[gmakerley]

I've just sent this out to a wide variety of our local realtors. Perhaps the thoughts and opinions may be of value to all of you. I hope so.

Spring arrived, as scheduled…

Spring, of course, brings with it a wide array of color:

Opening Day…Easter…NCAA Final Four…
The Masters…Flora and Fauna…Buyers and Sellers

We have, at last, arrived where we wanted to be all winter long – the spring homebuying season. Sales of existing homes actually picked up a short while ago, and there is a flurry of activity throughout the area, as desirous sellers and buyers are actually getting together to discuss something other than the endless primaries.

Interest rates remain at or near record lows, and those of us conversant with the alternatives to conforming loans have been able to navigate the rocky shores of risk-based pricing favorably.

We have begun to see the results of the new lending limits hit our desks, and there are price adjustments, as had been anticipated. Mortgage insurance companies have reacted to their own losses and to the overall mortgage morass, and of course this adds another element of mystery to our financing arrangements.

Now seems to be, even more so, the season of short sales and bank-owned sales. The foreclosure notices we've seen for the last several months are still a common sight. Even more common are homes coming on the market that have already been through that process and are now owned by the lenders. Properties are in less-than habitable state at the time of contract, which gives lenders and buyers pause.

The short-sale prospects create even more complexities. Unfortunately, it seems that we've been ill-prepared to cope with this new development. All too many times, we are seeing homes going to contract without the recognition that there may be insufficient funds to settle the underlying mortgage.

It is incumbent on each of us to make ourselves aware of the vagaries of the short-sale. Upfront knowledge will allow all of us to make the way smoother for each other as well as the buyers and sellers we so fervently desire to serve. Our economy is not so strong that we can afford to coast; but it is also not so weak that we cannot survive – yea – even thrive.

[jbarto65]

Thank you for your post here, it really puts things in perspective to us who are consumers in the mortgage industry. Goodluck in these turbulant times, hope you prosper and thank you for all your guidance and advice here on this forum, it is appreciated by many.

[Samantha]

Thanks george for providing us with this update on the industry. I must say you've explained it in a way that every homeowner or would be buyer will be able to interpret the situation out there.

[gmakerley]

thank you, thank you for your kind words!