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I have had a little extra time in my schedule recently and with that time I have been looking at new ideas on how to best show a home to as many people as possible and deliver information in a way that they will respond to. So after attending a training at the Maine Association of Realtor's Convention and trying out every bit of free software for producing videos I have a finished product. I would really like to know what people think of it.
And here is the listing for this home.
This mornings paper brought the news that "housing starts" for the month of October were at their lowest monthly levels in 50 years. The Commerce Department, which tracks such things reported that construction of new homes fell for the fourth month to an annualized rate of 791,000 units. In the fifth paragraph of the story you find that this is good news because experts and analysts had expected it to fall to a rate of 780,000 units.
Now I'm not an expert and I don't think I'm an analyst although I'm not really sure what the necessary qualifications are to be one but after I got over my first thought which was, isn't it amazing that they're even building one new home never mind three quarters of a million of them, I started to think about what was the more rational economic choice, buying a brand new custom built home or buying an older home.
I began by doing some basic research and called a few builders to see what it costs to build a new home these days. Apparently none of them were participating in building the 791,000 homes currently under construction as they all answered their phones on the first few rings. After getting over their disappointment that I wasn't a customer or the government calling with their bailout they were glad to talk to me. The estimates I got of cost per square foot to build a new house ranged from $180. to $300. depending on the level of amenities one desired. And this did not include land acquisition and development costs.
So if we average on the low side at $200 per square foot to build (mostly because round numbers make it easy for me to do the math) we see that a 2,000 square foot home would cost $400,000 to build. Again averaging on the low side lets say it cost another $100,000 to buy the land, dig the cellar hole, put in a driveway and a septic system and drill a well. For $500,000 you could have the house of your dreams assuming you haven't been dreaming to extravagantly.
But if you were to make a call to your helpful Realtor (I know a real good one so it was easy for me) you would find that for a lot less than $500,000 you could buy a very nice home in Lincoln County, Maine. Your Realtor could show you 2,500 square foot homes ready to be moved in to today for half the price of a new home or for $500,000 they could show you lovely homes right on the water here in town. You could probably buy a very nice older home with charm and character (read: real wood) and with the money you saved compared to building new you could refurbish your new home and buy new appliances.
As of today in Lincoln County, Maine there are over 700 previously owned homes for sale. All different sizes and shapes and in a wide variety of locations. If you've been thinking of building a new home or simply want to explore your housing options why not call your favorite Realtor and see just how far your housing dollars will go. I bet you'll find a great bargain and I know you'll confound the government experts!
Jim Cosgrove
Let's start with a fact. The fact that right now the real estate market stinks! It is a lousy time to be trying to sell your home. Okay, so why is that? Why is it a lousy time to be trying to sell your home? Because, there are a lot of homes on the market and that is driving prices down. There are a lot more homes on the market than there are buyers so...buyers have lots of options and are in position to pick up any one of multiple properties at pretty attractive prices compared to just 2 years ago.
So, this leads us to another fact. It is a great time to be trying to buy a home. That's right, that's the way it works. It is never both a bad time to sell and buy. Or to buy and sell. One side of the equation has to be better.
Right now in the central Lincoln County towns of Damariscotta,Newcastle, Bristol, South Bristol, Bremen and Nobleboro there are great buys available on all different sorts of homes, from starter homes to mid price homes to luxury retirement homes. There are cottages and camps, building lots and large tracts of land on the market and a buyer would have multiple choices in any category.
On top of that mortgage rates are still quite reasonable. Although mortgage rates fluctuate according to bond prices and those have been all over the place lately, rates are still under 7%. Our local banks right here on Main Street (and Church Street) have money to lend and friendly, helpful and knowledgeable loan officers that would very much like to talk with buyers.
As if that wasn't enough, if one is a first time home buyer, the Federal government is offering a tax credit of up to $7,500.00. To qualify, buyers must buy before July of 2009, may not have actually owned a home in the last 3 years and must have a combined household income of $170,000. or less. There is no pre purchase authorization or approval process. Buyers simply claim their credit on their tax return. Of course you should discuss this and any tax related matter with your tax preparer or other qualified professional before acting.
If you are a home seller, these are tough times. Don't worry, your time will come again. But, right now this is the time for home buyers. There will never be a better time to buy a home than now. Why not make an appointment to sit down with us and see what is available?
Jim Cosgrove
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