Brooklyn Real Estate Q&A and Info

There’s a lot of positive real estate related news this week.  Several real estate market indicators are positive for the first time in a long time.  Take a look:

Exisiting Home Sales Up by 7.2%  according to the National Association of Realtors

New Home Sales Up almost 10% according to the Commerce Department.  That is the biggest monthly change since 2005.

Case-Schiller Home Price Index’s National Composite is up 2.9% in the second quarter of this year over the first quarter. This is the first quarter to quarter increase in over 3 years according to the Commerce Department.

Mortgage Applications up 7.5% last week according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.   30 Year Fixed Rate Mortages average 5.2% and 15 year fixed Rate Mortages average 4.6%.

That’s a lot of good news.  Does this mean we are out of the woods and the happy days of house prices soaring are close at hand?  No, not really.  With national unemployment close to 10% and an estimated 3 million houses going into foreclosure this year alone, the real estate market still has a long way to go before we see wholesale price increases and the booming sales we had before the housing bubble burst. 

However, with interest rates low and housing prices depressed, its a great time to buy if you have the credit score, income and downpayment.  If you’re interested in buying, please feel free to give me a call – 917-544-2662.

One of the first things any home buyer should ask him or herself is how much of a down payment is he or she is going to need to buy a house, condo or co-op.  Fortunately, figuring that out is easy.

There are two types of mortgage loans that are available in these tough economic times, the FHA Loan and the Conventional Loan.

FHA mortgage loans are loans that are insured by the Federal Government and allows anyone who meets certain qualifications to put a minimum of  3.5% down on a house or a condo (Co-ops cannot be purchased with FHA loans).

Here are some examples of how much of a down payment you’ll need if you want to purchase a property using an FHA Loan:

Conventional loans are loans made through lending institutions such as banks and credit unions. Most conventional loans require that you put a minimum of 10% down and, depending on your credit score, you may be required to put down even more.

Here are some examples of how much of a down payment you’ll need if you want to purchase a property using an Conventional Loan:

As you can see from the information above, figuring out how much you’ll need for a down payment is simple.  Of course, if you can put down more then the minimum amounts, that’s terrific.  The larger the amount of your down payment, the less your mortgage will be.

Selling your home can be a very difficult task, especially when it comes to deciding how much to sell it for. No doubt you have fond memories of events that took place there as well as the fact that you may have spent a lot money or put in a lot of hours of “sweat equity” to transform the house you bought into a home.

Well, there are a certain facts about your home that come into play when you’re pricing it for sale that are within your control, and some that aren’t, and these must be taken into consideration in order to price your home so that it will sell quickly.

Factors That Are Within Your Control

1. How Well Your Home Is Maintained - Despite all the do-it-yourself programs on television, most buyers do not want to buy a home that needs extensive repairs.  Is your plumbing old?  Does your house need painting?  Is your yard overgrown with weeds?  The answer to these questions affects how much your home will sell for.
2. Is Your Home Clean - Most buyers cannot see past dirt and odors.  They both mean more work for the buyer and affects how much they are willing to pay for your property (if anything at all).

Factors That Are Not Within Your Control

1. The Location of Your Home - If your home is in a less then desirable location, like across the street from a cemetery or on a very busy main thoroughfare, that has to be taken into consideration when pricing your home.
2. The Size Of Your Property Matters – If you have a small house you’ll have to take that into consideration when your price it for sale no matter how charming you think it is. 
3. Amenities Make A Difference – If your house is the only one on the block that doesn’t have a garage and its impossible to add one, that will affect the price.

When it comes to pricing a home for sale you have to accept those factors that are beyond your control, and focus on the ones you can control.   A properly prices home attracts more buyers and increases your opportunity for a quick sale.

To get the help you need in pricing your home for sale, let me provide you with a Free Home Value Report.  I will do a detailed comparison between your home, recently sold homes, and other properties currently on the  market taking into consideration your properties positive aspects and the negatives, and together we will determine what your home is really worth in today’s market.  Click here to get started.  There’s no obligation.