No surprise, it’s still a mixed market.

Mixed in this regard–yes, home sales are up year-over-year, but the growth and strength in the market is in newly constructed home sales. Take a look at these 2 charts:

The first chart shows that newly constructed homes are increasing in sales as a percentage of the overall market over the last 3 to 4 years. Currently, almost 40% of the local real estate market in Fayetteville consists of new home sales.

The next chart explains why that is significant to people who want to sell their existing home in Fayetteville. There is absolutely no shortage of homes for sale in the Fayetteville real estate market, and sales of existing homes are lagging behind in the popular price ranges in both number of homes sold and percentage of the market.

Many real estate agents and market observers are singing the praises of a real estate market that is showing improvement from last year. While I also am happy about an increase in home sales, I want to offer a caution to people who need to sell their existing home in Fayetteville, NC. Buyers are clearly demonstrating their preference for new homes over existing ones.

Any seller of an existing home must be certain to market, maintain and price their home at the front of the real estate market if they want to compete for the buyers coming into the market. We are entering the busy season for real estate sales in Fayetteville. Historically, the late-spring and summer months (2d and 3d quarter) are the best months for home sales in this area, and many sellers are also anticipating an increase in buyers as a result of the BRAC move slated for this year. If a person selling their home in Fayetteville wants to compete for those buyers, they will need the services of an agent who understands how tough the competition really is.

Take a few minutes and read through the executive summary of the Fayetteville, NC Real Estate Market, 1st Quarter 2011. It addresses how the market has performed over the last quarter and how market absorption rates have an impact on sellers (and buyers) of new and existing homes in Fayetteville, NC.

Fayetteville, NC Real Estate Market Report – January 2011

And then, visit my website to see more.

Posted via email from JuliGrace

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Front View

3 Bedroom Home for Sale Close to Fort Bragg

This is the newest home I have listed for sale in Fayetteville, NC.

It is a very well maintained 3 bedroom/2.5 bath home on a pretty lot. Located in The Lakes, a quiet neighborhood off Morganton Road, this home is only minutes to the mall area, restaurants and is very convenient to Fort Bragg. Its central location makes it close to many popular areas of town.

Here is a Google map of the location:

Built in 1983, this well-constructed frame home also has many updates, including vinyl-clad windows, updated kitchen and bathrooms, a new roof in 2006, new Lennox heat pump with air purification system in 2008 and new exterior paint in 2009.

Enjoy this video tour of the home:

The front of the home is very pretty, especially when the dogwoods and azaleas are blooming!

Enter this two-story home and find a foyer that is roomy, with a tile floor and a half-bath. The family room is to the right and is very large with carpet, propane gas fireplace and access to the outside covered patio. The atrium door was new in April 2008.

Kitchen

The kitchen was remodeled in December 2004, including a wood floor, countertops, sink and faucets. In January of 2005, a new Jenn-Aire range was added with interchangeable cooktop cartridges that include a griddle, grill, and radiant glass cooktop. The kitchen also has a large eat-in area with a huge picture window overlooking the backyard.

The downstairs also features a formal dining room with a very pretty bay window, wood floor, chair rail and crown molding.

Upstairs are 3 bedrooms, and they are all carpeted. The master bedroom is on the front of the house with 2 windows and a large space. It includes a full bath with double vanity, separate water closet with toilet, jetted tub and shower, and a walk-in closet. The second bedroom is very large, has a pretty bay window and is on the front side of the house also. Bedroom 3 is large, with ample closet space. A full bath services the 2 bedrooms.

At the rear of the home is a covered patio. It is large enough for entertaining and offers great protection from the sun and the rain. The backyard is fully enclosed in privacy fence. The fence is very well maintained. As a gift to the buyer, the home also has a large detached building that has a single garage and plenty of storage area.

This home has so many great features and is ideally located. It would be an excellent choice for anyone who wants an updated, pretty home in a very quiet neighborhood, close to all major venues in Fayetteville and close to Fort Bragg for an easy commute.

Visit the photo gallery to see more photos. Call or text Julissa at (910) 644-0303 to schedule a showing or for more information.

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Overall, the market was 31% off its high of 2006. A total of 3,576 existing homes were sold. New construction homes added another 2,156 sold.

Sales of existing homes were below the average of the last 10 years by about 10%. In new construction, however, sales were above the average of the last 10 years by over 17%.

The rate at which existing and new construction homes sold is also a mixed story. Existing home absorption rates were very high, clearly indicating a buyers market. For new construction, absorption rates were balanced in most price ranges.

Take a minute to look through this executive summary. Click on the image below to read this report in full screen:

Fayetteville, NC Real Estate Market Report – January 2011

Buyers are purchasing new homes faster than existing homes. New construction offers many of the features and amenities that existing homes in the area may lack. New construction in some price ranges is selling better than existing homes–more new construction homes are sold than existing homes.  It is not because there is a shortage of existing homes–many existing homes currently on the market will not sell.

So, what does all this mean? Sellers of existing homes have a tough job to get their home sold; not only must their home compete with other existing homes, it must compete with new construction.  Effective marketing will be needed to get the buyer’s attention, but more-so, price and condition will have to be carefully set by home sellers if they hope to actually get a buyer to write an offer.

On the other hand, buyers have a lot of homes from which to choose, so finding the best one should not be too difficult. Mortgage rates are still very low, leaving interested buyers with good credit in a very strong position.

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There is so much speculation lately about our economy, the recession and the housing market. Some real estate agents and many of the pundits have a gloomy outlook.

It’s sometimes hard not to be pessimistic; a few years of soft markets and declining property values will do that to you! Especially when the media piles on with the bad news, often ignoring any good news around.

Earlier this week, I read an interesting article from Forbes magazine titled “Why Housing Will Come Back.” I highly recommend it to you.

The premise of the article is that the housing bubble that burst was necessary, and that since the burst, property values are in much more realistic ranges and that will drive sales in the future. Additionally, the author, Joel Kotkin, argues that the future demographics of our country favor a strong real estate market, and that the American dream is alive and well.

Kotkin discussed some of the reasons that many fear the future housing market is doomed:

“…Conservatives rightfully look to diminish the outsized role of government in promoting homeownership. Some suggest that Americans would be better off putting their money into things like the stock market or boosting consumer purchases

New-urbanist intellectuals like the University of Utah’s Chris Nelson predict aging demographics will lead masses to abandon their homes for retiree communities and nursing homes. The respected futurist Paul Saffo predicts that as skilled laborers move from Singapore to San Francisco to New York and London, there is little need to “own” a permanent place. In the brave new future, he suggests, we will prefer time-sharing residences as we flit from job to job across the global economy.

Some of the greatest hostility towards homeownership increasingly comes from the progressive left, some of whom are calling for the total elimination of the homeowner mortgage interest deduction. “The Case Against Homeownership,” recently published in Time, encapsulates the current establishment’s conventional wisdom: that homeownership is by nature exclusionist, “sprawl” promoting and responsible for ‘America’s overuse of energy and oil.’”

He also points out that housing values in some of our major cities were way out of control (emphasis mine:)

“The disequilibrium was the worst in regions like Los Angeles, Las Vegas, San Bernardino-Riverside and Miami. At the peak of the bubble, between 2006 and 2008, according to the National Homebuilders Association- Wells Fargo “Housing Opportunity Index,” barely 2% of families with a median income households in Los Angeles could afford to buy a median priced home; even in the traditionally affordable Riverside area, the number was roughly 7%. In Miami, barely 10% could afford such a purchase; in Las Vegas, often seen as one of the cheaper markets, only 15%.”

And then the bubble burst. Kotkin argues that the burst was inevitable, and that it was the best thing that could have happened:

“What we are going through now is not a sea change but a correction from insane government and business practices. The rise in homeownership from 44% in 1944 to nearly 70% at the height of the bubble reflected a great social democratic achievement. But by the mid-2000s government attempts to expand ownership–eagerly embraced by Wall Street speculators–brought in buyers who would have historically been disqualified”

And, this:

“Rather than artificially constraining supply and protecting irresponsible borrowers, we should let nature take its course. Home values need to readjust historic balance between incomes and prices. Over the past 60 years, notes demographer Wendell Cox, it took two to three years or less of median household income to purchase a median-priced home. At the peak of the boom, that ratio had ballooned to 4.6.”

He offers as proof of his theory, this:

“What a difference a market correction makes. The affordability number for Los Angeles is now 34%, 17 times better than two years ago, while Riverside is now near 70%. Miami’s affordability picture has improved to over 60% while in Las Vegas, it’s back over 80%.”

Kotkin also argues that the future demographics of the country includes two groups that will drive strong housing sales: the Millenial generation and immigrants. He defines the Millenial as those born after 1983 who are 60 million strong and just now entering their late 20′s, and looking for houses and “a place to establish their roots.” And he argues that the immigrants coming into the country are also looking for the American dream of home ownership, that in fact that is what is bringing them. They come looking for a home and for space, like in the suburbs. If they desired city living in concrete and hi-rises, they could achieve that in their own countries.

Then Kotkin offers this caveat:

“Of course without a return to robust job growth, particularly in the private sector, the home market– and pretty much all mainstream consumer purchases–will remain weak. No matter how low prices get, people worried about losing employment do not constitute a promising new market for homes.”

I agree with most of Kotkin’s ideas. Housing values in Fayetteville, NC have not taken the hit that values have in many parts of the country, especially Florida, Nevada and California. Still, the market is well of its high and buyers are reluctant or unable to purchase at the rate they were a few years ago. That remains true even though we expect significant growth over the next few years as BRAC (Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission) brings many more soldiers and civilians into the area.

But, I also believe that same idea can be extended to our overall economic future.

There is no doubt that our country is drowning in debt and unable or unwilling to correct its spending. I believe that we must, if we are to have a better future.

There’s also no doubt that will mean pain for a lot of people, just as homeowners have experienced the pain of a collapsing market. Ouch! I’m not looking forward to that!

Still, it may be the medicine we need to return to prosperity.

What do you think?

12 comments • Julissa Jumper – Fayetteville, NC Real Estate • September 22 2010 11:07AM

Comments

Julissa,

Very intriguing. One question is what is recovery anyway? If values went down 30%, how many years of 5% annual appreciation will it take to climb back to the pre-bust values? Years.

Posted by Dave Halpern – Louisville Short Sale Expert (Louisville Short Sale Expert Realtors (502) 664-7827) 4 days ago

Julissa,

Great analysis of the housing situation.

I have hit the ‘Suggest’ button!

Posted by Holly Kirby Weatherwax–Your Realtor® in Reston,VA (Momentum Realty,LLC) 4 days ago

Dave: Thanks for visiting.

Exactly right. And the argument could be made that those values were so inflated that we might not reach them again for years!

Posted by Julissa Jumper – Fayetteville, NC Real Estate (Keller Williams Realty) 4 days ago

Oh Holly, Thanks! I enjoyed the article so much I had to share it.

Posted by Julissa Jumper – Fayetteville, NC Real Estate (Keller Williams Realty) 4 days ago

Excellent summary of the Forbes article and well worth thinking about as we zoom into 2011. Your question “will housing come back” is perhaps one many realtors think about every day. The issue is come back to what? Housing today is what it is and there are opportunities in it for both buyers and sellers depending on their circumstances and reason to buy or sell. Hopefully, this current landscape of real estate will motivate more people to become financially literate and the same for our industry. Without a significant shift in employment and income, it will be difficult for homeownership to climb. Everything is connected in our political economy world.

Posted by Emily Medvec ~ Santa Fe NM ~ CRS ~ 505-660-4541 (Santa Fe Realty Partners) 4 days ago

Emily: Thanks for stopping by.

You’re right! Until we fix the econmy, we’re in for more of the same.

Posted by Julissa Jumper – Fayetteville, NC Real Estate (Keller Williams Realty) 4 days ago

Julissa

I’ll second Holly here. Very insightful analysis, and lots to chew on here.

Posted by Scott Hayes (Austin Real Estate Agency) 4 days ago

Scott: Thanks for taking the time! ENjoyed your posts, also.

Who wouldn’t!

Posted by Julissa Jumper – Fayetteville, NC Real Estate (Keller Williams Realty) 4 days ago

Beautiful post Julissa! Suggest and a re-blog. This is my first time here and as I scrolled down through your posts I noticed how aesthetically they looked, just from the appearance factor. Great use of photos and art.

Posted by Steve and Jan Bachman–Northern Virginia Realtors (RE/MAX Gateway, Reston, Herndon, Ashburn, Sterling, Fairfax ) 3 days ago

Steve: Thanks! and thanks for visiting!

Heading over to check yours out, because by the looks of it, you’re doing pretty well!

Posted by Julissa Jumper – Fayetteville, NC Real Estate (Keller Williams Realty) 3 days ago

This is a very informative post.

It looks as if coming back could mean that housing will once again become unaffordable for most median income families.  The assumption is that most median income families will be unwilling to save enough to make a substantial down payment on a home.  If home prices remain stable, saving for a down payment could once again become fashionable, and new home owners would have enough equity to feel as financially secure in their home as they feel socially secure.

At some point government tax policy may want to shift from encouraging large mortgages on homes to encouraging home ownership.  Perhaps, as Kotkin suggests, I’m running the risk of sounding like a member of the progressive left, but a permanent homebuyer tax credit in conjunction with a permanent homeowner tax credit would do much more to encourage homeownership than a tax deduction for interest paid.

Julissa, as you mentioned, our country is drowning in debt.  My opinion is that tax incentives for large mortgages encourage individuals to do likewise.

Posted by E.J. “Mike” Carlier ABR CRS GRI (MarketLink Realty Apple Valley MN) about 2 hours ago

Hi Mike: Thanks for reading!

I agree with a lot of your thoughts. It surely would be wise if home ownership was a goal that could be reached thru sensible home values, owner downpayments, and mortgages that make sense, especially in qualifying buyers.

If that happens, home ownership will always be the American dream.

Posted by Julissa Jumper – Fayetteville, NC Real Estate (Keller Williams Realty) 17 minutes ago

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Click on the image below to read this quarter’s report in full screen:

Fayetteville, NC Real Estate Market Report – August 2010

There is a large inventory of homes on the market right now. Sellers should be prepared to price their homes aggressively, ensure they are in top condition, and market them effectively to get them sold in a reasonable time frame.  Not every house on the market right now will sell! A large number will linger on the sales market, receiving few showings, or be placed on the rental market.  Competition is very intense, and existing homes also have strong competition from newly constructed homes.

The new construction sales market is relatively balanced in most price ranges.  Builders are offering incentives to buyers, and buyers have shown over the last year that they prefer new homes and the amenities they can find in new construction.  That is good for builders, but not for sellers of existing homes.

Some home sellers are able to get results by understanding how to price their home at the front of the market.  Understanding the absorption rates for different neighborhoods and for homes similar to theirs allows sellers to know what price will make their home competitive.  If you want to know more about absorption rate pricing, or need more information about this report, send me an email or give me a call at (910) 644-0303.

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Posted via email from JuliGrace

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The Crisis of Credit Visualized – The Big Picture

I was browsing my Twitter account one day, and found this link to a video from one of my followers.  It is exceptionally well done and helps to explain what happened to our credit markets, and how it is related to you and your home.  Please check it out:

The Crisis of Credit Visualized from Jonathan Jarvis on Vimeo

» Powered by XHTML Video Embed

Certainly, there is more complexity involved than this video can portray, but it goes a long way towards explaining why we are where we are.  The uncertainty of the future, consumers burdened with excessive debt, and unsteady property values compound the effects, such that we should not wonder that banks are complaining that nobody wants to borrow money.  Unfortunately, in our country, in our time, we have built an economy based on buying with credit and living with debt.  Nationally, we have a very large problem.

So, What Does This Mean To Me and Buying or Selling a Home?

There’s good news, especially if you are looking to buy or sell a home in Fayetteville. The local economy is still relatively strong, and home values have increased in general.  In fact, according to Zillow, Fayetteville leads the nation in home price stability, showing an increase in overall home values of almost 7%, better than any of the other 160 markets that Zillow tracks.  Additionally, we expect growth of 20,000 more families between now and 2011 under the Defense Base Closure and Re-Alignment Commission (BRAC).  Lenders have money to lend, and VA and FHA loan programs are widely used and available.  The real estate market remains balanced for homes in many price ranges, and there are some great homes available at reasonable prices.  All of this bodes well for both buyers and sellers in the local area.

If you are considering selling your home or buying a new one here in Fayetteville, please be call me or email.  I would love to provide more information on specific houses or neighborhoods or help you find a reputable lender to get the process started.

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What is an absorption rate and why do I care?

In my page about the local market, I explain that the absorption rate is a number that reflects how many months it will take to sell all the houses currently on the market–basically, how fast the market can absorb the inventory.  Experts agree that if it takes 5 – 7 months to sell a house, that can be considered a balanced market.  Shorter than that is considered a sellers market and longer than 6 months is generally understood to be a buyers market (of course, these are general terms–don’t get too wrapped up about the exact number of months.)  The chart below shows the latest numbers, and they vary only slightly from last month’s numbers.

[table=5]

So, just looking thru the data, houses listed for sale for less than $150,000 are still selling in under 6 months time.  That accounts for over 50% of the houses currently on the market.  Note, also, that houses listed for sale over $225,000 are taking over a year to be absorbed.

Now, here are the factors to consider about what all this means to you:

• Home Sellers – houses do not sell in the order in which they come on the market.  A fairly priced house that is in great condition and in a good location will sell much more quickly than the absorption rate implies;
• Home Buyers – the market is not terrible, but there are plenty of really great houses available and sellers may be willing to negotiate more;
• Investors – Fayetteville is a great market with a lot of affordable homes that still offers outstanding potential to build wealth through real estate.

Lastly, remember that absorption rates are a lagging indicator of the market.  The numbers are based on how quickly homes have sold over the past 12 months.  They don’t offer a prediction of what will happen in the future.  The future of the local market is controlled by population growth and economic/job growth.  These factors bode well for the Fayetteville market, which is tied very closely to Fort Bragg, and is expecting an substantial increase of higher level military and civilian postions as military bases are realigned under federal law (Base Closure and Realignment Commission – BRAC.)

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Shane! Shane! Come Back!

Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me…

Every successful writer for executive-level thinkers knows that for the sake of clarity and brevity, one must always put the bottom line up front; BLUF.  So, before we get back to Twitter and theorizing about social network marketing and human connections, I have to tell you the real secret to business success (or any other success) is extremely simple: tithe.  I’m not kidding.

“…and thus put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts; see if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you an overflowing blessing.”  Malachi 3:10 (NRSV)

My husband and I tithe on every single penny that comes into our businesses or our family.  We give 10% back to God, and then we do taxes, bills, savings and all our wonderful little marketing experiments with whatever is left.  I have to tell you, it has worked stunningly well.  I continue to get listings and sell houses at a successful rate, my business and market center continue to grow, and our troubled little property management company has increased by over 400% in the last year and a half.  Now, there is no doubt that we work hard and try to treat our clients and employees well, but we haven’t done anything that even comes close to our best marketing effort and have been hugely distracted by other challenges over that same period of time.  To boot, the real estate market here in Fayetteville, NC, as elsewhere, has made a dramatic shift.  Still, success comes.  So, it really isn’t us, it clearly is Him, and if you are a Christian and are not tithing, I encourage you to start.  We have never, not one time, hear me–NEVER–gone without in the entire time we have been tithing, and we have enjoyed a continuing period of blessing even though we’ve made some pretty boneheaded business mistakes.

“Back to the Casbah and the Business of Spying…”(Dan Jenkins, Semi-Tough)

But, back to our story.  My first thought during that challenging time was that we should create or pay for a new website that was hi-speed, Google-page-rank-centric,search engine optimized, blog-errific and sure to get us back to the top of the search engines like we were in the good ole’ days.  We looked around, considered contracting Hobbs and Herder, put a notice out on E-lance, and got too busy to follow up on any of it.  One day, to my great dismay, I opened my website to do some maintenance and found that everything had either disappeared or changed.  Fonts were all messed up, pictures were re-sized or missing, buttons and links were not working.  This website that I’d spent so much time on, that albeit a template site, still got plenty of use and some pretty good reviews, was just about worthless.

I closed it that day, signed up for a WordPress account and started re-learning everything.  I created a LinkedIn account because I got a request from a friend, a fellow Realtor®.  I started a Twitter account because I’d read about it somewhere.  And, I added a Facebook account because everyone in my family that I was hounding to join Twitter kept asking me what was the difference between a tweet on Twitter and an update on Facebook, and I couldn’t answer them.  It was slow going, and I’m still not even close to finished, but one thing troubled me even as I schemed to have the best real estate website and social network in Fayetteville…my business had continued to grow and my clients continued to use me even though I had no usable website, no on-line social networks, and none of what the bloggers were saying was “must have.” Another “seems to me” moment?

Oh, That Explains It.

You know, Keller Williams is an “open book” company.  I love that, and it forces you to do 2 things–keep really good books, and look at them often.  After one particularly heated meeting among the fellow owners of our market center, I went to get some numbers to prove my point (which was a pretty forgettable one) and in my research, I pulled up the last 3 years of my production since joining the company.  I set it aside with the intention of doing some real hard analysis, and a few days later, I noticed this exchange on Twitter between @ResPres (Jeff Turner) and @Ribeezie (Ricardo Bueno):

These 2 were discussing a post on Ribeezie’s blog in which he’d pointed out that many people were missing the point of social network marketing–that it wasn’t about numbers or ratings, it was about people.  He used a quote from Seth Godin to make that point and that pulled a lot of things together for me.  I went back and looked at my numbers for confirmation, but I already inherently knew what I would find.  My business had come from 3 sources: previous clients and their referrals (over 60%), listings in two neighborhood farms in which I had proven results or listings that came from people seeing those results (another 25%,) and a white-hot buyers agent who could convert internet leads which had come in from Realtor.com Featured Homes™ or my own website.  Of those sources, the first two accounted for the bulk of my production and those were built on connections I had with people.  Furthermore, I had lost my buyers agent and hadn’t found any suitable replacement, and my business had not suffered unduly.

From Tweet to Tweetup – Finally!

One day last week, I had my first tweet-up ( a meeting with others who you follow on Twitter.)  I went to lunch with @bluedevilmsn, who I met on Twitter (see this post) and with whom I had been trading tweets and direct messages.  I found a new friend and a great connection!  We had an enjoyable lunch and I realized as I drove home (rode off into the sunset like Shane) that my business was built on these connections and that I LOVE that.  I also realized that Twitter, Facebook or any other social network site is not a farm and not a magic database that will drive my business.   But, they are a great way for me to connect to people, they help me do it better and more inexpensively, and it is fun and exciting to use them!  Still, you have to go from on-line to in-person at some point.  Despite all the bloggers and all the advice about gee-whiz technologies, page ranking, search engine optimization, and maximizing popular social networks the best advice I have gotten, and the only advice I’ll pass along is this:  By all means, build a great web presence, but, it seems to me that when you connect with your people they become your clients and if you serve them well you will build a business that withstands shifting markets, internet trends and personal difficulties.

“May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us; establish the work of our hands for us–yes, establish the work of our hands.”  Psalm 90:17

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In my page about Fayetteville Real Estate Market Information, I explain that absorption rates are a way of showing how quickly homes are selling.  This chart shows, based on sales over the last 12 months, how many months inventory there are for homes in each price range.  Take a look at the following table:

[table id=4/]

Here’s the bad news (if you are a real estate agent or a home seller.)  Right now, in every price range over $150,001 there is more than a 6 month supply of houses on the market, and for price ranges over $225,001 there is over a year supply.  For price ranges below $150,000 there is a 5 month supply on the market.  By most expert opinion, this data suggests we are in a buyers market and it certainly shows that the market in Fayetteville is much more sluggish than usual.

But, statistics can be misleading, and here are a few facts to consider:

• absorption rates are a lagging indicator of market activity–they look back over the last 12 month period, not forward;
• houses do not sell in the order they come on the market.  The fairly priced house, that is well maintained and in a good location will sell more quickly than other houses, and it will have more buyers interested in it;
• 67% of the houses for sale in Fayetteville are priced under $175,000 and those price ranges sell more quickly, even if there are more houses available.

Additionally, if we compare the number of houses on the market to the last report, there are more homes for sale in the lower price ranges than last time, and fewer homes for sale in price ranges above $175,001.  This indicates that some sellers may be waiting for conditions to improve before they list their house for sale.

Okay, so what does this mean to you?

• If you are considering selling your home, or if you already have your home on the market, you will have to make sure your home is priced right and in good condition if you want to sell it quickly.  Good marketing, including proper maintenance and staging of your property will make a difference.
• If you are a buyer in the market for a home right now, you will have a good selection of homes available, and sellers may be willing to deal more than they normally would.  In the Fayetteville market, it is not at all unusual for sellers to contribute to a buyer’s closing expenses, and if you are planning to use a VA loan to purchase your home you may be able to buy a home with very little out-of-pocket expense.
• If you are an investor, there are good properties available.  Anecdotally, the rental market in Fayetteville has improved appreciably.  Houses seem to be renting faster–it may be that more people are choosing to rent over buy while they wait for economic conditions to improve.

Selling or buying a home right now requires a little patience and an experienced broker if you are hoping to make the best of market conditions.  Please email me or call me if you want some advice or are unsure of the best way to proceed.   You can still meet your objectives for buying or selling even in the current market.

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