This evening I read another one of those panic articles on real estate. The headline of course blared on and on about home prices dropping "all across the United States."
The article was from the Reuters News Wire. It even had a nice pretty map along with the article.
As I read the cities from the nice, pretty map... I saw Los Angeles with a decline of 11.9 %, San Diego with a 13.4 % decline, Las Vegas with a 13.2 % decline, San Francisco with an 8.6 % decline, Denver with a 3.1 % decline, Chicago with a 3.9 % decline, New York declined 4.8 %, Boston declined 3.0 %, and Miami declined 15.1 %.
That was it. That was what Reuters was blowing their trumpet about. Texas was untouched. No declines, no bad news, no weeping and gnashing of teeth, no end-of-the-world.
So why then... are so many buyers afraid of the market ?
It's that doggone broad paint brush that the national media paints this negativity with. Maybe more like a paint roller. Nah... it's really more like they are using a power paint sprayer.
Why wasn't there any news about the markets across the country that are HOT ? I guess HOT markets are bad for TV ratings. Perhaps HOT market news is bad for selling newspapers ?
Well... all you folks at MSNBC, you guys at FOX, you clowns at CNN, you know-it-alls at CNBC. Texas is FINE ! Texas is ALIVE ! And... Texas is KICKING !
Please... all you national media types. Take your silly negative news paint brush and go somewhere else and play !
Karen Anne, I don't know the NYC market that well, but I don't believe that it is going down. People were afraid that Wall Street bonuses - or lack of same would bring the NYC real estate market down, but it didn't. Last year saw record prices - So I'm not sure what they are
talking about.
Here are a couple of links - they show the concern but point out that prices are through the roof. There has been some leveling in some areas, but no price drops - so where does a 4.8% decline come from?
Delicate Market - Josh Barbanel
Foreign Buyers Take Manhattan - Christine Haughney
Texas is a tough state!!! Go get em Karen!
Your Friend in Charlottesville!
It's more accurate to say that the U.S. economy is absurdly uneven, rather than characterizing it as uniformly bad. There is a ripple effect under these circumstances though, even when a few states or a particular region is doing well.
Karen Anne - If it bleeds, it leads. The mainstream media does not believe the fact that all real estate is local. They most certainly do like to promote doom and gloom which, in turn, drives our economy, our outlook on personal futures and our hope.
What would happen if there was a withdrawal of advertising dollars by large home improvement centers, real estate companies, etc.?
Right on Karen...unfortunately they have lost sight of their reason for being..keeping people informed. It's now about sales and lousy news sells!
Unfortunately, the media thrives on the negative. Keep up the good work, and getting out the word!
Denver at 3.1% is much better than the past couple years and we have seen our active listings reduced by almost 20% in the past year! Great news for this market!
Ruthmarie: I have not clue where the 4.8% decline in home values in New York City came from. I cannot believe that a city in such demand as NYC would decline at all. That was part of the irony of this article. How can they continute to report this nonsense ?
Charles: It's all we can do... keep on sluggin' until all those blue headlines turn to green. Take care...
Joan: Lousy news is going to continue to sell until the public... Realtors included... let them know that we won't put up with it anymore. Perhaps a sponsor boycott might be in order. Something needs to be done. I have a funny feeling that things may not turn around until mid-November... hopefully when a major change takes place in Washington. We need some "new hope" from our so-called leaders.
Karen:
Keep blogging the good word. It is true things are good here and we need to spread the word. You are a bright light in the heart of Texas. Ha.
Great news for investors!
Michael Veri
Realty Executives Ocala
www.BuyOcalaHomes.com
352.502.4661
Dear Ryan: I am sorry that the area your home is in has been flagged by your appraiser. Real Estate is very local. Some say "city by city." It is even more local than that. Remember the phrase "Location, Location, Location." What this means is that obviously, the most important thing about a home, and about determining it's value, is it's location.
I do not know exactly where your home is, other than 75075, but there must be something about it's location that, in the appraiser's opinion, is not good. Now, it might be the exact street, the area right around it... a couple of blocks... or that subdivision, or perhaps the builder of the home has a poor reputation, or perhaps it is in an area where the soil is unstable, and there is a lot of foundation problems in many of the homes on that street. It could be anything.
If you are using a Realtor to purchase your home, perhaps she can help you by making some suggestions. If you do not have a Realtor, perhaps I might be able to help, or at least make a further suggestion... or point you in a different direction for help... but I can only do that if I had more information.
Another reason your home might be deemed in a "Declining Market" might be if it is in a subdivision where the New Home Builder is still active. If your home was built just a year or two ago, and the builder is still selling brand new homes there... over the last 12 months many builders overbuilt, and then were stuck with too many homes just "sitting." So, they had to either drop prices... sometimes by quite a bit... or wheel and deal, give lots of free stuff with the home, pay for stuff for the buyer, or even give Realtors big bonuses to bring them buyers. If that is the case, the builder has an advantage that a re-sale home does not. When that is the case, sometimes a home that is one or two years old, and the builder is still there, and the builder is doing the stuff I mentioned above, sometimes that home drops in value until the builder leaves, and then the value jumps up again... mostly because you don't have the really tough competition from the builder any longer.
Again, I am at a disadvantage in helping you, because I don't know your full story.
If your loan is a Fannie Mae loan, that probably means it is a conventional loan. Many conventional lenders are very nervous right now. Many of them have made some really dumb loans in the last year or 18 months, and they have been burned. So... they are really skitzy right now... and may only want to make loans in the absolute BEST neighborhoods where they have every possible thing going for them.
If your loan IS a conventional loan, perhaps you could switch to an FHA loan... if the price of your home, and the loan you want, is under the top amount allowable for an FHA loan.
I am just rambling away here... trying to hit any type of information that may help you. Please email me back, and give me an email address if I can be of any further help to you. Take care... and best of luck to you and your family. Karen Anne Stone (817) 929-3400
Ok Ryan: I looked up the zip code 75075. That is in west Plano, just a bit west of Collin Creek Mall. Mapquest puts the middle of 75075 right at Custer and W. 15th St, or Custer and W. Park Blvd. That used to be considered a very good area of Plano, but now there are many newer areas that are more "in demand." The value of homes, in many ways, is very much determined by demand. With the homes in that area being perhaps 25 to 35 years old, perhaps older, it may be very nice, but it also is "older", and many Plano-ites want new, new new. That can have a very noticeable effect on value. Again, I am just groping around in the dark, but at least this is a little more information for you.
Now also, I might guess that the price of this home is lower than homes of similar size but in "newer" neighborhoods. This may be more of a positive for you, because you can get a larger home for a lesser price, but it may be that very fact that is causing the lender to be a little nervous... because that home is worth less than newer homes of similar size... in newer neighborhoods. So... what is good for you, price-wise, also is somewhat of negative for the mortgage company. Take care... if I can help further... email me. Best of luck to you.
Ryan... perhaps another Loan Officer could help you. I know a great mortgage loan person... Tom Burris. He is awesome... very good at what he does. Call him... he may be able to help. His number is (214) 763-4629. Tell him Karen Anne Stone suggested that you call. He will be glad to help you if he can.
Ryan/Karen
When the appraiser checks off that the home is in a declining market, then the 5% applies.
If you feel that this is in error, maybe get a second opinion from another appraiser. Because a few foreclosures in the area do not make an area 'declining;. So the appraiser could have made a mistake.
Regardless, if the appraiser does NOT deem it declining, the lender still can using alternate valuation tools.
Karen, good idea on flipping this to FHA.
Ryan, ask your loan officer about this. Otherwise, you may have to get a second opinion from another lender. Said lender can ask the new appraiser up front whether this is deemed a declining market.
I seriously doubt that it is. I know that area. Unless that whole neighborhood is owned by investors and they are all rentals, values should hold there.
Good Luck!!
Let me know if I can help in any way!
Thanks for the comments. My realtor and I did our own research that showed the area is not declining, and the lender agreed. They went back to the appraiser and asked him to change the designation, which he didn't do. The lender then ordered a new appraisal and agreed to pay for it, so I'm not out the extra money there. If the new appraisal comes back as flagged in a declining market, then I already have a different lender lined up...
-Ryan