Specialty Sections

As easily as we wander through the specialty sections of grocery stores such as Wegmans, we can now choose our own specially priced neighborhood to live in. How does that work?
In today's housing marketplace, experts predict some dramatic drops in housing values, or appreciation.....Depending on where your property is located. This is nothing new, really, but the model is changing dramatically. Take a look at the City of Rochester, for instance. Values may change overall, but certain areas will never lose value. The same can be said for other parts of Monroe County.

Housing has its own specialty sections of its own, that for many reasons will not have a downswings in value when the overall market is struggling. If you live in one of these areas, the odds are that a school, aesthetics, services or having a reputation as a great place to live has aided in this effort.
Some housing hotspots in places such as Florida and California are experiencing this right now.

Naples , Florida may be in a single digit appreciation mode, compared to the 25% attained each of the past two years, but certain million dollar neighborhoods still thrive.

Choose your specialty section wisely, do your research.

Once upon a rate...

Mr. Toads Wild Ride, also known as this weeks stock market, will have some impact on short term mortgage interest rates. The how and the long, however, remain to be seen.
Rates nudged up this week, in an unheroic fashion, as we await any pushback from the Federal Reserve.

In reality though, such small bumps in interest rates can not subdue the passion that comes with any homebuyer's search for a home. If you have not experienced this overwhelming positive feeling, you are not living! No increase of $30-$40 in a monthly mortgage payment, can beat back the feeling of success and happiness of finding the right home. Ask anyone who has done it.

Statistically speaking, in the Rochester region, consistency of the marketplace has been our trademark when it comes to homebuying and affordability.
The area remains in the top 30 regions for this distinction, according to several publications.

So what's your rate going to be?

Not Just in Springtime

As the words go from the musical,"Camelot", "not just in Springtime, Summer Winter or Fall", so does the overpowering hope of homeownership in the Rochester region.As interest rates rose this week, the question remains, can the homeownership rate hit the 70% mark nationwide? Or, rather, will the bubble burst in short fashion in 2006?

What we have learned from our past housing booms is that there will also be one more on the horizon. The 1970's ,1980's and 1990's all saw boom and bust in some form during the decade, as each decade brought more homeownership.

How can this remarkable trend continue, you may ask? Take a look at the real numbers behind the numbers. The creation of more households than ever, combined with easy access to funds certainly does not hurt. The life experience of homeownership promulgates continued interest.
Would you prefer not to live in a house after spending most of your life in one? It's unlikely.

I have seen interest rates in my lifetime range from 3% to 18%, but I have also seen .29 gas prices. Now that's food for thought if you are hesitating on a home purchase today!