Real Estate Liquidity Can be Achieved, You Need A Plan
The real estate boom years between 2003 and 2008 created a unique phenomenon that changed the way we all classified a real estate investment. Real Estate essentially overnight went from being a fixed asset on all of our balance sheets to about as liquid of an asset as cash. If any of us wanted to make a real estate move, sell one piece, and buy another, it was almost as simple as trading in a car and getting a new one the same day. Brokers had buyers waiting, money to facilitate your next purchase before selling your existing home was readily available, and presto, everyone made moves as easily as a Friday night Monopoly game.
Fast forward to today and the landscape has changed dramatically. We are back to normal and normal seems like the industry is moving like a tortoise. Every move you make requires forethought, a strategy, implementing a plan, and patience. Real Estate is once again back in the place it belongs on the balance sheet as a fixed asset.
To make real estate move today usually means you started working on this possibility 4 to 12 months earlier by studying the market, proactively maintaining your home to perfection, and carefully investing in the appropriate improvements in your home to compete in the marketplace. You see today, there can be 100 homes for sale in a market and only 5 selling each month; meaning if you want to sell, you best be dressed for success. What is more challenging is that the competition is stiff, bank foreclosures, short sales, distressed builders, and sellers who have been relocated, are all competing to be one of those next five sales.
However, what is exciting is that for those who prepare, there are wonderful opportunities to capitalize upon. While it seems ridiculous, fixed rate loans are at the record of all record lows at 4.5%. The selection of homes to choose from is at a 10 year high, and from time to time a “great deal” may actually be a home you would live in. But do know this, if you are interested in making a change, it requires time, effort, patience, and a plan.