Real Estate Season is Here

Yes, it has finally arrived. This is the time of year when the MLS or Multiple Listing Services go up like crazy in all most every city, town and village.

So, what does this mean for you? Well, it might mean absolutely nothing...or, it might mean a huge profitable opportunity. How so you ask? Read on...

Spring, generally as mentioned is the time for realtors. It is a great time to buy and sell or both, depending on your situation. So, the market becomes ripe for action. As an example I have been watching the market in my home town for the last month or so and it amazes me how dramatically the asking prices have dropped. One home up the street that was $119,000.00 is now $91,000.00. That is a serious drop.

My question was why? So I did some digging and it seems here locally, that homes that are higher priced are actually doing it for a very smart reason. Have a high price in "dead" season of the year...it peeks the buyers interest, and then drop it in a huge loss (or so it seems) and you have a buyer frenzy. Case in point, this home I am speaking of was appraised originally at $86,000.00 Smart move on the owners part when you think about it. To the buyer they are getting a sweet deal and for the seller if he sells it at this price or higher if there is a bidding war going on, he makes a profit of at least $5,000.00 Nice.

Now in all honesty the first time home buyer doesn't know or care about this usually, they are too busy trying to get there finances in order to obtain a mortgage. The end result being a win-win for everyone involved.

Why this Topic?

I am speaking about this today to illustrate how some strategies are used when supply and demand hits, so I have a few suggestions for you today. Here they are:

1. Get the home appraised, if possible. Could save you loads of your money.

2. Get the home inspected. This is a MUST. It costs a few hundred dollars but it's worth it for piece of mind and protects you if any ill should befall you.

3. Most importantly, go in with a much lower asking price than you can actually afford, this will give you some haggling and may very well save you a few hundred dollars if not a few thousand.

Take a look around as always, this is a very lucrative time of year for the home owner and home buyer in terms of cash flow. These posts are designed to help you along the way to owning a home and saving you time and money.

As always take a look around and keep up to date with the posts and the information you find in the pages, if something catches your eye. Write it down, explore the options as presented.

Until our next discussion.

Garret Belisle is the author of a blog designed to help you on your way to home ownership, and some helpful tricks on down payments and credit repair. You can view the site here at http://www.gbcmortgage.blogspot.com While your there make sure to sign up for the weekly updates on the bottom left corner to keep up to date with all of the latest advice.

Kensington mayor's real estate purchases Washington Post ... or relevant are displayed in Top Comments, as are comments by users with these badges: . Replies to those posts appear here, as well as posts by staff writers. All comments are posted in the All Comments tab. Kensington mayor's real estate purchases. and more »

Bringing real estate into a mobile world The Register-Guard By Sherri Buri McDonald RealLead is a new Eugene company designing technology that enables real estate agents to get more mileage out of their mobile marketing of real estate listings. The company's owners are Caroline Cummings (left), ... and more »

Real Estate briefs: Builder breaks ground on Bonita Lakes The News-Press Originally from Boston, Christensen worked as a graphic designer and earned her real estate sales designation in 2003. Christensen is also a member of the Bonita Springs-Estero Association of Realtors. Kathy Farias to its Central office. Southwest Florida real estate briefsNaples Daily News all 2 news articles »

State Real Estate Drop The Worst On Record Patch.com Home sales in Connecticut dropped 13 percent in 2011, making it the worst on record, according to The Warren Group, the preeminent compiler of real estate statistics in New England. Boston-based Warren began tracking real estate data in the Nutmeg ... and more »

Developer says real estate market is on the mend Las Vegas Review - Journal Buy this photo Quotable: "Real estate is more like a marathon, not a sprint. You need to build on your strengths, intellectual assets and human resources." Work history: Salesman and broker for Rossum Realty Unlimited, 1989-2005; managing member of ... and more »

The Virginian-Pilot

Changing times in real estate The Desert Sun Kevin Stern of Desert Star Real Estate has his own small firm. “Some people need the structure of a large corporation, an office to go to every day, social atmosphere, whereas I work from my home,” he said. / Omar Ornelas, The Desert Sun Of nearly 3600 ... In real estate stories, a market for distrustSarasota Herald-Tribune Herbert Edwards Sr., real estate agentPhiladelphia Inquirer Housing correction isn't deterring agents-in-trainingThe Virginian-Pilot Muncie Star Press all 3 news articles »

Seattle Post Intelligencer (blog)

Amazon's Effect on Seattle Real Estate: Fast Sales, Nearly No Condos Available ... Seattle Post Intelligencer (blog) The real estate market for South Lake Union condos has been affected greatly by the influx of Amazon's employees. There have been very few home sales in the past few months, but not for the reasons that sales lag in other markets. In South Lake Union, ... and more »

'New normal' for real estate arrives Daily News Transcript By Jay Hummer/local columnist Homeowners in MetroWest, and throughout Massachusetts are beginning to adjust to the “new normal” — an industry buzz word used among real estate professionals to define the current state of the housing market. and more »

Investing: Real estate investment trusts risky, but show great returns The News-Press Peculiarly, the commercial real estate market isn't quite as depressed. In fact, funds that invest in real estate investment trusts, or REITs, rose an average 7.5 percent last year, beating the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index's 2.1 percent gain. and more »

Local real estate agents had good 2011, feel optimistic about 2012 The Mountain Press That's a statement echoed by Colonial Real Estate principal broker Vickie Stanton. “The sellers are feeling more optimistic,” she said. “(The realtors) are cautiously optimistic.” With most buyers still looking for foreclosed homes and good deals, ... and more »