Calling All Investors

Last week, I was in D.C. for the National Association of Realtors meeting, and there was a lot of talk about millennials and what they want and value.  What they want are dwellings that are open floor plan and completely updated--no fixer-uppers for this generation!  What they don't value like their parents and grandparents did is home ownership, although that could change, as they (belatedly) form households and have children.

That leads us to examine another growing trend across the country--single family homes as real estate investments.  Millions of homes are now owned by individuals, not institutions, for investment purposes, and are rented out.  Millennials are a prime target group for this activity.  It's not enough to buy the home, however; you need to update it, and make it into something that a renter wants to pay to live in.  

Where in our market do such opportunities exist?  Ahh, that's where you need to call a Realtor, since we know the latest sales, and which neighborhoods are hot and which are not, what features need to be added, and where renters want to live.  Flippers, give us a call.  We'll be waiting with advice.  

Absorption Rates

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Countdown for Tax Savings

We were talking about the $8000 first-time homebuyer's credit this morning, and figuring out the timeline for the deadline of December 1, 2009. Given the time it takes to get a mortgage and close, we think that a safe deadline for purchase would be October 15th, 2009. That means that anyone who wants to take advantage of the tax credit must buy within the next six weeks!

We further realized that many people (including most of us) have lots of questions about exactly who qualifies and for what, so it's worth talking to an accountant or doing some research on the Web. Many more people qualify than one might expect. Also, the type of property is broader than just single-family homes. I don't want to put in too many details, since that would imply that I know all the answers. I learned in business school, however, that the important thing in life is to know the right questions, and then find someone who knows the answers. That advice may be worth what you just paid for it, but I think you should think about whether anyone in your family might qualify. I'm thinking that parents may want to help their kids purchase homes in the next six weeks.

When the tax credit is combined with positive real estate news--like the article in today's Wall Street Journal, saying that now is the time to buy---we're looking forward to a very busy fall season!