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Make yourself at home in the Tri-State with local Realtor Todd Nelson. Find out current market conditions in the area, what to do to prepare your home to sell, remodeling tips to maximize value, where new subdivisions are being built, about current interest rates and more.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Interest Rates Starting To Creep Down

The real estate market this year has been a roller coster ride along with the stock market. Over the last few days, the 30 year fixed interest rate on real estate mortgages has started to drop. A local mortgage broker was quoting a fixed interest rate on a 30 year mortgage at 6% yesterday with a buyer who had a credit score of 720 or higher among other requirements. The lower the interest rate the more home a buyer can afford or the lower the mortgage payment for a prospective buyer. Call a local lender today to see how their interest rates are doing. Email me at todd@toddnelson.com if you have any real estate questions.

Thursday, October 2, 2008

Local Real Estate Market Slowing Down

National headlines have been detailing for nearly a year now the slowdown in the real estate market. The local real estate market was not impacted drastically right away but is now experiencing a decrease in sales. Through the end of August, the Huntington area residential real estate market is down around 18% from last year based on numbers obtained from the Huntington Board of Realtors. Last year was a great year for the Huntington area residential real estate market.

There have been some significant changes that are having an effect on the local area as well as the nation such as the elimination of various loan programs that allowed many to purchase homes with little or no down payment. Also, consumer's credit scores are being utilized more to determine what interest rate that a purchaser will get in obtaining a home loan. There is a tier system being used by some lenders with a higher credit score being able to obtain the best interest rate. There have been other changes to different loan programs making it harder for potential buyers to get a loan.

I try to look at the glass half full versus half empty. Certain areas of our market and certain price ranges are still doing well. If you are a seller moving up to higher price range then you might end up doing well if the home that you are selling is in an area of our market that has not had a significant decline. The home you might be buying in this example that may be at a higher price may be experiencing a decline which may allow you to get a better deal.

Interest rates still remain low and there are various home choices in our market. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or have a story idea for my blog at todd@toddnelson.com.