This is an excerpt from Trulia’s blog “Ask Tara” today.

“Myth: It’s just a matter of time before loan guidelines loosen up. The US Treasury Department recently recommended the elimination of mortgage industry giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. I won’t get into the eye-glazing details of it here, but the long and the short is that (a) this is highly likely to happen, and (b) it will make mortgage loans much harder and costlier to get, for both buyers and homeowners. It’s possible that loans are as easy to get as they’re going to get.”

I think this is important to note, because although we’re clearly in a buyer’s market right now, when loans become tougher to get, it will create an even greater shortage of buyers.  That may look like rock bottom for our housing market, and will absolutely push sellers to be more aggressive than ever to snag one of the precious few qualified buyers out there.

Moral of the story: if you need to buy or sell anytime soon, this may be your best shot.  Contact me for help.

Old school printing press

The item you see in the photograph here is an old-time printing press.  At one point, it was the fastest, most efficient way to get your images or text onto paper for wide distribution.  No question, it was brilliant, and for years and years, it was the benchmark in the printing industry.

Fast-forward just a few decades or so.  Here you are, reading a message that literally millions of other people can read, within a few seconds of me posting it.  It wastes no paper, requires no templates made of iron, and no pre-cast letters placed into a tray.  Incredible, right?!

Well, yesterday I was visiting with a homeowner who was having trouble selling their home, which was previously listed with another agent.  She told me that whenever she would question one of the methods or techniques used by that agent the response would be, “Well, it’s worked for the last 30 years!”.

Which leads me to my point.  First, let’s give credit to anyone who has lasted 30 years in an extremely volatile career.  Just like we need to give praise to the printing press, because had we not had that development, we may not be where we are today.  But… in order to remain effective, we must continue to grow and evolve.  Whether we’re talking about medicine (Time for your leaches, sir!), technology (Bob, put down the chisel and stone tablet, before you write something you’ll regret!), or real estate (Well I put a sign in the yard, and now a buyer will just come along!), we must strive to learn new techniques, master new methods, leverage advancing technology, and embrace the situation we’re in (housing market turmoil).

Yes, you used to be able to put a sign in the yard and host an open house and get a buyer.  Those days are over.  Buyers and sellers alike know the housing market is messed up right now.  If there’s an elephant in the room, we need to acknowledge it…. and then we need to find new, more clever, faster, more efficient ways to deal with solving problems.  In this case, it’s selling homes.

Old school real estate is out.  New school is in.  If you need to sell your house in this whacky economy, be sure you’re working with someone who keeps up with the changing times.   Why use a sundial or a compass to find your way when there’s GPS?

If you’re ready for the next stage in real estate evolution, call me.  I’ll explain to you in detail how the business has changed, what techniques I use to combat the flailing housing market, and why my listings sell faster (for full market value) than other agents’.

Watch this video discussion on Glenn Beck.  Fact?  Who knows, but I don’t think they’re discussing anything we don’t already know is happening.  If you need to sell your house, then you need me… and you need to do it NOW!  It will not likely get better anytime in the next year, two, or maybe much longer.  I’ve become a certified quick sale expert for this reason.  I see what’s happening in the market every day, and because it’s my job, I focused on combating this downward spiral.

If you need to sell your house… You need ME… and we should talk sooner than later.

Experts say now is the time to buy real estate
In a recent Forbes blog post, multimillionaire hedge fund manager John Paulson declared that today’s record-low interest rates made this the best time to buy homes in fifty years. “If you don’t own a home, buy one,” Paulson said. “If you own one home, buy another one, and if you own two homes, buy a third and lend your relatives the money to buy a home.” Why should we care what Paulson thinks? Well, he was among the few to accurately predict the subprime collapse and, while no one has a crystal ball, a closer look at the numbers supports his call to action.

Historically low interest rates are the key…and they aren’t likely to hang around for long.

As we wrote in SHIFT, buyers who “choose to wait until prices come down more” are gambling that interest rates will hold steady or drop. The truth is even a 10 percent drop in home prices is nullified by a 1 percent increase in interest rates. The figure below illustrates how this works for a $250,000 home purchase and the relative likelihood of each scenario.

To figure out which was a smarter bet–counting on home prices to fall further or interest rates to rise–our research department took the last ten years of monthly home price and mortgage interest rate data and ran the numbers to see which was more likely: an increase in mortgage rates or a further drop in home prices.

Here’s what we found:

A one percent increase in mortgage rates is ten times more likely to happen than a ten percent drop in home prices.

A one percent rate increase more than offsets a ten percent reduction in home prices. When interest rates fall by one percent, the total interest paid is almost three times more than the interest savings from a ten percent drop in home prices. The probability of both happening at the same time is ridiculously small, and homeowners would still pay 15 percent more in interest over the life of the loan.

Interest rates have dominated the news in recent months as we’ve shattered record low after record low. Potential home buyers need to understand the positive financial impact low interest rates have on the cost of home ownership and the thousands of dollars that can be saved over the life of a typical mortgage loan. For those who can afford to buy, trade up, or invest, our current market presents a lifetime opportunity.

If you’ve been passing up buying homes that require cosmetic repairs for lack of funds to fix them up, FHA has a program for you. Not to be confused with FHA’s much more complicated 203K program, a Streamlined 203K loan eliminates much of the paperwork and simplifies the process to obtain rehab funds. This same loan can be done for ones existing home.

This is the updated version of a viral video that came out a year or so ago.  Fantastic stats and info about the Dallas-Ft. Worth metroplex, or as it’s referred to in the video “The Texaplex”.  I recommend watching it, as it should be a source of encouragement for anyone discouraged by all the negative media about the economy.  Also, if you’re considering moving to the Dallas area, after you watch this video, the decision should be practically made!

Email me!  brett@maxlanerealty.com