The Truth about Redding Real Estate

From The Desk Of Josh Barker at RE/MAX

Market update for August 2013

The truth about buying and selling real estate

For most people, it is very stressful to buy or sell a home. The reasons vary, but think about this for a minute…Typically, a person’s health, finances, and living environment are the number 1 sources of stress in a person life.

When a person buys or sells a home, normally 2 of the top 3 stressors are at play. There is an incredible amount of thought, questioning, and decision making that takes place during nearly every type of transaction. It is no wonder why so many people take the process of buying or selling a home so personal and can even become emotional. This is completely understandable and normal.

Over the past 13+ years I have had the good fortune of helping nearly 2,000 homeowners either buy or sell a home. What I have learned from this experience is that when a person understands the process, knows what steps need to be taken, and the best options available, the easier the process can go. The very best way to accomplish this is through active communication.

When a home buyer becomes a market expert in the price range they are buying in, they possess the key ingredient for success, which is confidence. When a buyer knows what is happening in the market, and more importantly knows what to do, than finding and purchasing the ideal home is a lot easier to accomplish. Click here to lean more.

When a seller becomes a market expert in the price range they are selling in, they also possess the key ingredient for success. It is critical for a seller to understand the importance of standing out from the competition, and know exactly how to massively expose their home to all the buyers in the market. This may sound simple, but I see so many sellers overlook this critical step. Click here to learn more

Buyers and sellers should expect more from the professionals that they hire to assist them in accomplishing all their goals. When buying a home, a buyer should expect an agent to walk them through a documented process before ever stepping into a home. When selling a home, a seller should expect to be presented a documented process that will sell the home for highest price, in the least amount of time, long before ever agreeing to hire the professional to sell their home.

You may be asking, why did I bring this up? The answer is that as the market shifts, it is YOUR JOB not to settle for anything less than what you believe is the VERY best agent for the job. When you are careful with your decision, it can relieve a lot of the stress involved in the buying and selling process.

Foreclosures , Short sales, and distressed properties

The total number of foreclosures and short sales are still trending down. The fear of huge amounts of distressed properties all hitting the market at the same time, is not going to happen. We are tracking most of the homes in default, and the number is currently below 500. Even if all of the distressed properties came on the market, and it’s likely that less than 50% will, it would take less than 3 months to sell every one of them.

Interest rates

Rates are currently trending around 4.5% for a 30 year fixed loan. Interest rates are expected to trend up by the end of the year and most experts have agreed that they could be averaging 4.875% by the end of the year. Keep in mind, the federal government is currently purchasing nearly 90% of the loans that are being funded. The government has stated that they intend to purchase less in the future. In order to accomplish this, without crashing the housing market, rates will need to increase. As the rates increase, more private banks and investors will purchase loans and ease the burden currently put on the government. In short, expect rates to be even higher next year.

Market statistics for the Redding Area real estate market

Homes that went into escrow in August….268…………..last August…………243

Homes that closed escrow in August……….250…………..last August………..226

Average sales price in August…………………$224,500…….last August…$179,500

Total # of homes for sale in August………..924…………….last August………….959

The Josh Barker Real Estate Team numbers for August