What Will The Fed Do?

Shortly we are going to find out what the Fed is going to do with the Fed rate. All bets are on another sharp delcine in the rate, perhaps 50 basis points. Will this translate into lower interest rates for homeowners? Not necessarily. Here is why. Banks are businesses and they want good loans. They are also aware that funding for many loans are tightening or have tightened up. So they are not interested in marginal loans or loans that generate little to no profit. So banks may actually do nothing with their interest rates, or we may see a slight increase. Case in point, when the Fed unexpectedly reduced the Fed rate 3/4 of a point, the interest rates on 15 year and 30 year loans acutally increased slightly. We shall see what happens today. At the end of the day what matters most to buyers is, can I get a loan to purchase the house I want? The answer is yes. But if you are a buyer who has shaky credit or conventional wisdom says that you should not be purchasing that house, you may find it more difficult to get a loan. All in all that is good for the economy right now.

Does Staging a Home Really Work?

I have written about this topic several times and I think it is worth repeating. Often times I will hear a sellers frustration expressed like this, "Buyers are not very sharp when it comes to projecting how they will fit in a house!" My reply is often a yes and a no answer. Here is a classic example. If you have ever built a house this will make sense. Do you remember going over the plans and then the day finally comes when the builder digs your basement. If you were like me, when I arrived to the job site, I took one look at the hole in the ground and I said "They dug a hole too small!" Then when the builder capped the basement you looked at the first floor deck and said the same thing. It is not because you are not sharp it is because many people find it difficult to conceptualize space. Builders like to furnish their spec homes because it gives people an idea as to how the space can be used--and therein lies the rub. When a homeowner is selling their home they are not thinking like a builder or developer. They are thinking like sellers--and there is nothing wrong with that. BUT, in this market if you want to have maximum impact then you may want to consider staging your home to sell. Here is what staging accomplishes: first, the furniture that will be used is more in line with what is being sold, today, in showrooms. Second the color scheme for the house will also be current, based on today's demands of very very picky buyers. And finally, the room will be designed and shown to bring out your homes best features. Well placed furniture always makes a room look bigger. So if you are thinking about selling and you want to maximize your homes return then you should consider staging to sell! I highly recommend it.