Ti & Jevonne Smack's Discussions

Here are the Ada County Real Estate Market Statistics!For the first seven months – ending July 30, 2008, the number of homes sold was down -32% compared to the same period last year. The resale of existing homes accounted for 75% of sales and new construction accounted for 25% of sales. In Ada County, 45% of the sales came from homes that sold for less than $200,000, 45% of the sales came from homes that sold between $200,000-$400,000, and 10% of sales came from homes priced over $400,000.Is it a good time for buyers, Yes! Is a bad time for seller, Yes! Today foreclosures and bank-owned properties are driving prices down. As good buyers with long-term thinking begin to buy up these deals, stability will occur. As a seller, you need to know this -- unless you are priced aggressively or you have exceptionally desirable upgrades, location, lot size, etc. , you will have a tough time selling your home. If you must sell, be prepared to price aggressively. Until we sell through much of the existing “distressed” properties, prices will not stabilize. Will the market turn around tomorrow - No! . With the record inventory levels and lack of buyers we believe it will be at least 2010 before the Boise market stabilizes. If you’re planning to buy and hold for a few years, you may want to look for an amazing deal now, because there are some unbelievable deals!I will keep you posted as things develop. For now, be careful buying or selling and if you need to buy or sell now, [content removed by moderator for being self promotional]

Mina36 - I just followed a few of your recent posts and read Dan's posts. I agree he is one of the few honest people/agents on these types of boards. This was my first post on Zillow and I apologize for that last line. I do not mean to post spam and work hard to be honest in my business and give people the best information available to help them make their own decisions. Thanks for the constructive feedback.

Bette Defarm - the State Flower is the Syringa, Bird is the Mountain Blue Bird (I don't remember teh Motto).  4th grade Idaho history was a long time ago.  Sorry about Jeff and his spam post.   Idaho is state full of down to earth self reliant people.  We love the outdoors - hunting, fishing and don't mind working hard.  Great State and Great People!  Go Boise State!    

Yes, but they only bite the folks from California. 

Looks like a very nice home. Remember the main factors in selling real estate are Price, Location, Condition of the Home and your Current Market Conditions (i.e. number of buyers and sellers) You can't control the Location or Current Market Conditions, so focus on the 2 items you can control. Make sure the condition of the home is always show ready! We often recommend staging the home or having a professional stager go through your home and give you some recommendations on how to make it appeal to the most people. Your home looks great and at this price point, I wouldn't worry much about staging. If your market is like most of the country prices are falling - don't chase the market down. If you are getting showings but no offers, you should reduce the price 5%. If you are getting no showings and no offers you should reduce the price 10%. This way you will sell the home quickly and for the most money in this declining market, rather than chasing the market down. Remember price points that buyer search are usually round numbers. When a buyer gets pre-approved to purchase a home the amounts are often round number such at $100,000 or $125,000, so if you do have to bring the asking price down think about the next logical point where you will attract a new group of buyers. In your case that would probably be $125,000 - Good Luck!

Congratulations!

If you read the article in Idaho Statesman last week it was pretty dismal.  Here is a link to the article...   http://www.idahostatesman ... 5136.htmlIdaho Stats from the article :Unemployment is up 148% from 2007 Forclosure Filings up 92.5% from 2007Idahoans needing food stamps up 26.3% from 2007So, with all this bad news does this mean we are near the bottom for the local Boise real estate market and now is the best time to buy, or is it only the begining of a long recession?

If we get to 4% fixed rate mortgages and inflations goes above for 4% in the next few years are we getting setting up massive Bank Failures?  What happens to banks in this situation?

I think it is a great time to buyer, but only if you meet the following criteria:1. You plan to stay in the home for awhileIf prices continue to drop, you might have to be in that home for longer than you thought in order for the investment to make financial sense.2. Your job is stableBut even if you're comfortable with your own job security, investigate how your future neighbors are faring.3. You have a good down payment and additional cash reserves If your down payment would deplete your rainy day fund, keep saving for a while before buying.4. Don’t buy to much home!Take the amount that your lender approves you for and buy home that costs about 80% of that value.

For anyone trying to sell their home this might be a great option to help clean out the clutter and have the home in show ready condition for a minimal cost.  Merchants Moving is offering the following:For $69 delivery fee Merchant's will deliver 3 storage vaults to the client's home. They will store these 3 vaults for 3 months for free. For $69 they will deliver these to a new home.(Please note I don't work for or have any ties to Merchants - It is just a great deal)In order to compete against all the bank owned and other distressed properties, having your home staged and in great show ready condition is one of the best ways to compete in this market and sell for top dollar.