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It IS a good time to buy a home for sale - home prices are down!

July 25th, 2011

Is now the best time for you to buy a home? For many, it is. For some, it is not. But the majority of families do have the confidence in their personal situation to pursue the “American Dream” of home ownership.

Carpenter Realtors® report, The 6 Reasons Today May be the Best Time in 40 years to Buy a Home outlines why today is a great time to buy a home. We have already addressed three of those reasons. Today, I want to focus on the fact that Home Prices are Down.

Many of us are seeing local and national articles and news shows telling us home prices are up. If home prices are down, how can they be up? It is important to understand they are touting that the average prices of homes that have sold are up... not that the individual prices of specific homes are actually up. What I’m trying to say is that it’s likely the value (reflected in the price someone is willing to pay) of a specific home is flat or down a few percentage points from the value of that same home in 2006. Nationally, that could be as much as 30% from the peak.

Generally, the news reports you hear and read are simply saying the average prices of homes that are selling now are higher than the average prices of homes sold last year or in years past. Those numbers are distorted due to the mix of homes being sold.

With the actual values of homes generally being down from 2006 or 2007, it means a homebuyer can acquire more house for the dollar today. As the economy continues to recover over the coming months and years, home values are expected to rise. We believe the values of specific homes are at or near the bottom and will begin to increase as well.

If your personal situation allows you to move forward with confidence and buy a home, you don’t want to be looking back at this moment in time 6, 12 or 18 months from now wishing you had taken advantage of the opportunity. Today is the best time in 40 years to buy a home, if you’re ready.

Posted by:  David Caveness


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Best Time to Buy in 40 Years!

April 25th, 2011

This is the fourth blog in a series of six blogs based on my "Six Reasons TODAY may be the BEST TIME in 40 Years to BUY A HOME."

Today, I'm focused on Reason #3: Housing Inventories are High.  To update the original report the current inventory in the MIBOR BLC is 16,317 homes as of April 18, 2011.  That’s down a bit from last fall when the report was first drafted.  But, the premise is still solid.  There is an excellent selection of homes available in every price range.    And, just as we outlined in the report, the high inventory represents increased competition for those serious sellers.  Sellers who are motivated to move are forced to have their property in “move-in“ condition and to have it priced aggressively to attract buyers.  This is truly a great time to be a home-buyer in central Indiana!

If your personal situation allows you to move forward with confidence and buy a home, do it now, because TODAY is the best time in 40 years to buy a home.

Feel free to download the attached "The 6 Reasons TODAY May Be the BEST TIME in 40 Years to Buy a Home"  for the entire report.

Posted by:  David Caveness


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Relocation Policies - Mobility vs. Expense

August 6th, 2010

Most corporations use a relocation policy to outline the benefits and resources available to their relocating employees. Throughout my career, I’ve worked with many different types of organizations from retail sales giants like NIKE to government agencies such as the Secret Service and FBI. Relocation policies often mirror the culture of the corporation or organization – some are limited, stringent, and detailed in their do’s and don’ts. Others provide a lump sum of cash and little guidance…while still others are an ever-evolving, strategically utilized plan that accounts for market conditions as well as the employee’s tenure, position, and geographic location. The one commonality that all relocation policies have is the correlation between mobility and expense. The more mobility or faster you want your employee to move, typically the more it will cost. If a corporation provides a relocating homeowner a simple lump sum payment, the direct cost is limited but the employee may not be able to move until her house is sold.

The indirect (and often unforeseen) costs can be unlimited as the transferring employee is less productive and more distracted in her new role during the extended time to complete her relocation. On the other hand, a full home sale program with a guaranteed buyout exposes the corporation to higher risk and direct expense, but provides for a fairly quick move. In today’s “cost control” environment, the trend we are seeing from many of our corporate clients is tweaks to relocation policies in an effort to balance this mobility vs. expense trade off. Small changes such as moving a required marketing period from the onset of the move to AFTER the guaranteed offer is extended are being made. The idea here is to ensure the transferring employee is marketing her home for a significant period with the knowledge of what her worst case scenario or guaranteed buyout is. The result is typically a slight longer timeframe for the move to be completed, but a lower number of properties going into the corporate inventory and thus lower expenses. Another trend is first time movers or those employees with less tenure who in the past did not receive buyouts, but were reimbursed all the expenses related to the sale of their real estate are now receiving a capped amount or lump sum to complete their move.

Navigating the current real estate market with the guidance of an expert is tough…doing it while relocating to an unfamiliar area in a compact timeframe and with limited financial help is pure stress. If you or someone you know needs relocation assistance or policy consultation, we are here to help.

Posted by:  Ryan Carrell


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