Real Estate Recovery,Slow but sure!

All signs are now pointing to a Recovery in the Real Estate Market. Traffic in our Office is greatly increased over the last Month. Multiple Closings and scheduled closings for the Month of October have been above average. I look for November to be strong as well. No doubt the 1st time home buyer tax credit has helped somewhat but I am seeing improvement in all buyer segments. People who are looking to upgrade are taking advantage of the reduced pricing of most homes and Investors are scooping up the remaining bargains.
Now is the time to help bolster the recovery. If you are thinking of selling your current home you need to solicit professional advice as to proper pricing. With all the publicity as of late one would think they will have to give away their property to get it sold. This is not necessarly true. If your property is in above average condition and well maintained you should be able to sell it at above market pricing as compared to distressed properties that are not. By pricing your property slightly above the current day market you will help to bring pricing levels back to some reasonable levels. Let's not forget that a home is worth what someone is willing to pay for it. This will require a bit of patience but will not go unrewarded.
I have been watching the legislation in regards to the $8,000 Federal Tax Credit. All signs are pointing to a possible extension and quite honestly I have mixed feelings on the issue. I compare this to the "cash for clunkers" program that was designed to help the automotive industry. It was a short lived event that did help on the short term but in my opinion did nothing to shore up the industry in the long haul. Agreeably the Real Estate First Time Home Buyers Credit was much better structured to effect the long term. It helped to maintain jobs (temporarly) in the building and supply trades minimizing the impact there, but most importantly it enabled some people that may have not become a home owner realize the "American Dream" to own their own home. Since most mortgages are on a 30 year basis this can help in the long run. I do however have some concerns about some lending practices (USDA) that promote no down payment loans that even roll closing costs back in to the loan amount. My fear is that if someone has little or none of their personal funds invested when things get tough are they more apt to just walk away from the obligation? Time will tell on that note. After all isn't that type loan a small part of what got us in to this in the 1st place? I sure hope my concerns are not warranted! Stay tuned as new developments unfold I will keep you updated...............