Right now we’re going to talk about what to do in the current real estate market.
Featuring:
Bob Nelson, Eugene real estate investment broker
Marcia Edwards, Eugene residential real estate broker
Marcia Edwards: Well, we’re trying to find the new normal all the time in real estate. We get traction, we understand what the buyers are doing, what the sellers are thinking, and then all of a sudden it shifts ,and that’s the excitement in real estate. I think it’s fascinating how consumer confidence has influenced. Then you’re trying to figure out what brought the confidence or the lack of confidence into the room.
Bob Nelson: Well, it’s interesting because it’s a continual moving target. And the more political we become as a nation, it’s interesting, something happens and all of a sudden we’re now focusing on something completely different and that does have its impact on real estate. On the stock market particularly, but real estate also.
Marcia Edwards: What I think is going on often at times is how extemporaneous the news is, how the news travels quickly. Whether it’s a horrible, horrific shooting, it’s the weather or it’s something in the economy or someone’s opinion that’s gets shouted out quickly, the influence and the impacts are so quick, it’s just knee jerk.
Bob Nelson: Well, and it’s also interesting, way back when, in fact, you’ve got a degree in journalism. Bad news sells. Good news doesn’t particularly show. Bad news is, Oh my goodness, the more bad, the more news is being sold
Marcia Edwards: And it can swing in such a short period of time, but the confidence doesn’t swing as quickly. I’ve seen the residual impact of that bad news is much longer than the actual should be. So it’s interesting. Now, in residential real estate in Lane County, we’re doing very well in a lot of senses. If you’re a seller, we’re doing extraordinary great. If you’re a buyer, it’s a tough time to be a buyer still.
Bob Nelson: Well, and it’s interesting because as a buyer you still have the opportunity to buy a fairly large amount of real estate based upon your earning capacity because the interest rates are so low that if you earn X number of dollars, that covers a mortgage payment that would be much larger. If the interest rate were to increase, that will decrease. So it’s a great time to be a buyer.
Marcia Edwards: You need that buying capacity because the median sales price right now is $362,000. Remember when it was under 100,000, Bob?
Bob Nelson: Yes. I can remember if when in 1964 it was 64,000.
Marcia Edwards: Yes, yes. I don’t remember that, but I’ve heard about it.
Bob Nelson: I’m old.
Marcia Edwards: Well, there’s that. And then the median on list price, the inventory’s at 473, so we do have a problem with affordability in this area. We’ll talk more about navigating that in today’s market next program.
Join Eugene, Oregon, real estate experts: Bob Nelson, Real Estate Investment Broker with Pacwest Real Estate Investments, and Marcia Edwards, Residential Real Estate Broker with Windermere Real Estate, daily at 5:30pm on KPNW for the “Real Estate Today” radio show.
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