Merry Christmas

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I hope you are having a wonderful holiday with family and friends.

December 25, 2008 · Filed Under Frederick MD Real Estate

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The abridged version of the housing market for 2008

Too many homes
Not enough buyers
Those that want to buy don’t qualify
See number 1.

That’s about it.

Have a great day.

December 22, 2008 · Filed Under Frederick MD Real Estate

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Where do you find the best Christmas lights in Frederick?

I haven’t had the luxury to ride around much this year. So help me shorten my drive and share your neighborhoods best light shows.

These are lights on Clendinin Lane in the Villages of Urbana. The Yaglenskis have a shows going on everyday. Check their website for all the details. They are quite famous in our area when it comes to lights.

One other locations that I found impressive well at least an honorable mention are the town homes off Beechtree Ct in Middletown. There is a whole row that is full of lights.

So where should I go this weekend to see light?

Have a great weekend in the snow.

December 19, 2008 · Filed Under Frederick Events

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Frederick County Monthly Housing Report

November is finally behind us and the report has been published. It is not great news, but still encouraging to me. The housing boom didn’t happen over night and we shouldn’t expect the fix happen any quicker. We couldn’t ask for any better conditions for the lurking buyers out there. One of the biggest concerns in the buyers (outside of will I have a job;) is this the best price or will prices continue to drop? If we could answer that, we would all be rich. The buyers and sellers in early 2000s thought it would never end. But rest assured, if we are not at the bottom, we are definitely near it. We will really only know when it is in the rear view mirror. Once everyone gets out of the mindset that home ownership is not a “day trader” strategy, but a long term commitment, we should be just fine. People normally live in their homes 3-7 years. Normal appreciation in the area prior to this debacle was in the 6% range.

Housing will have its ups and downs, but just not the extreme peaks and valleys that we have been experiencing these past few years. So with the prices bottoming out, we have another part of the puzzle that helps buyers…4.5% interest rates on 30 year fixed loans. (you can watch the rates on my side bar to the right) Never in our history has interest rates been this low. Sellers should be preparing there homes for showings as activity starts to pick up. With inventory still high, sellers need to stand out in the crowd.

Now what’s happening…

(Click on Chart to see the whole report)

This report is courtesy of Frederick County Association of REALTORS®.

For the most part you can see we didn’t have any earth shatter months in sales. The chart represents contract. The reality of things, not all contracts result in sales. We owe the majority of this fall thru to short sales. The buyers usually bail out before the bank has an answer. I am enlightened to see that we are not far off last years numbers. That gap is closing and should be an increase sometime soon.

With that said…contact your lender and let’s go looking for a helluva deal.

December 15, 2008 · Filed Under Frederick MD Real Estate, Frederick Market Conditions, Market Condition