Wake up - it's not a dream!



This 3 bedroom Phoenix area home recently sold for $82,500



I don’t know if you read the New York Times, but a business partner of mine sent me an e-mail about an article, an Op-Ed actually, that appeared in the Times recently.  You have to really dig hard to find any sort of a positive slant to the current state of affairs as it relates real estate, it seems.   The media has been relentless and aren’t putting people's minds at ease.  

We all know the real estate market is turbulent.  Most of us are not just underwater, but are drowning with no sign of a life preserver. Investors, who were once having a field day, have retreated [although perhaps starting to return for  the right deal.]   

But, check out what Karl E. Case had to say in his article, “A Dream House After All”.  I thought he did a great job helping put into perspective what is happening in neighborhoods across the country. And, he presents a very interesting way of putting pen to paper to help us understand what’s actually going out of our pockets.

Of particular interest to me is where he says, “Do the math. Four years ago, the monthly payment on a $300,000 house with 20 percent down and a mortgage rate of about 6.6 percent was $1,533. Today that $300,000 house would sell for $213,000 and a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage with 20 percent down would carry a rate of about 4.2 percent and a monthly payment of $833. In addition, the down payment would be $42,600 instead of $60,000.” 

Wow.  When you put it like that, who can afford not to own a home? 

Thanks to Cindy Davis at Equity Title Agency in Scottsdale for sharing.

©2010 Tom Weiskopf, PLLC. Tom Weiskopf, PLLC is an AZ licensed real estate agent with John Hall & Associates serving the Phoenix area. For more information, Tom can be reached at (602) 953-4000 or via e-mail at phxareahomes@gmail.com.