The Eye of the Hurricane?

It is hurricane season…are we in the eye of a hurricane or did we just come through the backlash of the latest storm? A financial storm that is!

Wow, what a month September has been in the financial world. First it was the government takeover of Freddie and Fannie, next it was Merrill Lynch and the buyout by Bank of America, and finally it was the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers and Federal bailout of AIG. Where does this leave us in the real estate business? So far, the impact was positive on the rate front. We saw a decline in mortgage rates – woo hoo! We have broken through the label of “declining market” in Northern Virginia with conventional financing (loans less than $417,000). Price points below $300,000 continue to solicit more and more offers brining up the values in lower price homes signally a potential bottoming out of prices in our market. We are beginning to see banks willing to work with sellers in short sale situations. This makes these types of sales viable today as the sale is more likely to happen now than in previous months. So far, I call that positive.

We may be experiencing the “Perfect Storm” in Northern Virginia real estate…low prices, low rates, and perhaps the bottom of the market. We shall see. Hopefully, we are through it and not in the eye as I may end up on my ass looking at our market from the ground up. As I once heard when making predictions, don’t give a date if you give a number. Don’t give a number if you give a date. And finally, if you get it right, don’t look surprised. Let’s see where I end up and how I look next month!