Well, I’m not going to ‘give it away’!!

By Jerry Robertson June 16, 2011 News Worthy

I hear that a lot. I understand it too. No one wants to lose money but the truth is we all have. We have lost in the stock market (remember that 401K?) or lost it in Vegas (wait.. those are the same thing). We do the best we can with what we have at the time. Sometimes it does not work out well. The real estate market is like that now. It did not work out. It’s not all bad news but if you are a home owner that HAS to move it might not work out for you right now.

House values have dipped down a lot. About 30% or more from the heights of a few years ago. If you want to see a chart of your house value check out www.fhfa.gov and go to the home value calculator. You can plug in what you paid and when you paid it and see how the house value has fared by quarters. Keep in mind that this is a national or state average and numbers will be different for your neighborhood but this can give you a picture.

Remember too that if you are selling and buying, it can work to your advantage. You will take less for your house but the next house owner is taking less too so it can come out OK. You just have to get past that idea that selling for less than you paid is a horrible thing. You aren’t giving it away but rather you are just getting out of it what the market will allow.

I will tell you this, I am working with some buyers that want to live in Forsyth county and want to purchase in the $300K range. We are having trouble finding quality houses or the ones we do find are going under contract in just days of being put on the market. It is moving fast in that price range and there seems to be a shortage of resales that are not a ‘project’. That is something new. I am even seeing some new construction which means there is a demand for that too. Some builders are even building homes on spec. I could hear the sounds of hammers and saws yesterday and it was a pleasant thing to me.

On the bright side, if you are buying it is a great time to find a deal. Depending on location and price, there are some good homes out there and you can save some significant money. In the last year we have sold abotu 3700 homes in Gwinnett Co. Almost half of them sold under $125K. That is about 1700 houses under $125K. I remember in 2005 or 2006 when I could not find even 1 house in Gwinnett under $125K. My how things have changed.

Anyway, I just wanted to share those thoughts today. If I can do anything to help you please give me a call at 678-231-1578. I am here to help.

Thanks for listening,
Jerry Robertson