And Since There's No Place to Go, Let it Snow Let it Snow Let it Snow...
It might as well be snowing outside right now, because the market is as cold as can be. It might as well be December. I'd love to see the sales curve after this year is over because the "bell curve" never happened. Its been hard to pinpoint a "busy period" like you would see in the summer...its just been consistently slow since about June it seems. I'm telling you...Denver and probably the United States is in a recession right now (although we won't know it until its reported in 6 months). As far as real estate is concerned its a full blown depression.
Of course our enemy, The Denver Post, is at it again...a huge article on the market Sunday, and mostly negative stuff http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_6900500 and http://www.denverpost.com/economy/ci_6900503 . It fuels the fire, you know? People believe what they read, period. Until people start to read that things are looking up, the market will stay down.
I have 5 foreclosures listed, and 4 of them priced from 324K to 810K took at least a $10,000 price drop last week. It didn't make a bit of difference. Still no showings. I have 5 more foreclosures coming up soon. Whoop-de-do. Foreclosures are changing the market, and not for the better. We need to flush these foreclosures out of the market to a normal level...its not good for the other sellers out there for sure. It puts downward pressure on prices, in an already down market.
The wild card in interest rates for home loans. Rates are down to a 4 month low, according to The Denver Post, so that at least can open up a few doors http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_6900466. The Federal Reserve is set to cut THE DISCOUNT RATE tomorrow by 1/2 percent. That is welcome news for the economy in general, and will make people and businesses happy and more optimistic. But it doesn't affect interest rates for home loans unfortunately. That kind of move CAN affect interest rates for home loans eventually, but there is a lag time of 3-5 months generally.
Is the sky falling? NO. But we are not going to be out of the woods for a while. There are still buyers out there, and if your home is priced agressively (for this market TODAY), and it is in good condition, your home can still sell. It just requires a higher degree of patience than in years past.
Go to http://www.coloradodreamhomes.net/ for more info on the local real estate market.