Broker or Not?

To use a broker or not. First you need to decide whether you will be keeping the loan for a long period or refinancing in a short period of time? If you will be keeping the loan in your portfolio or expect to live in this house for awhile, it may be worth considering a broker.

There are additional fees up front for not getting a loan directly from the end servicer, but it is also a great way to get the best interest rate. Your broker can shop for the best rate for you. When you go direct to the end servicer they give you their rate and no other options. So over the long term, the lower rate will cost you less money.

As always there are many things to consider and not any one option is right for everyone. Speak with your real estate professional to see what they suggest – there is nothing in it for them. Everyone has an opinion – ask someone with nothing to gain.

What is new in 2007?

Buyers are coming back to the market. The week between Christmas and New Years saw a slug of offers on homes. Yes the Buyers are beating up on the Sellers. We did see quite a bit of negotiating going on, and no the Sellers were not getting full price. It is great for all of us to see the Buyers reengaging back into the market.
The number of sold homes for January and February will be up from anything we have seen in the later part of 2006. The rates are still really good. I actually read that in December our rates were lower than a year ago.
Now is a great time to buy a rental. As the Buyer you will have more negotiating power than is many years past. And many homes to choose from.
Following a dip in interest rates for the first time in five weeks, U.S. mortgage applications soared 16.6% in the first week of the New Year (through January 5), the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported January 10. The MBA's survey covers approximately 50% of all U.S. residential loans.

Boise - Most Secure Place to Live

We enjoy our secure way of life and would like to welcome others to enjoy it as well. The mountains are like a security blanket that protect us from many outsider dangers.

According to the Farmers Insurance Group of Companies study, the southwestern Idaho region of Boise & Nampa are the most secure places to live in the United States among large metro areas. The rankings considered factors such as crime statistics, extreme weather, risk of natural disasters, environmental hazards, terrorist threats and job loss numbers for 114 U.S. metro areas with populations of 500,000 or more.

Welcome to Boise and the Treasure Valley, come to our way of life and leave all others behind.

Turnaround Hinges on Pricing

Our inventory is leveling out. Rates are great! Jobs are in abundance. And yet everything the Buyer's read from the Idaho Statesman regarding our housing market is negative. Our Buyers will continue to be weary to make a purchase until the Idaho Statesman's forecasts take on a more favorable light. Sellers just need to hang on and remember that price does cure all.
Sellers need to abandon unreasonable expectations about the value of their home. After all, most home owners have enjoyed substantial equity gains on their property during the real estate boom over the last few years. Cutting prices won't wipe out their gains.

A Welcomed Correction

As quoted by Lereah, senior vice president and chief ecomonist for the National Association of Realtors: The explanation for this correction lies as much in the psychology of buyers as in their pocketbooks. This is a slowdown caused by high home prices and wavering confidence. Sales aren't cooling because there are no buyers in the market; they're cooling because buyers are waiting for prices to ease. I'm confident that once prices ease, investors and housholds will be back.
Over the last two months sales have actually increased and days on market have actually decreased. Those that say we have a doom and gloom market are not in it.

Great Time to Invest

Ada County is having an increase in listings of 1% per week. The effect is that the days on market are increasing by 2% per week. The largest number of home being added are in North Meridian & Southwest Boise/Meridian. The average active listing price is $362,833. The median active listing price is $289,925. What a great time to invest in rental property. Give us a call to use our expertise to build a portfolio of your own.

Today Show

On the Today Show this morning they had several people talking about the "real estate bubble bursting". The thing that they fail to mention is that they are not talking about our market. They are talking about the large cities around the country. Our market has never followed those trends. We are always way behind the trend.

Right now we are back up to the "normal" (pre 2005) amount of listings actively on the market. We still only have a 4.5 month supply of homes. Which means that we are still in a Seller's market. When we have a 6 month supply of homes, that is where the market is even for the Buyer & Seller. Our average days on market are at 89 days.

The Sellers that have been reaching for the stars are not selling. Those that are being realistic will sell in a reasonable amount of time. We are past the day of "bidding" on homes and missing out. Thankfully the Buyers will be able to think about their purchase for a day or two without missing out.

Please watch the articles in the Idaho Statesman as well - look at the city that the article was pulled from. You may see many others than those from Idaho.

Please visit HomesNBoise.com to view homes for sale in the Treasure Valley Idaho area.