Time flies – it’s an amazing phenomenon.  As many of you are contemplating your plan
for the New Year and what success is going to look like for you in it – think
about this – 5% of the year is already gone. 
Have you attained 5% of your yearly goals?  Are you working a specific plan or are you
muddling through each day “hoping” things will come together for you this
year?  Each day that goes by without
direction is a lost day in your life and before you know it, another valuable
year is gone. 

It is time to begin to live a purpose driven life with you
as the pilot – not a passenger.  Start to
map out your daily activities, find an accountability partner to hold you and
them to a higher standard, write down the objectives you want to attain, and
set your course for success.  One of the
best ways to attain a goal that is a SMARTY (Specific, Measurable, Attainable,
Realistic, Timeframe oriented and Yours) is to break it down into smaller,
measurable and manageable pieces to help you achieve them.  In order to help you better achieve your
goals is to write them out on paper. 
This critical step cannot be overlooked!

As we all know, time is precious and once it is gone, you
can’t get it back.  So get busy getting
busy and map out your pathway to success. 
We are here to help.  Get it?  Got it? 
Good!

Now, go sell something!

D-I-S-C-I-P-L-I-N-E

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Recently we discussed change and in my opinion, one of the key ingredients to true change is discipline. Discipline is defined as conscious control over lifestyle – mental self-control used in directing or changing behavior, learning something, or training for something.  Here is a breakdown of discipline to help you continue down the path or perhaps blaze a new trail to incorporate this quality characteristic into your daily habits.

Desire – you must want what you have written or listed as your goal or objective.

Initiate – you must initate the proper behaviors or changes into your life.

Sacrifices – you must realize there are sacrifices necessary to implement in your life to achieve success.

Commit – you must commit to the changes you desire and stick with them to get the results you want.

Intentional – your actions must be intentional towards your new behavior and away from the old in order for true change to occur in your life.

Passion – you must have passion to achieve what lifestyle change you are implementing into your routine.

Learn – you must learn to accept the challenges you will face and fight through the “pain” of old habits.

Inspire – reward your new behavior to inspire yourself to stay on course and in the process, perhaps you will inspire others to do the same!

Numbers – it starts with small incremental changes, one by one that will add up to huge results.  As the saying goes, you eat an elephant one bite at a time.

Excellence – is what you will achieve if you stick with your plan of action through discipline.

In order to effectively implement change in your life, you must embrace discipline.  By writing your goals down, it will help you have focus, desire and the will to achieve, which will result in discipline becoming easier for you.  Remember, it all starts within you.  Get it?  Got it?  Good!

What kind of change are you looking for?

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As the New Year is upon us, it is the time many agents think about changing companies.  Before you think about making a move consider the following thoughts you are about to read.  A change of scenery is just that – a change in scenery.  Rarely does a change for change sake work.  Either does a change to “see what happens”.  The only time a change works is when change happens from within.  To truly change, you must change your habits, change your work ethic, change your desires, change how or who you are – not where you are.  My grandmother used to say, “A leopard doesn’t change its spots”.

True change is a choice to change behavioral patterns and thought processes not a change in location.  Rarely will success occur from merely changing where you are.  A change for the best occurs when you take advantage of what is available to you and by instilling discipline into your life.  Your attitude is typically one of the best places to start.  Analyze where you are today and why.  Do you have the discipline to set and achieve goals, develop a plan of action, setting a schedule, working that schedule, and growing you through education, accountability and coaching?  Find a mentor to develop yourself into what you want to become – don’t just change companies…this is superficial and in the end will rarely help you and you will continue your search for the next company that offers lower fees, more leads or something else that won’t yield true results.  The great Bob Marley sang – you’re running and you’re running and you’re running away but you can’t run away from yourself.  Truer words have never been sung in regards to change.  You can’t change others, changing companies doesn’t work – only changing you works. 

Now at times, a change is required if you aren’t provided opportunities – training, coaching, the right atmosphere, leadership or potential to grow yourself and your business but when you are and you don’t take advantage of these opportunities – you only have yourself to blame and your success will be no greater at the new location.  Lower fees won’t make a difference – the promise of leads won’t make you better – a salary won’t make you improve – only you can make you better.

It’s time to change you – not your location or company.  Get it?  Got it?  Good!

Now, go sell something.

Are you ready for 2010?

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Well here we are, the first week of not only the New Year but the New Decade as well and if you haven’t already done so, now would be a great time to think about how you are going to be successful in 2000teens.  Obviously, in order to attain success, you must have a plan and decide for yourself the Status Quo is Unacceptable and get started on one today. 

One of the most important things to realize to set your plan of action in place and more importantly – in writing – for 2010 is to start!  It is essential to realize when you begin to think about your plan – make sure it is your plan and not someone else’s.  The goals are yours, timeframes to accomplish them are ones that you set, and if you do this you are more likely to accomplish them.  Your goals must be SMARTY goals – Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, have a Timeframe for accomplishment and they must be Yours.  In addition, as you work through completing your task, it is good to share your ideas with others help them and to get the creative juices flowing for yourself.  In our experience, the more open you are to sharing, the more successful you will be. 

Once you have an idea, write it down so you remember thought because every thought is important, you will need to set your priorities and put the plan to achieve your goals and attain your objectives in real estate in motion.  Areas to think about may be increasing your database, finding new customers, getting educated, becoming an expert on pricing/trends/the market, etc.  Keep your mind open and determine where your focus will be this year.  Will it be first time buyers?  Move up buyers?  Short sales?  Foreclosures?  New home sales?  Property management?  Are there any other areas of interest or specialties where you can excel and make money this year in our industry?

Also, as you move through this exercise, here are some tips to keep in mind as we move forward.  Be decisive – be focused – put your thoughts in writing – develop a plan of action – share with others.  At some point soon, select an accountability partner to review your plan and theirs regularly.  It has been noted through research a group ASTD had accomplished, when you commit and plan to accomplish something in writing, you are 50% more likely to achieve it – if you commit to someone else 65% – if you have an accountability appointment with that person 95% and with a group 99%.  Think about it!

As you go through the year – stay engaged and become the go-to source for real estate for your sphere.  There will no doubt be adversity and as the times and the market change, be willing to make the adjustments necessary in your plan to insure your success.  Forge ahead – take action, massive action to achieve the success you desire and we will do it all over again next year!  Now, let get started.  Get it?  Got it?  Good!

What are your daily habits?

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As I read John Wooden’s latest book – A Game Plan for Life – and review the habits his father had passed on to him through his mentorship, it got me thinking…what can I pass along to my children and those I encounter.  Here is what I discovered are my daily habits:

1. Always do your best…

2. Always do the right thing…

3. Always strive to learn something from every situation…

4. Be a continuous learner…

5. Always give back…

6. Live with passion and optimism…

7. Be strategic – in your life and in your relationships…

8. Be respectful and kind…

9. Have fun…

10.       Live your life to the fullest…

It is important in life to have your list of daily habits to improve yourself and the quality of your interactions.  Just a little food for thought as you set your New Year’s resolutions.

We are here to help you have a successful 2010.  Get it?  Got it?  Good!

Now, go sell something!

Still going strong…

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The market continues be strong for sellers looking to move up or move out!  Existing home sales spiked in October and November to the highest level since February of 2007.  Buyers are out in full force looking to take advantage of low rates, low prices and the tax credits that are available – there hasn’t been a better time in recent memory to take advantage of the real estate market!  Our biggest challenge today is inventory.  Our existing home inventory is at the lowest level since April of 2005.

Even with this outstanding news, it is critical to realize that it our market remains extremely price sensitive.  This means properties must be priced right, must be in the right condition and must show well (staged) if you expect to sell instead of just being for sale.  Buyers recognize when houses have a perceived value and are acting quickly when homes fall within this category.  If houses are priced at market value or a little high – they will collect days on market and help the other houses sell faster.  To assist our buyers and sellers determine if properties are priced properly we have developed a unique pricing model – The Home Pricing Wizard. It takes asking prices, under contract prices, sold prices, square footage prices, tax assessments and market trends to determine the right price for a home.   If you would like to learn more about our system or to see where the Wizard prices your home, feel free to call us today.

You still notice some reports out there that are casting a negative light on the housing market.  What you need to realize is that the news you see, read and hear is national news and not necessarily local.  As we have been telling you for years, real estate is local and even in some cases – hyperlocal.  However, some national news that may be of consequence to us and may affect our area is the mortgage delinquencies and how they are on the rise with “prime” borrowers.  This scenario is going to lead to our next wave of foreclosures both nationally and locally and will affect many in our area over the next few years.  Borrowers who have ARM’s that are set to readjust are most likely to be affected as they are unable to refinance due to declining housing values or they cannot afford the newly adjusted payments.  Keep your eyes and ears open and look for news on this as it will impact our market.

Again it’s a great time to buy or sell a home today.  Our team of knowledgeable and professional agents are happy to help you negotiate the best deal whether you are buying or selling a house in this competitive market.  Call us today!