Good News!

Rates are going down. Yippee Yeah!  This is Great News For home buyers in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  According to a January 9, 2007 article by Inman News, the Mortgage Bankers Association, a trade group for lenders indicates that this past week the Jump in applications for loans was a whopping 32%!  This is the highest one week increase for mortgage applications documented within the past 4 years.

The increase in mortgage applications is due to the fact that mortgage rates are now lower than 6%.  The rate on a 15 year note is now averaging 5.21%.  If you've got an adjustable rate mortgage, this is the time to get a fixed rate. It's also smart to review loan documents for your primary residence and home equity lines of credit.

It might be helpful to highlight a Brief Overview of the real estate market in the Greater Grand Rapids, Michigan Area over the past year.(2007)  The year started with average Listing Prices in the $157,000 range.  Sales Price Averages of 150,000 indicated that most home owners were selling within 95% of the Average Sale Price.  But what is not revealed in these numbers was the Cost in Time for home sellers.  With over 17 months of Inventory, just under 7% of the Available Inventory actually sold.  Successful Sales however averaged 109 days on the market.

The Best Time to have been a Seller in Grand Rapids, MI in 2007was between March ~ August.  Inventory levels for all listed properties dropped to 12 ~ 13 months and the Average Sales Prices were between $155,000 ~ $165,000.  Of course some areas were much higher and some lower, but this was the net effect.  In addition, close to 10% of Homes Listed were going into Escrow for Closing.

At years end, inventory levels rose dramatically.  By December, we had 19 months of Inventory in stock and the Average Sale Price has now fallen to $133,000.  So, What does this mean if you are a Buyer?  Well, NOW is a good time to see what's available for Sale when you consider the decrease in Interest Rates and the high number of homes available.  Don't waste this opportunity.  Take advantage of these Numbers to go shopping and Invest in you dreams.

*information regarding average home prices and inventory levels was obtained from the Grand Rapids Association of Realtors Sales & Inventory History.  The information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

To Read Other Articles in the Smart Buyers Series Click below...

home buyers: Michigan Buyers...When the Government Gives Free Money to Buy a House...Go Get IT!

home buyers: How To Avoid Paying Too Much for Your Next Home!

home buyers: How to Avoid Buying a Real Estate Lemon.

home buyers: Limitations Are Simply A Matter of How You See Things!

foreclosures: So, You Want A Great Deal on A Foreclosure...10 Power Tips for Success!

 Click Here to Read More about Grand Rapids, Michigan

Today, the Grand Rapids Association of Realtors  (GRAR)  launched it's Local Ad Campaign encouraging home buyers to take advantage of the extraordinary opportunities offered in today's market.  The ad campaign utilizes a clever mix of  nostalgic news tidbits in tandem with current unique opportunities to highlight and illustrate why it makes sense to invest in a home NOW.  The campaign features a re-design of the Associations' website and provides opportunities for local brokers to take advantage of the well designed advertising campaign in their local offices. This effort, the first of it's kind, launched by the Grand Rapids Association of Realtors also mirrors a historic first time $40 Million Network campaign  by the National Association of Realtors now headed by Grand Rapids Broker Associate & President of NAR, Pat Vredevoogd Combs. 

This campaign comes at a particularly opportune moment in the associations 100+ year history. GRAR has always been a progressive leader in the rights of the home owner & has fought hard to redress historic injustices in the Grand Rapids area.  A quote from the Association website on its Mission Statement & history indicates the wide variety of areas in which GRAR has been outspoken in issues which propelled it into the national scene as a progressive leader:

• "For over a century, the Association has addressed itself to questions of millage, public housing, zoning, planning, and bond issues. In every case, the basic consideration was the protection of property rights and values. These considerations were evident during the years around 1965 when property rights and human rights seemed to come into conflict. It was 1965 when the Association adopted a position that established the right of a free housing market without regard to race, color, creed, national origin, age, and sex. Later, in 1988, the Association further adopted handicap and familial status as protected classes. This landmark position of the Association was considered a forerunner in establishing equal rights policies, and Boards all across the country adopted these policies."  (Quote from Grand Rapids Association of Realtors Mission Statement)

Great Inventory Level:  Listings are up slightly this year BUT so are Sales!  January & February Sales figures were within 3% of last years sales & March's numbers though not completely tabulated are looking strong. Year to date the Board records indicate that listings within the 1st quarter are approximately 23 % of last year's totals so far & 21% of last years sales.  Homes are Selling because they are priced more realistically than 3 or 4 years ago. 

Great Interest Rates: Interest rates are actually trending downward during the 1st quarter of this year.  The average 30 year interest rate as of March 14th was 5.86. 

Great Location:  An increasingly sophisticated city with a burgeoning downtown entertainment district, Grand Rapids, Michigan combines the best of city life with the benefits of a small town community and values.   It has also become a leader in innovative health-care facilities such as the Meijer Heart Center & the DeVos Children's Hospital.

Now is the time to take advantage of some great bargains. In the best world possible for a home-buyer, the following conditions would apply:  Great House, Low Price, Low Mortgage Rates & Desperate Seller. While most Seller's are not Desperate, they are Realistic.  So Home Buyer 3.5 out of 4 is Not Bad.  Don't miss this opportunity!

Why "Just Looking" Can Cost You Your Dream Home!

I seriously dislike being hounded by sales people when I'm shopping...especially clothes shopping.  It's my time to zone out, relax and beam my precision guided "great deals" antenna to lead me to the best bargains.  I'm pretty good at it.  So much so that friends & family have sometimes consulted with me prior to planned shopping excursions about the best place shop for a good deal.  But, I would have missed an extraordinary opportunity if I had not lowered my dogged "leave me alone, I'm just looking" attitude down on a recent visit to the mall. 

I had planned to just browse the racks quickly to see if there were any decent sales.  There didn't seem to be much going on and I was preparing to head out of the store when I heard a delighted chuckle behind me. 

There stood 2 ladies next to a rack of clothing. One, who held a clothing item grinned at me & said, "You've got to see this" and the other lady, the obvious source of this contagious delight was holding a price ticker  preparing to bring more happiness to the few lucky patrons nearby via price massive price reductions!  

I swiftly retraced my steps just in time.   The ticker lady was marking price reductions DOWN to $1.97 on items which moments prior had been $30 - $40!  I walked out of the store an hour later with 7 pieces of clothing purchased for $25 not including the tax!  If I had not been open to receiving the opportunity, I would have missed out on some incredible deals!

Being prepared to receive is  important.  There are a number of reasons why we may hesitate to move forward on things which we want.  I have found that this can be particularly evident when I assist home buyers during the search for a new home. There are many reasons  home buyers hesitate to move forward.  Unfortunately,  these often hidden, underlying issues may hinder your ultimate progress towards recognizing a great opportunity.  Here are 3 important areas to examine.

1.  Have You Done Your Homework?

Getting a great deal is dependent on knowing what one looks like.  You must do your homework.  In the experience I related at the beginning of this article, the good deal was absolutely obvious.  But not all my great deals have been that easy to spot.  To find good deals, you must be willing to invest time in understanding the market before you go shopping for a home.  Look at homes on-line and in magazines, visit Open Houses, attend the Parade of Homes to get perspective on new homes vs. existing homes, and meet with a good Real Estate agent well before you plan to purchase.  This is what research looks like when you're in the market for a new home.

2.  Are You Doubting Your Instincts?

Have you ever had a gut level feeling about something and then found that you were right on target?  Or perhaps, the reverse has occurred & you moved on anyway and headed straight into the disaster zone.  Learning to trust our instincts is difficult for most of us because we are so concerned about what others may think.  We spend so much of our time worrying about other people's opinions or trying to impress & keep up with the Jones's that we loose the guidance of our inner compass.  This can be very, very costly.  The fact is this...no one else can determine with complete accuracy what is best for you.  You are an original, with a particular destiny & purpose which only you can fulfill.  Expecting anyone to decipher your code for what will suit you best is courting trouble at best and can have disastrous implications.

3.  Are You Giving In to Fear?

A poplular acronym for Fear is:  False Expectations Appearing Real.  Often the Door of Opportunity requires us to cross over the threshold of Doubt & Apprehension.  Taking hold of any opportunity will require courage & determination.  It is important to examine the unique way in which fear plays itself out in your life.  Have you found that before many important moments, you are racked with the pain of indecision?  Perhaps, you deal with fear by running away and not facing the prospect of success.  Fear has so many variations & forms in which it manifests.  Learn to recognize the way it makes its appearance in your life.  Fear, unchecked is a thief.  It robs you of life's highest potential and possibilities.  To combat fear, it may be helpful to focus on the following:

• Recognizehow it manifests in your life and the patterns by which you tend to respond to it's influence.
• Verbalize the fact that you are fearful.  Bringing Fear into the light tends to dissolve a lot of its power
• Turn Fear on it's head by determining that if it's working this much over-time to dissuade you from a proposed course of action, there may be a very compelling reason for you to STOP & Reassess benefits which you may have missed.  Learn to use fear to your benefit rather than allowing it to take inappropriate control of your life & important decisions.

 To Maximize the Effectiveness of your home search, decide to look for your Next Home in a New Way.  Instead of "Just Looking", why not determine to "Expect A Deal"!  There is no better time than now to buy a home in Grand Rapids, Michigan!  With thousands of great houses & in the market inventory, Tons of Spring Open Houses and interest rates dropping to their lowest levels since January, don't allow "Just Looking" to rob you of the Dream of "Going Beyond Your Wildest Dreams & Expectations".  I tell you,...this is entirely possible...but you must set out with the expectation that you will receive! Now, is the Time to Buy...A great Deal can & Will be Yours!

This series was inspired by an blog post by the realestatetomato

 © 2007 Audu Real Estate All rights Reserved

Taking Care of Business....One Relationship at a Time!

Customer Service is an oft repeated industry byword in almost every profession.  As a result, the meaning and definition of customer service is sometimes perceived as a moving target at best and an enigma at worst.

The basics of Customer Service start with knowing who the client is.  In real estate this can be a daunting task.  The Internet has re-defined the terms of engagement when it comes to understanding what a client wants and desires.  I can remember in the very recent past when it was unusual for a real estate agent to have a personal website.  Now, many of our customers do!  Snail mail is a thing of the past for most correspondence is done on-line and this access to quick interchanges of information is especially vital when a deal is in a critical stage.

The new client in an Internet initiated transaction (which by the way defines 87% of all real estate transactions today according to NAR stats) is propelled by the desire and need for fast, up-to-the-minute information.  The paradox is this same consumer desires anonymity and protection.  For in a world where everyone can potentially see you and know and manipulate that knowledge in ways that are beyond your control, trust is hard to give.  This reality in combination with a highly mobile society in which many traditional norms that have governed the rules of relationships are becoming unhinged places individuals at the mercy of the kindness of a stranger on-line or the lack of scruples of the same.

At Audu Real Estate, we believe that true service is based on integrity. Taking care of business means you do what you say when you say you will do it and if things change beyond your control, you let people know as soon as possible.  The truth is that a real estate transaction involves so many people (one estimate indicated as many as 30 people may touch in some way a real estate deal) that to promise anything to anybody is impossible unless one figures a way to be everywhere at once. 

We have found that our clients want the truth, not a hedged guess, they want to be kept informed, not be left wondering and they want well researched information so they can make intelligent choices in a rapidly changing environment.  We don't believe in a "cookie cutter" approach to the real estate transaction, there is no "one size fits all".

We encourage every client to come in for a FREE in-depth evaluation of their situation.  Looking at a purchase of real estate outside a careful analysis of a client’s goals and future needs is like a doctor giving a prescription without ever seeing the patient.  Before, we take a client on tour, we make sure we understand as fully as possible not just what they want but why they want it.  Now, granted the process itself sometimes changes these criteria, and that is OK, but we know the effort placed up front to truly understand is invaluable.  To meet or contact Members of the Audu Real Estate Client Care Team, click on this link or paste it to your browser: http://www.lolaaudu.com/PageManager/Default.aspx?PageID=1979165

© Audu Real Estate 2006 All Rights reserved