Why I Like The Current Real Estate Market

THERE ARE SO MANY reasons to like the current real estate market.

Now, I’m not Polyanna. Here are some of the positives in the market:

1. The real estate market has been a Roller Coaster. Roller Coasters are fun. I love roller coasters. First you go up. How high can you go? You go slower and slower near the top… no one seems to notice, and then down, down, down, down faster and faster. Very scary! I like nice gentle markets.

2. The buyer mob is gone. I recall an open house in Cupertino with 137 groups touring the house in one day! Twenty-five offers. Nuts. Buyer-shark feeding frenzies. I don’t like mobs, but regular 30-60 day sales.

3. Insane ARM mortgages are gone. Mortgages of 103%, nothing down, $5000 cash back, 2% two year fixed negative amortization “sucker rate” interest resetting to 5% over the Libor rate (9.5%) in 2 years; stated income “liar” loan were common. Insanity.  Loans that buyers cannot repay are not my thingy.  I like loans home owners can understand.  Hopefully the new federal regulations will provide more information for buyers.

4. Seller euphoric greed is gone. All sellers believed they owned the Taj. No price was to high; no term too onerous. Lowly buyers need to bow and scrape to the whim of sellers. “I will reluctantly agree to sell you my uninhabitable house, provided you pay to have the toilets installed.” Na. Not for me.

5. Mortgage lenders approving loans they knew, or had reason to know, borrowers would default on are gone. Greed. Want to buy a home in Foreclosure City?

These are just some of the reasons for the current market correction.