Homebuyers Archives -

Buying A Home During The Holidays

October 28, 2013 by Eric Lowry Leave a Comment

Buying A Home During The Holidays

Many potential homebuyers may assume that the holidays are not a good time to buy a home. This is a common misconception. There are numerous reasons that buying a home during the holidays can be a good choice. Serious buyers would be wise to consider taking advantage of the unique market conditions that occur during the holiday season. Here are some reasons buying a home during the holidays can be beneficial to you.

Motivated Sellers – Those who choose to list their home for sale during the holidays are often under pressure to sell. Since these sellers can be so highly motivated, they are more likely to cut you a great deal.

Less competition – Since many homebuyers do choose to wait out the holiday season, this means less competition from other buyers. Lower competition with other buyers may mean you’ll be able to negotiate a better price for a home you want to purchase.

Better Interest Rates – Interest rates drop every December through January on a cyclical basis. In addition to that, due to the current market conditions with the Federal Reserve planning to taper bond purchasing, real estate and mortgage experts expect interest rates to begin a continuous rise beginning after the holidays. The Lowry Team’s preferred partner, Justin Phillips at Rapid Mortgage can work with you to meet your financial needs for buying a home during the holidays.

Tax Deduction – Buying a home and closing on it by the New Year can mean a significant tax deduction for you. All the mortgage interest you will be paying monthly is fully tax deductible. Property taxes will also be an annual deduction as long as you own your home.

Faster Closings – Closings are historically shown to be faster during the months of November and December due to the fact that the number of transactions occurring during these months is lower. The Lowry Team has a Transaction Coordinator that makes sure the process from contract to closing goes as smoothly and as quickly as possible for you as a buyer.

Low Interest Rates Aren’t Expected To Last – Now Is The Time To Buy A Home

October 25, 2013 by Eric Lowry Leave a Comment

Low Interest Rates Aren’t Expected To Last – Now Is The Time To Buy A Home

The real estate market is currently experiencing a huge window of opportunity for homebuyers. The Federal Reserve has been buying $85 million worth of bonds monthly. This has allowed the interest rates on mortgages to drop low in the first half of the year. Over the summer, we saw a steady increase in interest rates. This was due to a rumor that the Fed was going to stop buying bonds. Recently, however, the Fed has announced that they plan to continue to purchase bonds. What does that mean for you as a homebuyer? Well, it means that as of the announcement, interest rates are experiencing a temporary drop. This drop in interest rates greatly affects your purchasing power. These low interest rates could mean the difference between you buying your dream home or settling for your second choice.

However, it is expected that the Fed is going to begin to taper their bond purchasing in December. Ben Bernake, Chairman of the Federal Reserve, states “If the data confirms our basic outlook, then we could move later this year.” This taper in bond purchases will drive interest rates back up. The National Association of Realtors, the Mortgage Bankers Association, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac all predict around a 1% increase in interest rates by this time next year. So if you have been on the fence about buying a home, let this be the push you need. This is your window of opportunity – don’t waste it.

West Chester & Mason Ohio Real Estate: This Month In Real Estate – April 2013

April 17, 2013 by Eric Lowry Leave a Comment

West Chester & Mason Ohio Real Estate: This Month In Real Estate – April 2013

This Month In Real Estate for April 2013: The Real Estate Market Has Shifted and takes a look at the national home sale numbers.

The real estate market has definitely shifted in recent months. What does that mean for homebuyers? Well in previous years most real estate markets have been a buyer’s market. Today, most areas and neighborhoods have transitioned to seller’s markets.

Homebuyers today need to expect competition for homes. In many areas including West Chester, Mason, Fairfield Township and Liberty Township and in many price ranges multiple offers are back and happening very frequently.

Homes with the best pricing and the best condition go first and sell quickly! Buyers need to be confident in what they are looking for in a home so that they can act quickly when finding a nice home that meets their needs. Homebuyers must also get pre-approved!

Get Pre-Approved For A Home Loan Right Here!

Other articles that you may find interesting:

Did You Miss The Buyers Market?

Interested In A Career In Real Estate?

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FHA Mortgage Loan Limits Changing – Does It Matter?

June 27, 2011 by Eric Lowry Leave a Comment

FHA Loan Limits Maybe Changing In West Chester, Liberty Township & Mason Ohio

FHA loan limits may be changing this fall in Butler & Warren Counties, including places like West Chester, Liberty Township & Mason Ohio. The question is, does it really matter to the housing market? On the face of it, it would seem to be a big deal. Having the FHA mortgage loan limit changing from a current level of $337,500 to a smaller loan limit of $271,050 in Butler & Warren County is a big change, actually almost a 20% drop in the loan limit. So that is big.

But, as I said before, does it really matter? A look inside the housing numbers for areas in Butler County like West Chester, Liberty Township and Mason OH indicates it may not be that big of a deal. So far in 2011, there have been 50 closed sales in the $280,000 – $350,000 price range (the range that would be eliminated by the loan limit reduction) in West Chester & Liberty Township. Of those 50 closed sales, 8 of the buyers used FHA financing which is 16% of the sales. In Mason, there were also 50 closed sales in that range in 2011 and just 6 of those buyers used FHA financing which is of course 12% of the sales. (Disclaimer: the sales data referenced here came from the Greater Cincinnati Multiple Listing Service).

So, will the housing market be negatively impacted by the change that is set to occur. The housing sale numbers in West Chester, Liberty Township & Mason would seem to indicate that they would not be. The fact is some of the homebuyers that did use FHA financing in this price range, may have done so because they could use this lower down payment mortgage program (3.5% down payment) not because they needed to. It is very likely that at least some of these homebuyers could have made a larger downpayment if they would have needed to.

Why is this change in the FHA loan limits set to take place at the end of September? To get the federal government out of the mortgage business is the answer. They want the mortgage market to move back towards private investors buying mortgages and reduce the overly large percentage that are now being bought by the federal government. The long term impact of this policy change may very well be higher interest rates, but then, those are inevitable anyway!

This isn’t to say that other areas of Ohio and our country may be more directly impacted by this change, but the impact in West Chester, Liberty Township and Mason, Ohio should be very small.

You comments and questions are always welcome!

Is it time for you to buy a home? Start your search for a new home in West Chester, Liberty Township or Mason Ohio Here!

West Chester & Liberty Township OH Real Estate:: Time To Buy A Home

February 1, 2011 by Eric Lowry Leave a Comment

West Chester & Liberty Township OH Real Estate

It’s Prime Time To Buy A Home!

I just read a great eBook called “7 Reasons Why Now Is A Great Time To Buy A Home!” It’s filled with positive, exciting information to help buyers seize the incredible real estate market opportunities available to them right now. These opportunities are available in neighborhoods all over West Chester and Liberty Township.

Over the next few weeks I’ll be sharing a few of the key concepts from this eBook with you here in the RealEstate-Ink.com blog. For a free copy of this eBook, contact me and I will send it your way!

Start your search for your new home with our real estate search engine: LowryTeam.com

West Chester OH Real Estate: Now Is The Time For First Time Home Buyers

January 27, 2010 by Eric Lowry Leave a Comment

For first time home buyers now is the time to act. With the government offering an $8000 tax credit on homes purchased by April 30th, 2010 and with the historically low interest rates available today, this is an opportunity not to be missed!

First of all there is the tax credit. It goes like this, buy a home by April 30th, file your tax return and get cash back from the government. This is a true credit and not just a nice deduction. Of course there are some limitations based on your income level, etc. You should definitely consult a tax professional regarding your own personal situation.

Second, we have the low interest rates. As of today they are hovering around 5.00% for a 30 year fixed rate mortgage. These are terrific rates that will not last! Why won’t they last? Because the government’s intervention in the mortgage markets which forced rates to drop dramatically is slated to end on March 30th, 2010. When this stops, rates go up. Some experts predict that rates will be over 6.00% by year’s end. Don’t miss out!

In addition to both of these great factors, home prices and selection are also terrific. With housing prices having fallen and the available supply of homes for sale still very, very good, this would be a great time to buy even without the tax credit and low interest rates.

So we have:

$8000. tax credit + low interest rates + low home prices + great selection of homes = FANTASTIC OPPORTUNITY!

Get more information on buying your first home by visiting my website . Available there, are three e-Books packed with information on buying your first home and they are completely free and there is no obligation.

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