And we’re back……….

Sorry for the loooong absence! It has been a very strange year!
Stay tuned for our next posts and a new look!

Real Estate market predictions 2011

Hmmmmm…..how do I start this piece?

Well, let’s just say that the Mayan doomsayers would feel right at home within the confines of Real Estate predictions for this year.

We all felt good about 2010 when it started. After all, how could it be any worse than 2009 was?

With the first time home buyers credit, hopes were high that maybe this thing would turn around.

Then reality set in and by the end of 2010 we saw a decline in home values that stretched the length and breadth of the market, except for four cities: Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.

But perhaps the best (worst) indicator was the fact that six U.S. markets hit their lowest pricing levels since 2006: Miami, Charlotte, Atlanta, Portland Oregon, Seattle and Tampa.

So here’s the bad news: Hardly any expert out there thinks the market is going to get better in 2011. Many think it will get worse. Some say that the market will plummet by as much as 20% in the months ahead.

Sliding home prices will continue to drag on the economy like dead weight, the consequences of which will be lower property values, lower municipal taxes in already fiscally devastated cities, more underwater mortgages, more foreclosures, more shadow inventory being held off the market, further diluting prices.

In addition to falling real estate prices, stricter financing guidelines and economic downturn have made it virtually impossible for the average real estate investor to get a loan.

Banks are requiring higher credit scores and larger down payments and in many cases, they are still not lending.

Under these circumstances, despite the fact that numerous lucrative investment opportunities abound, investors feel discouraged from even applying for loans.

And potential buyers, looking for a home to occupy, are literally lock-out in the cold.

So what’s a Real Estate investor to do?

Well, no money definitely means limited options but what this investor has decided is to concentrate on FACILITATION.

What does that mean?

It means that I am looking for FSBOs that are willing to finance. I would then purchase a 30 day  option on the property for a small fee, and then find a buyer (better to have the buyer first if possible) who can come up with enough cash to enable him to assume the loan.

Not the best solution by far but it will satisfy the owner, who wants the property off his hands and, based on the terms of the deal, could potentially make more money than he was originally asking for, it satisfies the buyer because he is now in a home for considerably less than the 20% (or more) that the banks are insisting on these days, with time to gather resources enough to eventually achieve a mortgage agreement with a lender, and of course, it satisfies the investor, who engineered the deal and will receive whatever amount of money that he was able to build into the deal.

It wont make me rich, but it can keep me going.

That is just one strategy. The bottom line is that in these tough times, creativity is the key, more-so than ever before.

So pull out your old course materials, brush up on all of the creative finance techniques that enticed you into this business in the first place, and

GET CREATIVE!

Check out my website for more creative ideas and services……..

and GOOD LUCK to us all in 2011!