Chattanooga Real Estate Blog

I know everyone is always saying it’s a great time to buy regardless of the market.  And that’s true to an extent.  But if you have been on the fence or you’ve been thinking about it now truly is the time to do it.  One of my favorite blogs has given 4 financial reasons to buy now and they hit it on the mark.

Interest rates are increasing

Rates have gone up almost 3/4 of a point in the last 6 months and are expected to continue to rise.

The 30 year mortgage may disappear

Several experts believe if Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s roles are eliminated, or even limited, it may bet the end of the 30 year mortgage.

Qualified mortgage requirements could be more stringent

Proposed changes include:

1.  Elimination of certain mortgage types

2.  Minimum of 20% down payment

3.  Minimum 690 FICO score

4.  Lowering of ratio of income to both the mortgage payment and the overall debt to 28% and 36%

Rents are expected to increase

Supply and demand.  The demand is increasing while the supply is decreasing.

There is a lot of inventory on the market right now.  Jump in before it’s too late or the cost is just too high.

Q — What are the winter and summer elevation levels of Chickamauga Lake?

Q — Where did Chickmauga Lake get its name?

Find the answers on my business page at facebook by clicking the facebook logo above and becoming a fan!

If you’ve been trying to sell your house in this not so great market this is an excerpt from a humorous article by Nancy Watkins in RISMedia:

If you’ve had a home on the market for a while, HSF can sneak up on you. But I’m here to help you recognize the problem. Are you experiencing symptoms like these?

You have a constant unsettled feeling reinforced daily by the sight of the sign in your front yard, swinging in the wind and, you would swear some days, laughing.

You have developed paranoia because during various open houses people swiped your prescription drugs and went through your drawers. Not only do you no longer have open houses, but you jump whenever your husband touches you.

You avoid your neighbors because you are embarrassed that you can’t sell your house. Plus, for all you know, they came to your open houses and went through your drawers.

You make the place all pretty, and the prospects come and go, and do they call again? No. And yet despite this rejection you want them to come back, and this makes you feel bad about yourself. That’s right, it’s exactly like dating.

Your agent gets an email from some guy who says he’s in Japan but he saw the house listing online and wants to buy it sight unseen at your full asking price. And you actually think about it. (This really happened.)

You grow to hate every prospective buyer, and you hate them even more after they make an offer, because your house deserves more. You turn around and hate your house for not growing another bedroom. You hate your agent for not waving a wand and making more offers appear. You hate yourself for buying when the market was at its peak, even though you got top dollar for your old house. You pretty much hate everybody and everything.

Sometimes you have to laugh to keep from crying.

We had a slight uptick in number of homes sold in February with 201 compared to 189 in January.  At the same time the average price and total sales volume increased.  The average sales price jumped almost $30,000 to $194,046.  This resulted in a total sales volume of $36, 674,866.

North Hamilton County led the areas in total number of sales with 33 transactions for a total of $5, 465,250.