Tax Credit Expanded

The tax credit has been expanded please click here for more info.

Good News for Collierville Real Estate

10 Hard-Hit Housing Markets That Are Ready to Rebound - US News and World Report

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Overall January Home Sales Decline; Foreclosures Down 41 Percent as Mitigation Efforts Increase

Please click here to read the press release by the Memphis Association of REALTORS®

Tax Credit Update

According to the Wall Street Journal this morning the tax credit has shifted back to only first time homebuyers. The credit has also reverted back to $7500. I hope the Senate will have something to say about this because I think the $15,000 tax credit would do more for the economy than the current proposal.

Tax Credit Just Got Smaller

It looks like the $15,000 tax credit just got cut to $8,000. Click here to read the latest.  I'm sure things will change quickly over the next couple of days so keep an eye on the news.

Thanks,

Allen

What does the stimulus/spending package mean for housing?

While most experts seem to agree that we need to fix housing before the rest of the economy can get going the congress hasn't figured out how to jump start the housing market. It looks like the senate will approve some sort of package early next week. One encouraging addendum that has been approved and will hopefully be added is the tax credit up to $15,000 for any home buyer. This will help jump start this market. If approved this will offer a great opportunity for any home buyer but you better act fast.  With all this spending comes a price.  With almost a trillion dollars of new debt we will probably see a rise in interest rates. There will be a window of opportunity to take advantage of low rates, low prices and a tax credit if approved.  Keep a close eye on what happens this weekend and early next week and be ready to make a move!
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Don't look back!

I was wondering today why more people aren't taking advantage of the low interest rates and the unprecedented buyer's market? While we have seen an increase in showings since the first of the year and existing home sales were up in December people are still sitting on the sidelines. My guess is that most people are waiting to see if things get worse or they have a house to sell and are not willing to admit their house is worth less today than it was last year or even 3 years ago.
My advice would be DON'T LOOK BACK! Forget about what your home was worth and think about what your home will be worth in 5-10 years. Then think about where you want to live in the next 5-10 years. If you are looking to move up in price it makes great sense to sell at a discount and buy at a bigger discount. Look forward not back. If you wait, you will end up getting more for your house but you will pay more for the new one. The bottom line is you will end up owing more if you wait and you will probably not be able to get an interest rate as low as they are now. So don't look back, look forward and act now before this opportunity passes!

Don't Trust the Media! It's time to buy Collierville Real Estate Now!

Are you thinking of buying a home or investment property but find yourself paralyzed with fear ? Do one thing.....QUIT LISTENING TO THE MEDIA NOW!

Where are all the major media in this country located? It is of course New York. How many single family homes are there in Manhattan? I'm pretty sure the answer is zero! Which is the same number of analysts that understands the Real Estate market. It is amazing to me that the housing market which drives our economy is so misunderstood by the media. At their best the media is behind the curve 3 months but more like 6-12 months behind. The numbers they quote on the nightly news are from the second quarter. The third quarter numbers have not made it to press yet. Add to this dilemma that real estate markets are very regional and the press has no idea what is going on.

Well what is going on is we are in the tail end of a Buyer's market. We can look back at history and see how we rebounded from past buyer's markets.

July 1980-March1983 Buyer's Market(The Deregulation of the mortgage industry got us out of this one. We went from having to put 20% down to being able to get 95% loans)

March 1983- Summer 1991 Seller's Market

Summer 1991-1993 Buyer's Market

1993-2006 Seller's Market (In Collierville we experienced a Buyer's market in 2000-2001)

2006-???? Buyer's Market( In Collierville we should rebound 1-2 quarter 2009, nationally it may be 3-4 quarter 2009)

The interesting thing is we always bounce back and the buyer's markets usually last 2-3 years.

Especially if you are a first time home buyer, don't have a house to sell or are wanting to move up in the local Collierville market you need to buy now!!!! This is the kind of market that 2-3 years from now you will be saying " I should have bought then!". The Real Estate market is like all other markets it has ups and downs. Warren Buffett said in a recent editorial in the New York Times "A simple rule dictates my buying: Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful."

The housing market drives our economy and the federal government knows this. everything that can be done will be done to help the struggling housing market which will ensure the next Seller's market. Also interest rates are still at historic lows. There have been only 3 years (2003-2005) that the average 30 fixed conforming rate(according to Freddie Mac) has averaged under 6%. Rates are now hovering around 6%

Just ask yourself what is the safest investment where I can get the best buy? The answer is Real Estate. So quit listening to the media and contact a real estate professional today!

Owning a home is still a good investment

Please click on the link below and read why your home may be your best hedge against rising commodity prices and inflation.
click here

Collierville Real Estate Holds Steady

Collierville Real Estate sales were down 15% in 2007 but values were slightly up .3% and price per square foot was up 1% according to Chandler Reports. The first half of 2007 was a record pace followed by a lackluster end of the year which has spilled over into 2008. In my opinion we have almost bottomed out and will start seeing the existing inventory be depleted over the spring and summer which will stabilize prices. We should start seeing things move upward by spring of 2009. Collierville which is represented by zip code 38017 is one of the top zip codes in the Memphis metro area if you look at the average sales price, number of sales and price per square foot. There are still great deal to be had and still a pretty good selection of new homes and resales. Look for the selection of new homes especially to rapidly diminish over the next few months. With little or no new homes on line behind these sales you will see new home prices rise quickly once things turn upward.

Is it time to buy?

To buy or not to buy? That is the question or should I dare say opportunity. I have been asked by many clients whether they should buy now or wait on the sidelines until things hit the bottom. Each client has a different situation but the Collierville market offers a tremendous buying opportunity that won't last forever. Here are the reasons I think it is the time to buy:

1) "Buy low sell high". If we aren't at the bottom of the cycle now we will be soon. Buying now will mean you are on the bottom of the curve over the next cycle. Some people will try to wait until they think we get to the absolute bottom but why wait? You have a better selection of homes now and over several years it will not make that big a difference whether you bought at the very bottom of the cycle or right before the bottom.

2) New home inventory is being reduced with minimal inventory being built behind these sales. this will help stabilize the market and will help the recovery. It also means that very soon there will be a shortage of new homes. You now have the opportunity to make a great buy and have a pretty good selection of new homes, but that will not last long. With the weakaning dollar you will continue to see the rise in construction prices. This means you will see a dramatic rise in new home prices once the inventory thins out and things pick up a little. I anticipate the new home market inventory in Collierville will gradually be reduced and at an undersupply by the end of the summer. We should see the resale market stabilize and start to heat up again after the presidential election in spring of 2009.

3)Interest rates on a 30 year mortgage are still at historical low rates hovering around 6%. When can you say you have had the opportunity to purchase a home at more perfect time? Low interest rates, a buyer's market and a location like Collierville that will be in demand for the next foreseeable future make this a perfect opportunity to buy.

One of the obvious hurdles to being able to take advantage of this opportunity is selling your present home. The one piece of advice I can give is look at the big picture and price your existing home to sell. It is tempting and just plain human nature to hold out for what you thought your house is worth; but what about what it costs to buy your next home? Look at the big picture and focus in on what you will owe or have invested in your next home. You will see that if you are moving up in price it makes sense to take a discount on your home if you are getting the same or better discount on the larger home.

If you are lucky enough to be in the situation to be buying a home, take advantage of this situation instead of letting the situation take advantage of you.

State of the Collierville Real Estate Market(First Post)

This is the first of what I hope will be many posts in the future. It is a little awkward trying to write like I would talk but here it goes.

I was very skeptical about starting my own blog because I don't necessarily trust other blogs to give me accurate and honest information. I came to the conclusion after listening to the national and local media tear apart the consumer's confidence in the housing market that there is a need for honest and accurate info about the housing market and maybe a blog is the best place to get that info. Perception is everything when it comes to the housing market and when the public perceives there is a problem then there is. The housing market is different from the stock market although the national media tries to treat them the same. If you buy a stock it is the same whether you live in Collierville or San Fransisco. If you buy real estate it is definitely not the same in Collierville as it is in San Fransisco but the national media acts like it affects us all the same. The real estate market is based on location, location, location!

This is why I have decided to start my own blog about the housing market in Collierville and this is who I am. My name is Allen Green and I am the managing broker for John Green & Company Realtors®. We are a family business located on the Historic Town Square in Collierville, TN. I have been a licensed Realtor® in Tennessee since 1989 and have been practicing full time since 1995. Before deciding to join my father in the real estate business I was a pilot. I have been around real estate all of my life and have watched my father grow his company from a one man office in 1979 to over 50 agents and 15% of the market share in Collierville today. I have also seen Collierville grow from a population around 7,000 to over 40,000 today. My father is a past "person of the year" in Collierville as well as one of the founders of the Collierville Education Foundation. My brother Michael is the current chairman of the board of the Collierville Chamber of Commerce as well as a member of our local board of Realtors® mls committee. I am a past president of Main Street Collierville as well as a current board member and a member of our local association's finance committee. I tell you these things only to let you know I feel uniquely qualified to discuss the issues of the real estate market in Collierville.

Now that we have the boring stuff out of the way lets get down to the nitty gritty. What is the state of the real estate market in Collierville? This is a tricky question and one that requires several answers. First let me say compared to other markets nationally and locally our market is strong but if compared to the last couple of years it has softened. Everyone in the nation is seeing some softening in the market due to foreclosures and negative talk about the market in general but we did not not have double digit run ups in our home values thus we have not seen the huge drops in value. It is true if you have to sell your home right now you will probably have to take less than you thought your home was worth 6 months ago but it will still sell if priced right and is in good showing condition. The next answer to the question is, the Memphis area was undervalued before the trouble in the housing market and Collierville is one of the best sub-markets within the Memphis market so Collierville has been hurt less than other markets in our area. One of our biggest problems has been people that want to move to Collierville have had trouble selling their home. The federal goverment just raised the FHA limits to $271,050 from $200,160. This should help with the resale market in Collierville as well as people wanting to sell their home and move to Collierville. The bottom line is it has been a little soft in the Collierville market the last half of last year to the present but their is light at the end of the tunnel. I look for things to be a little up and down until after the Presidential election and really look for things to improve by spring of 2009.

I hope I have not rambled on too much, I could keep writing for another hour but I will save some for my next post. Please subscribe to my blog on the right side of the page to get updates. I will also post new listings on this site as well as links that I find useful. Thanks for reading and I look forward to your comments.

Coming Soon!

I have created this blog to discuss issues that affect the real estate market in Collierville. I will be posting info as soon as I finish setting up.