Tuesday, June 7, 2011

"Quantitave Easing 2" (sounds like an eating disorder)

John Jeffries, from Plaza Mortgage explains it in layman's terms:

The Federal Reserves "Quantitative Easing 2" is scheduled to end this month, which would put a massive amount of pressure on the bond market and subsequently interest rates.  Right now, the FED is buying billions of dollars in bonds to stimulate the economy and speed up the recovery.  With recent economic reports suggesting that the economy is again on shaky ground, what will the FED do?  Will they proceed and extend their bond buying program which would help rates stabilize or potentially move lower?  Or will they be pressured into stopping their controversial spending, thus causing rates to jump later this summer? 

I would love to hear from my financial genius friends! What do you think?

Monday, June 6, 2011

The New Reality

Hello fellow humans, and all the rest of you as well. The KC Star had a decent story in Wednesday’s paper regarding the housing market. (You can go to KCStar.com and download the story and print). It stated that we have lost 32% or more, on average, of the value of our homes over the last 5 years. This was based on a story on CNN (Money.com actually).
I am providing the link below. Now the study and data included ONLY the top 30 housing markets in the U.S., of which Kansas City is not a part. (The study concluded this was approx. 80% of the U.S. housing market). Yes, we are a small market, comparatively speaking. But we are still getting pounded like the rest of the country, and we have lost every bit of that 32% in value, if not more, in some areas. Sellers STILL don't get it.....that the value they ONCE had is not there any longer (with rare exception) there are still many unrealistic sellers out there. They refuse to believe, don't want to believe, and can’t believe, the truth of the matter. This market IS the new normal for the foreseeable future, unfortunately. If they can't afford to sell it, stay put. Get rid of the shag carpet and foil wallpaper, upgrade, and pretend you're in a new home. Or, price it right in the first place, lick your wounds like the rest of the country, and move on. This is my opinion only, and most all of you don't need any help on this matter. I’m just trying to provide some tools to help get sellers to realistic positions instead of living in the past. Also, properly priced homes will sell, statistics improve, market improves, sellers adjust to new reality, etc. Remember the old saying: If a tree falls in the forest and there is no one there to hear it, is my home still overpriced? Absolutely! See link below. CB


Written by Carter Buschardt (blogged with permission)