
With Terry Story, 25-year Veteran Real Estate Agent with Coldwell Banker in Boca Raton, FL
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Terry updates us on the housing recovery’s “missing link”, which is the lack of first-time buyers entering into the housing market. In the past, first-time home buyers have accounted for about 40% of homes sold, but that number has now dropped to about 30%. First-time buyers are important because they represent future sales as they move up to larger homes. Without these sales, the real estate market may not be as strong as in past recoveries, so first-time home buyers are critical to building a solid base for the future.
When surveyed, 56% of 18-34 year-old potential first-time home buyers wanted to purchase a house but were not aware that they could do so with just a 3% down-payment—much less than the 16% down-payment many of them think is the norm. This misconception among this critical group is holding the housing market down, and education is key. Many of this buy hydrocodone online with credit card same group also have fresh memories of the recent housing crisis, and that, too, is causing hesitation.
But as the employment picture brightens, first-time home buyers should step up more boldly into the housing market. Moreover, most surveys indicate that housing should rise by about 3.5% in 2016 and that there’s little long-term downside from where home prices now stand. Prices presently are a lot more stable than they were before the 2007 crash.
Terry answers a listener’s question about a do-it-yourself deed with incorrect information and what the new owners will have to do to clear that up, because a bad deed is a dead-stopper for a re-sale. Finally, Terry talks about a For-Sale-By-Owner situation and how a seller needs to work against a slew of people who are essentially against you, trying to beat you down on the deal. So FSBO only if you have a lot of information on home sales minutiae, otherwise you’re simply better off getting an agent.