Gotta Love This Weather, Huh?
by William Metzker on February 22, 2010
Crocuses (crocii?) and daffodils blooming, tulips shouldering their way through the winterhard ground, cherry blossoms from Orenco Station to Alberta, smiles gracing the mugs of people on the Sellwood streets. Damn, there are times you really gotta love this town.
In the last week or so, it feels like more listings are blooming for home buyers. I don’t know if that’s true. Haven’t counted. Thoreau said, “Is is worthwhile to go halfway round the world to count the cats in Zanzibar?” Or something like that, anyway. Anyway, I’m not the Sesame Street real estate broker, so I don’t count everything.
Since December, I’ve been telling anyone who asked–both of them–that if people want to sell their homes, they need to do it in the spring. That’s because the home buyers’ tax credit expires and because the Treasury will quit buying mortgages at the end of March. Both of these have made a bit of a bubble market for lower-priced homes, although I have to say, action is moving up the price scale a bit.
But still: The end of the tax freebie, interest rates at least up another point. Oh, and FHA will increase insurance premiums and stop seller paybacks at three percent (it’s not six percent).
And let’s not forget the Mordor shadow inventory of foreclosures.
Prices: Well, there you have it. I’ve seen some demonstrably overpriced homes go into escrow in this frothy moment. Question: Will they close, or fall back out? I’m also seeing a lot of downward price adjusting on newer listings.
The thing about Portland weather is that there’s always a false spring about this time of year, getting our hopes up and promising to lift the darkened shroud of perpetual rainy gray skies. But the weathergod also likes to play Whack-a-mole and may be waiting up there for us to stick out our happy heads.
Gotta Love This Weather, Huh?
by William Metzker on February 22, 2010
Crocuses (crocii?) and daffodils blooming, tulips shouldering their way through the winterhard ground, cherry blossoms from Orenco Station to Alberta, smiles gracing the mugs of people on the Sellwood streets. Damn, there are times you really gotta love this town.
In the last week or so, it feels like more listings are blooming for home buyers. I don’t know if that’s true. Haven’t counted. Thoreau said, “Is is worthwhile to go halfway round the world to count the cats in Zanzibar?” Or something like that, anyway. Anyway, I’m not the Sesame Street real estate broker, so I don’t count everything.
Since December, I’ve been telling anyone who asked–both of them–that if people want to sell their homes, they need to do it in the spring. That’s because the home buyers’ tax credit expires and because the Treasury will quit buying mortgages at the end of March. Both of these have made a bit of a bubble market for lower-priced homes, although I have to say, action is moving up the price scale a bit.
But still: The end of the tax freebie, interest rates at least up another point. Oh, and FHA will increase insurance premiums and stop seller paybacks at three percent (it’s not six percent).
And let’s not forget the Mordor shadow inventory of foreclosures.
Prices: Well, there you have it. I’ve seen some demonstrably overpriced homes go into escrow in this frothy moment. Question: Will they close, or fall back out? I’m also seeing a lot of downward price adjusting on newer listings.
The thing about Portland weather is that there’s always a false spring about this time of year, getting our hopes up and promising to lift the darkened shroud of perpetual rainy gray skies. But the weathergod also likes to play Whack-a-mole and may be waiting up there for us to stick out our happy heads.