Common Myth about Realtors

I am hearing this myth more and more lately, so I thought it would be prudent to address this.

Myth: I don’t need a Realtor®, I can find my new home on the internet.

Researching neighborhoods and pricing patterns on the internet is a great idea, and a lot of fun but keep in mind, not all listings make it to the internet and what’s there isn’t always current and doesn’t always tell the whole story. As a Realtor® I have access to the TREND (MLS) which is an automatically updated, searchable database that includes detailed information on every property that’s been listed by a Realtor® including listings that have been sold, expired, or withdrawn. Like to receive housing info over the web? Ask me to email it to you — just at a minimum you will know the information is current.

What the Feds are up to

On Friday, the Feds took some steps to attempt to alleviate the credit worries.


The United States central bank, the Federal Reserve, coordinates the borrowing and lending activities of federally chartered banks. The principal reason the Federal Reserve was created was to reduce severe financial crises. One way of accomplishing this goal is to control the amount of money that flows through the economy. By manipulating the US money supply, the Fed influences inflation, unemployment, and the level of US economic activity. The Fed has a variety of tools that it uses to control the money supply, but its chief policy tool is the manipulation of short-term interest rates.
The Federal Reserve can adjust two distinct short-term interest rates. The discount rate is the interest rate which banks pay the Fed for primarily overnight loans. Despite its name, the Fed funds rate is the rate banks pay to borrow from other banks. The Federal Reserve has direct control over the level of short-term interest rates, the Fed’s influence over longer-term interest rates is less certain.
Recent liquidity concerns have plagued the financial markets. Now that the housing market has cooled and prices moderate, foreclosed homes are being sold for less than the note. To add insult to injury, the loans underwritten to the looser guidelines are not performing as hoped. With the value of the collateral in question (falling home prices) and the future performance of the borrowers unknown, investors’ appetites for this risk dried up almost completely. This has left many large mortgage companies unable to effectively operate.
The Fed recently purchased $38 billion of mortgage bonds to help. In addition, they lowered the discount rate from 6.25% to 5.75%. Fed Chairman Bernanke said, "The downside risks to growth have increased appreciably." The Fed statement also indicated, "These changes are designed to provide depositories with greater assurance about the cost and availability of funding."
Despite these steps by the Fed, liquidity issues remain. It is uncertain how long it will take for the financial markets to regain some normality.
Loans sold to GNMA or FNMA remain largely untouched in the recent credit rout because the investment qualities of the loans are well known. The foreclosure and delinquency rates are well within acceptable standards lending support to these products as their interest rates have fallen in the recent weeks. Take advantage of the current low interest rate environment. A cautious approach is necessary to protect against market volatility.