Boston

[Lori Poirier]

Dear Rego79, Who are you trying to convince that its a bad time to purchase a home? Us Realtors?   I've been reading this blog and no matter what info. people are providing, you disagree.  I think you want to buy but you are trying to convince US its a bad time to purchase.  No one has the crystal ball, there are statistics that support both agruments but the reality is the reality.  Some Realtors are busy selling homes, some Realtors are not.  If you don't feel its the right time to buy, then do not buy.  If you feel Fall River is the only town in Mass. that has shown a decline in prices and will likely further decline, then don't buy in Fall River.    Its your money, your decision, but to argue with a bunch of realtors who are out 7 days a week showing and selling homes, is probably not the best forum as I don't think you'll convince us its a bad time to buy - its our source of income.  I became a realtor in these so-called bad housing market times and have been busy ever since contrary to what the media and you are telling me.  So who is right?  No one....because its your money to decide with.  I have a home and I bought it 2 years ago.  Why? Because it was a good time to buy.  Did the market dip after that slightly, yes, Do I care? No.  The dip translated to minimal money out of my pocket.  Am I paying rent, nope.  Am I getting the tax advantages? Yep.  So you see, you are the only one to decide if buying is right for you.

[Rego79]

 Hi Lori, This post was mainly about the present day state of the housing market in the U.S wich overall  is in decline and has been since 2006. I'm not trying to convince anyone that it's a bad time to buy,  I'd buy today for the right price. I'm just warning prospective homebuyers to be carefull and make sure you get a good deal on a home because of the way things are going. As far as the past and present day facts that I have shared, they speak for themselves. As far as what I said about the fure, it's an educated guess I never once said I was certain about the future.  I never said Fall River MA. is the only town in MA. that has shown a decline, the majority of the U.S has been in a decline since 2006 and still is.  I would actually call it a correction rather than a decline, the market is getting back to where it should be after it was irrationally driven up. You said "but to argue with a buch of realtors who are out 7 days a week showing and selling homes, is probably not the best forum" I thought this forum was also for homebuyers? 

[Lori Poirier]

It is a forum, but the only people responding are Realtors with the facts for Massachusetts, not nationally as we can only speak for us here in Massachusetts.

[Rego79]

 Massachusetts as a whole for single family homes is down in value from last month to this month 0.5%, last quarter to this quarter down 1.7%, and last year to this year down 6.2% and since Aug. of 2005 when they peaked in MA. they have fallen 23.8%, that spells decline. Those are the facts Lori.

[Lori Poirier]

Ok.

[Natst]

Im not a realtor and I can see both sides. There was a lot of great information posted throughout here. I just skip over the emotional posts, but I found this helpful and thought good points were made on on each side.

So kind of random but - I am looking for a home in southern mass and as previously noted - not using a realtor currently. I am interested in some reasons why I should use a realtor? Now before anyone calls me crazy... I'm looking in a small town that I grew up in. Know every street/home and oftentimes know from neighbors when homes are hitting the market well before they actually do. I'd like to use an attorney for our offer and closing and use the "no realtor" position to either better our offer or get a better deal. I've calculated avg price for our neighborhoods that we are interested in and update that each month based on sale listings. What can a realtor provide me that I'm missing or should heavily consider?

Thanks

[Lori Poirier]

A realtor would be helpful if you are seeing many homes and need someone to coordinate it all, a Realtor would also preview homes and let you know when something comes on the market as not all people can watch the alerts/notifications daily.  A realtor would also point out things of concern in a home or items to be watchful of, do a market analysis for a home you'd like to put an offer on, etc. guide you thru the offer process, negotiate the sales price, negotiate home inspections, waltk thru, etc.  A realtor would be the person that works for you, not the seller and has your bests interests in mind, not the sellers.  I am not sure if I covered it all, I am sure I probably missed some of the benefits of using a realtor and hopefully the other Realtors reading this will add to it.   Thank you for your input relative to the debate as well

[MrBuilder]

I think Rego is depressed because she bought in Fall River and area like that New Bedford, Holyoke, Lawrence, working class area that had inflated prices that people thought were going to increase. Coupled with mortgages that people either didn't qualify for or were not providing real numbers to their applications.

The areas in this country that have pulled the market down this far are Arizona, Las Vegas, California, Florida. Areas that had tremendous new building growth along with mortgage people that put people in homes at any cost. As well as people buying what they couldn't afford when there adjusted mortgage increased. It was the old buying on payments that is used in the auto business, except that these payments rise in 3-5 years or less or they were just paying interest only and the principal was sinking.

Yes , prices have adjusted and some places more than others. MA has it's areas that have been hit. But Metro Boston as  whole has not done as bad as the national reports say.

Let's try and stay positive.

[Talisa Rafferty]

@Natst, if you are trying to save some money on the transaction by not using an agent, make sure that you home that you are buying is being sold by the owner without an agent.  If it is not, then you are not saving anything, you are just missing out on being represented by your own agent.  Typically the sellers agent splits the fee with the buyers agent.  You don't pay anything more to have an agent represent you.  That being said, if it is not a FSBO and the the seller is paying a fee anyways, you should at least be able to get your own agent to represent you through the transaction.

Best of luck in your home search.  It is a great time to buy so you should have no problems.

[Rego79]

 Hi MrBuilder, #1 I'm a man. #2 I'm not a homeowner, I'm looking to buy. #3 I am being positive, home prices dropping and comming back to normal is great news for people like me looking to buy.