HURRICANE

It looks as if the remnants of hurricane Gustav will show up in Tyler, Texas by Tuesday night or Wednesday with tropical storm level winds and lots of rain. First time that's happened in my memory. But......that's okay. http://www.johncmartin.com will be on duty to serve my customers, even on labor day!

INCREASED SALES

This from MSNBC BUSINESS this morning:

WASHINGTON - Sales of existing homes rose 3.1 percent in July, easily beating Wall Street’s expectations. The National Association of Realtors reported Monday that sales rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5 million units. Sales had been expected to rise by only 1.6 percent, according to economists surveyed by Thomson/IFR.

Buyers are wising up out there. There is no apparent reason to hold back. Now is the time when good deals can be made on excellent properties.

TIME TO BUY?

It's not the ideal time to buy when markets are rising and sales are brisk! When that is occurring, sellers are getting top price for their properties. The prime time to buy is when the market is depressed.

Right now there are fewer homes being built than at any time in the last five years. Homes in the "high end" have few buyers, because folks don't understand when it's the best time to buy. In this kind of market, sellers are willing to negotiate; and they are willing to cut prices in order to move. Deals are available all over the country; and they're available here in Tyler, Texas as well.

STANDSTILL

I have no idea. Well, maybe I do. http://johncmartin.com/ is almost entirely useless at this point. Gas prices? War? Olympics? Vacations? Back to school? Heat? Credit crunch? Maybe it's a combination of all of them. Even with my "first page" ranking on Google, hardly anyone is responding. The only properties selling are those under the average priced homes. And that's not my business model.

OPTIMISTIC?

Saturday, August 9th, 2008 the dollar rose sharply against other currencies. The stock market rose two and a half percent on Friday. Some economists predicted the near end of the housing finance "crisis". Maybe folks will begin considering spending money on real estate again!

SLOWDOWN

The market in low-priced homes remains brisk; but the higher-end market is very slow these days. And that's where my business model is concentrated. I'm loathe to make any predictions about when it will turn around. It seems that those with money to buy higher priced properties are a bit slow to make decisions with respect to their money; and I don't see the logic in that reticence. The market is such that properties of quality can be purchased right now at a discount. But, as they say, perception is reality for most. However, we're standing ready to assist those who wish to buy Tyler Texas real estate. Hey! The market for you is really good right now!