There is a silver lining for home buyers and sellers during the COVID-19 crisis. Not with standing the seriousness of the coronavirus and everyone’s effort to mitigate the consequences, if you are able to slow down, step back and look at the big picture you might realize a great opportunity awaits you for buying or selling a home.

Silver Lining for Home Sellers

The only market that has not gone down in recent weeks is the real estate market. Home inventory was low prior to the beginning of the spring market and the inventory now is even lower. This mean if you are a seller and your home has recently been updated you have a good chance to get your listing price. Better yet, since there are more buyers than available homes to purchase there is a good likelihood that buyers will get into a bidding war for a property. So, if you are a motivated seller with an updated home and are good with people putting on booties and using wipy dipes for their hands at your front door this is a great opportunity to sell your home in a short period of time.

Silver Lining for Home Buyers

There is also a silver lining for buyers. With the interest rates going down it is important for buyers to think about this rule of thumb. For every point that the interest rate goes down your buying power increases by $10,000 for every $100,000 you borrow. So if you are comfortable making a monthly mortgage payment based on $200,000 and the interest rate goes down by one point you are now able to purchase a home for $220,000 and still maintain the mortgage payment of $200.000.

If you are a buyer and your equities have taken a major hit and the amount of money you have for a down payment has shrunk, you might want to consider getting an FHA mortgage with a 3.5% down payment. Once the equity markets reach the pre-virus high levels you can refinance with a conventional mortgage with a larger down payment.

In the meantime, stay healthy and safe and look for those great opportunities. Contact me to assist your search!