Thursday, December 27, 2007

A New Year - Opportunity Knocks in Louisville Real Estate

While 2007 became a year of market change that brought challenges to both buyers and sellers, 2008 is poised for recovery. The lending 'crisis' of this past year caught buyers off guard and left sellers in a lurch. In addition, sellers hoping to cash in on the previous years' boom, or ones in financial trouble, found themselves swamped in inventory with few buyers.

Luckily for all of us, Louisville's real estate market is somewhat isolated from the rest of the Nation and mostly influenced by the local economy which remains strong. With Ford electing to keep open the two Kentucky plants, plus the growth seen by UPS and other local employers, Louisville's job base and therefore real estate purchasing power remains intact.

We did go through a period of increased inventory, plus the foreclosure rate is abnormally high, so the market is still fragile. The inventory will correct itself some throughout the winter months, but will probably remain higher than average for Louisville. The counter to that problem is the lending industry responding to the demand for mortgage options for first-time buyers, plus consumer confidence increasing as the economy stabilizes.

This next year will continue to be a year of change and adjustment for the market, but buyers and sellers armed with solid market information who are willing to flex with the market should be in a favorable position. It will be a good year to buy, and for those sellers who take the time to make cost effective updates, it will remain possible to sell for a fair market price.

I encourage anyone considering selling their home or making a purchase this next year to take the time and become completely informed regarding the market before making any commitments. Secure competent, knowledgeable guidance and representation and learn how to save yourself money by comparing all available options. You can contact me through my website, Louisville Real Estate, if you would like discuss this post. Good luck, I hope you have a successful year buying or selling a home!

Sunday, December 2, 2007

Why You Need to Learn the Internet to be Competitive in Real Estate

We are almost there.

My opinion is that within the next two years, the internet will be responsible for initiating 90+% of all real estate transfers. Of course, this is very bad news for print publications, but the flexibility and search capabilities of the internet makes flipping through a magazine randomly looking for a home a waste of time. I'm sure those options will linger for those who prefer them , but it won't be much further down the road where print publications cannot financially survive.

Why am I telling you this? Because the age of the internet is fully upon us today and there are buyers and sellers who have completely embraced the technology to their advantage. This means these buyers and sellers will have a significant jump on the competition in terms of speed, knowledge, and timely market information. If you are not on the same playing field, using the same technology, your dream home could be snapped up before you even know it exists, or your neighbor's home sold before you get a first showing.

What can you do to catch up if you are new to using the internet in this manner, or to improve your technique if you have some experience? The short answer is to partner with a Louisville, KY Realtor who is internet savvy and let them help you learn to fully utilize the system. Certainly I have an obvious bias in this situation, but I also have a tremendous amount of experience with the internet and the know-how to make it work for my clients. The best part is I give the advice and guidance for free, but I do ask that you strongly consider using me to help you close your transaction.

Another option you have is to sit in front of the computer and start using the internet. Go to Google and begin to search for terms that relate to what you wish to do. Read as many articles as you can online that give guidance on how to find homes on the internet. You should be aware that you can find out a huge amount of public information on the internet, most likely for free, that will expose critical information about specific properties that can be used favorably in negotiations. You will most likely need someone with significant experience to find this information (like me), but it is available.

There are other options, if you please, but the point is to get involved, learn the technology, and get ahead of the competition NOW! Even if you cannot use a computer, don't own a computer, or are not even sure what the internet is (it makes me wonder how you are reading this post!!), you can make the technology work for you by using a knowledgeable partner. All you need to do is communicate in the terms that are familiar to you and have your partner translate it into internet-speak.

I promise you will be amazed if you have the opportunity to see the full power of the internet in action, and you will never want to go back to the old ways. It's just too convenient, logical, and saves so much time and effort. Contact Joe Hayden, or send an email and I will be happy to demonstrate to you this wonderful tool.