Magic 8 Ball

Posted November 9, 2007

I love to watch the experts tell everyone how its going to be down the road. They bring in all their data and details and paint the picture. That was the case today with the Fed Reserve Board Chairman, Ben Bernanke. He made comments that the economy will slow this quarter and that will be due largely to housing. However, once this financial crunch shakes out, we should be looking better by spring.

I will give Mr. Bernanke credit and throw him a thank you. This is one of the first voices that has said that this is coming to an end. I hope he is right.

Personally, the past 2 weeks I have seen a marked increase in activity. More people are looking to get qualified to buy a home. If this keeps up, December may be the best month of the year! So what has caused the change?

I think the increase in activity has alot to do with the media’s decrease of mortage related headlines. Over the summer, every news media on the planet could not go a day without big headline stories about foreclosures, bank closings, mortgage fraud and every othet possible negative thing they could find. Even our beloved Charlotte Observer played into it, placing every negative headline it had on the front page, while burying news stating it wasn’t as bad in Charlotte about 5 sections in.

The reality is that the news media is now just media. Nicloe Richie and Paris Hilton have become CNN’s favorite topics… since when did teen girls acting stupid become national news? Its not… it’s entertainment. It sells ad slots and ad space. So keep that in mind when you read or watch all the gloom and doom… are they giving you news, or trying to get your attention so you will stick around for the ads?

Today is the best time to buy a home. Yes, the market is soft, supply is great and sellers are willing to negotiate. The news that its impossible to get financing is false! There are still many options to buy a home with no money down, and you don’t need perfect credit to do so! If you have been on the fence waiting to see what happens, you need to make your move now. Waiting till Spring could cost you not only the home you wanted, but also a price that would surprise you!

How do I know all of this? I asked the Magic 8 Ball of course!