Lehigh Valley Real Estate Blog

Lehigh Valley Home Buyer - Is Now The Time To Buy?

Is now a good time to Buy a Lehigh Valley Home? This is a common question in today's economy. If you have been considering buying a home what should you do? Should you wait?

As a possible Lehigh Valley Home Buyer you may be considering purchasing a home but you don't want to purchase today and find out a year from now that your home has gone down in value. Is this a possibility?

You bet but each situation is different. When I purchased my second Lehigh Valley Home in 1999, I have to be honest and admit I didn't look to see if home prices were going up or coming down. We had two children and my wife was pregnant with our third. It was time to get a larger house. It didn't matter what the market was doing. It was time to move-on. My family was growing and we needed a larger home.

We purchased a home in Bethlehem Township, paid $5,000 less than the asking price, and had an interest rate of 8.375%. We also didn't get a check from the government for $8,000 (Stimulus Bill) as a gift for purchasing the home. None of it mattered. We needed a larger house. We did refinance in 2003 to get a 6% interest rate.

Fast-forward to today's market. What do we know:

• Home Prices have been declining
• Buyer's have been sitting on the fence for almost two years
• Interest Rates are at an all-time low (around 5%)
• Seller's are more willing to negotiate (price and terms)
• Government is giving $8,000 as a gift to First Time Home Buyers (or a buyer who hasn't owned in at least 3 years)
• Foreclosures and Short Sales have increased (a good buy?)

At some point, the dam is going to burst. There are way to many potential home buyers out there that are watching and waiting. What are they waiting for? The bottom!

The problem is that no one will know that Lehigh Valley Real Estate has reached the Bottom until AFTER it happens. All of a sudden, prices will start to increase and then we know that the bottom was missed. 

Lehigh Valley Home Buyers that have been waiting will probably make a mad dash to purchase. The law of supply and demand will kick-in and interest rates may go up. If it happens after December 1, 2009, the $8,000 tax credit for First Time Home Buyers will no longer be available and the sellers may not be as willing to negotiate.

A 1% increase in the interest rate offsets a $10,000 decrease in the home price. Should you continue waiting to purchase a home?

One of the problems, in the past couple of years, is that homes became a source for a quick investment.
YOUR HOME should be considered a Long Term Investment. It is going to be the place where you live and possibly raise your family. The fact that it will eventually grow in value (real estate always goes up long term) is a consideration but is it your main consideration? Isn't your life and your family the main factor?

All of the signs are pointing at this being a great time to purchase a home. How long should you wait?

Visit www.lehighvalleyhomebuyer.com for more information about purchasing a Lehigh Valley Home.

Making an Offer on a Lehigh Valley Home

Over the past few months, I have seen or heard of some offers made on homes that are unbelievable. It is not uncommon to hear that a Home Buyer wants to offer $150,000 for a house that is listed at $200,000. The media is driving these low ball offers. Real Estate throughout the country is different. You can't watch national news and determine what is a realistic offer is in your area.

As a Real Estate Agent in Lehigh Valley, I don't set the price a Home Seller asks for a house or the price a Home Buyer is willing to pay for the house. I believe my job is to educate either party depending on which one I am working for and give them the knowledge they need to make a decision based on facts. 

If a house is priced correctly, it is common to get $5,000 to $10,000 off of the list price. If the house has been on the market a long time and is vacant maybe the seller will be willing to accept less. Each situation is unique.

In the above scenario, if the house was correctly priced at $200,000 I would never advise a Home Seller to accept an offer for $50,000 (or 25%) less. I would probably advise the seller to drop the price to $190,000 to see if we could at least get about $180,000 for the house. 

If that offer for $150,000 is made, I also don't believe the seller should get mad and reject the offer or counter back at full price. The Home Buyer may be a serious buyer who is just trying to get a great deal. I believe the seller should make a realistic counter-offer and if the buyer refuses then let them walk.  

Lehigh Valley Home Sellers should be realistic with their prices but that doesn't mean they should give their house away.
 

New Lehigh Valley Home Seller Website

Information about selling your Lehigh Valley home including Free Reports and Checklists. The site includes a section on Expired Listings, For Sale By Owners (FSBO), and Short Sales.
 

Get all the information you need on How to Price Your Home including a monthly Market Snapshot of your neighborhood that includes available and sold properties in your neighborhood.

Lehigh Valley Home Seller