It really never has been a better time to buy a home. Whereas we do not have a market that is depressed (selling for 20-25% less than asking price) like the markets in Florida, Northern VA, DC, New York, Chicago, Las Vegas or California, our “Buyers Market” means that there is a ton of inventory for the buyers. Buyers have more choices now than they have had in the last 5-10 years. Sellers in the Roanoke market are not backing off of their list prices much but if the agent has priced the home correctly then the houses are selling. There has been a lot of inventory moved in the past 3-4 weeks and if this week is any indicator of the spring market, it should be a good one!
Loans are a little more sensitive right now than in the past 5 years but there are plenty of loan products out there for most any buyers. The banks are making more common sense loans right now, they are not making the riskier loans that they should not have been making in the first place. FHA is still the go to loan if there are any credit issues or if you don’t have 5-20% down. We have some great programs available right now for first time home buyers. FHA just raised their lending limit to $280k in the Roanoke market.
Every week I meet people who think they cannot buy a home, but can! If you or someone you know think you cannot buy, please do yourself a favor and check with a Mortgage Specialist who can take the time and look at your credit and tell you. It only takes a couple of minutes to find out but there are a lot of people renting who could be owning. I have a great Mortgage Specialist that I deal with who is easy to talk to and who does a lot of work with credit repair also. Feel free to call Sue at 540-278-1430.
As always, feel free to comment or ask questions.
Until next time……
Damon
