I was asked by our local newspaper to answer the following questions and thought I'd share:

What advice do you have for 1st time homebuyers in the current market?

Get yourself pre-approved and start looking.  A good mortgage broker/banker can advise you on any issues that may exist on your credit and how to make improvements. There is a lot of home inventory right now and mortgage rates continue to be low.  There are some first time homebuyer mortgage packages available as well – investigate!  Know the market, and your limitations so that you feel comfortable (and excited) about your new home purchase.  A real estate professional is essential in working through all the steps with you!

What advice do you have for sellers in the current market?

If you have to sell, price your home competitively.  Buyers are educated.  They know what your house should sell for.  You don’t want to be “chasing down the market”, which means you haven’t adjusted the price of your home to reflect what is happening in your marketplace.  Know your competition and think about what it costs you (in real dollars) to maintain a higher price.  If it takes 6 months to sell – what did that cost you, and would you have been better off to reduce your price in order to avoid those costs?  Selling is an emotional thing; recognize that and cut yourself some slack about how you’re feeling.  You will feel better when you accept that offer and begin to plan for the future.

What insight do you have on how the market will perform in the next year, given that it's an election year and other factors?

The pressure is on to keep the mortgage rates low, to stimulate the economy and show improvement in the many factors that impact housing.  Unemployment numbers are around 8.2%, GNP numbers are hovering around 2% and these indicators are not strong enough to support any statements about the economy improving on a long-term basis.  That will be the task and the major subject of the presidential campaign.  The administration will push for improvements in all segments to assist in their platform, whether Republican or Democrat.  Buyers and sellers can benefit from this.  Normally, prices are higher when interest rates are lower – we haven’t seen that in the last few years.  We may see those days return, so now is an optimum time to buy.  On the flip side, if you don’t need to sell and can hang on for a year or so, do that, and see how the market reflects the political demographic that will come with the election.