Strong Performance From Luxury and Non-luxury Markets
There is also a low amount of inventory in Houston’s luxury market, in addition to low days on the market and strong sales prices, which has caused the luxury market to grow stronger than ever.
“In years past, it might take up to a year or more to sell a high-end luxury home,” Borden says. “But now, the inventory is so low and buyer demand so high that the luxury market is in a great position and is expected to continue throughout 2014.”
Both the luxury and non-luxury markets are successful in different ways. Martin says that there are more buyers in the non-luxury market, but there is also have more inventory, so it evens out. She also mentions that the luxury market typically has less contingencies (i.e. needing to sell to purchase, financing, appraisal, etc.), which can make it more appealing to buyers.
Wolff says that one of the major differences between the two markets is that sometimes, it is more difficult to obtain a loan in the non-luxury market, especially with the mortgage lending laws changing on Jan. 10.
“If you have the money, you can get a loan,” he says. “If you don’t have the money, it becomes much more difficult. The fact that we need to help people build equity, commitment and ties to our community needs to be taken into consideration when considering the loan programs we need to provide.”
Interesting article, but it would be prudent to at least mention the factors which are driving demand, particularly since some of them are neither organic or sustainable. It appears you don’t appreciate (or don’t understand) the real factors driving the current demand and asset inflation in our real estate markets. With the Fed’s balance sheet at $4 trillion and climbing, and TX oil production going parabolic, it’s pretty easy to see why demand is as robust as it is. The real problem is that neither of these two phenomena are sustainable. This particular statement caught my attention:
“With Houston’s strong economy and low unemployment rate, there are not many factors that would hinder buyer demand either.”
I would argue that we are witnessing unprecedented asset inflation to keep a corrupt banking sector afloat. At the same time, we’re making homes unaffordable for a large percentage of the population. If that’s your idea of progress, then by all means let the good times roll. Personally, I’m advising my clients to take a more cautious, realistic approach in our current real estate environment. While the 2008 housing collapse may be behind us, the next one is creeping up in the rear-view mirror. This time is not different. It’s just a different verse of the same song because none of the real problems in the economy have been solved; they’ve just been papered over.
“Debt that can’t be paid won’t be paid.”
http://aaronlayman.com/houston-tx-housing-bubble/
You cannot do a short sale until you’ve adelary missed payments. If you are up to date on your mortgage, the bank has no reason to worry and therefore will not accept a short sale. The bank knows you can still make the payments because you still are, and will expect you to continue to fulfill your end of the bargain. If you do fall behind on payments, you have to have a good reason why. Such reasons might be a death in the family, loss of job or an injury that has kept you from working. A short sale protects the owners credit when the borrower can no longer make the payments. In that event, the bank realizes it’ll take many more months to wait to evict you and sell it themselves than if they cooperate with you and allow you to retain possession of the house while they sell it. The bank takes the financial hit and pays all the fees in the sale of the property, but in turn, the owner is not entitled to any equity that has built up on the property.If you have absolutely no equity in the house and just want to get rid of it, you might want to do research or talk with a lawyer about a quitclaim deed. With that deed, you sign off all your rights to someone else and they take on all the responsibility you once had. If nobody you know wants the property, I’m sure there are investors who will be more than happy to take it off your hands, rent it out and wait a few years for the market to rise. Then, you can move on to a less expensive house free from the hassle of your overpriced property.I am not a lawyer and not qualified to give legal advice, so please speak with an attorney about your options. Some of them may give you some quick advice over the phone without charging you. Good luck