Dear home sellers, Please view the attached market statistics.

As you can see prices are still falling. The average priced home last year lost $30,000 in value for the year. Home prices are continuing to decline about $100 a day.

The main factor in determining price is supply and demand. Supply and demand is based on our local economy. In Atlantic County our economy is dependent on the Casino industry. You are probably aware of the many layoffs that have taken place over the last few years. In fact our unemployment rate in Atlantic County is 13%. We are faring worse than the national unemployment of 9%.

If people are loosing jobs they can’t afford to buy homes. Even those who are still working at casinos are facing less pay due to the lower tips they are receiving. Our bad economy is the main reason prices continue to fall.

Here are some reasons to sell right now:

The never before offered $8,000 tax credit for first time home buyers and $6,500 tax credit for home owners when they purchase home is 49 days away from expiring. (Buyers must be under contract by April 30th.) Most buyers will buy in the next 49 days and demand should decline after the end of April.

Interest rates have been at historic lows because the government has been purchasing mortgage backed securities. At the end of March they will stop this practice and the securities will be sold at market price. For every one percent increase in rate the price will the purchasing power for buyers will drop 10%. So if a buyer can afford a $200,000 home at 5% interest rate and the rates go to 6% they can only afford $180,000.

Also the other coming threat is more bank owned homes and short sales coming on the market. We still have not seen the next wave of foreclosed homes hit the market. Maybe you’ve noticed homes in the area that have been sitting vacant for months or even years. Banks are so backed up that it is often taking 2 years to foreclose on them.

So the bottom line is things are going to get worse and not get better for a very long time. The question you need to ask yourself is do you really need to sell the home in the next 5 to 6 years? If your answer is yes then we need to aggressively position your home to sell now and for top dollar. If not then perhaps it’s better to stay in the home until the prices rise again in the next 10 to 14 years.

If you need to sell your home now.  Contact me now at 609-484-9890 ext 132.

Best wishes,

Matthew Haviland

The Haviland Group