okREblog - It’s All REALative

I’m hearing this will be the name… any thoughts?

I spent a few hours today with a delightful young woman charged with the logistics of relocating the Seattle Supersonics to Oklahoma City, and wasn’t at all surprised to hear the old ‘What’s in Oklahoma City?’ statement, in reference to the mindset of a few of the folks being moved here.

It’s a common question.  Whether it’s old stereotypes or the image still being portrayed to the nation, many people outside our borders still picture horse-drawn carriages and dirt-covered prairies when they hear the word ‘Oklahoma.’

She, however, has a very optimistic outlook on the city, and has enjoyed her time here so far.  She commented on the beauty of the area, the amazing affordability of housing, and the well-planned design of our highway system.  With these things in mind, I thought I’d share a video here for anyone else wondering ‘What the heck is there to do in Oklahoma City?’

Yes, it’s an age-old question, and one that’s debated often.  I like to just throw out the facts on certain situations and let you decide for yourself.

Case in point: Seller calls me a few months ago and asks me to provide them with a CMA (comparative market analysis).  I do so, and meet with them to go over my findings.  I showed them the analysis to back up my knowledge that their home will sell for around $230,600.  I can’t guarantee that number, but my track record backs up the fact that I’m usually within $1,000 of being correct.

So, a few months go by, and they sell their home FSBO for $221,500.  Sounds like they came out pretty well, right?  They sold the house for about 96% of what I could have/would have sold it for.

Now, consider this; they paid 3% to the agent who brought the buyer.  So, in essence, they got 99% of the amount they would have fared with my services.  They did all the work and took on all the expenses of marketing, phone calls, showings, etc, and likely paid more in fees than they would have with me, because of the volume I do.

So, the question is, did they come out ahead?  What do you think?

Kenneth Wohl of SpiritBank recently put together this explanation, and I thought it’d be useful to you, my clients, so with his permission, here it is.  Hopefully it’ll help us all understand things a little better.

Spotlight– How Interest Rates are Set
 
One of the most commonly misunderstood facets of Mortgage lending is how rates are arrived at daily.  While many think that a lender simply sets a rate arbitrarily, the exact opposite is true.  In fact, mortgage rates are simply a function of the free market– Good Old Supply & Demand are at work setting prices and rates.
 
Every day Billions of dollars worth of Mortgage Backed Securities (MBS) are traded back and forth in the Capital Markets.  As these are Bond/Credit instruments their rate or yield moves the opposite direction of their price.  When a bond price goes up, the rate or yield goes down.  When a bond price moves down then the rate/yield increases because a higher rate should attract a buyer to purchase that bond.
 
Every morning and through the day, we receive rate updates on each of our programs from our secondary market investors who purchase our loans after closing.  Their rates are set based on the activity in the Bond/Credit markets for that day.  Typically, when economic news and outlook is gloomy, like higher unemployment; that is actually good for rates because bonds are seen as safer than stocks.  Good economic news tends to push rates higher as Stocks become more attractive to investors and bonds are not as attractive in terms of investment return.  Bonds are somewhat safer than stocks since they have a claim on the issuer’s assets.  As such, they benefit from when money flows out of stocks looking for a safe haven to set while they await their next investment move.
 
As investors want more and more of a particular mortgage bond, like those backed by FHA loans, we have seen the FHA rates fall faster than that of conventional loans.  There are many different factors that can move the markets from the price of Oil to political events like terrorist attacks and elections, to natural disasters and economic supply shocks.  However one thing remains true, in the good ol’ USA the market still reigns supreme in setting the price of money– Interest Rates
 
Call your Mortgage Banker for more information on our exciting mortgage programs!

…That’s a promising quote from a new list published by CNNMoney.com, which lists the Top 100 best places to live.  Of course, I’m just here to brag about Edmond being ranked #52.  Norman residents will be touting that they’ve beat us on this one though, coming in at #6.

Either way, great props for both cities, and for our great state.  Need more information about Edmond Oklahoma?

Our beautiful listing in Blanchard, OK will be open to public tour this Sunday, July 13th, from 2-5pm.  Stop by and take a look at this beautiful custom home on a treed acre.  You won’t believe the views and the atmosphere that this beauty offers.  If you need directions, or have any questions, give me a call @ 802-4663.

See you Sunday!

Due to busy-ness, it’s been a while since I posted up the monthly statistics covering the OKC metro area, and this morning I met a young lady asking about the stability of our local market, so here we go:

So, the million dollar question; Is now a good time to buy in OKC/Edmond? You know what my answer will be.  Look at these figures and decide what YOU are comfortable with.

**Based on information provided to and compiled by MLSGateway.com, Inc. covering a period (5/1/07) through (5/31/08).  MLSGateway.com, Inc. does not guarantee or is in any way responsible for its accuracy.

According to Salary.com, Oklahoma City ranks 9th in Salary value.  This is no surprise to me, having lived in central OK all of my life, and being witness to several friends and family moving to ‘major cities to make the big bucks.’

Lower cost of living means more money left at the end of the week, right?

The final clean is done and this beautiful home is ready to show off!

Now that everything’s in full bloom, we’ve got some great new pictures of this beautiful property to share with you:

Remember, 3 treed manicured acres, completely updated home with granite and other great details, a huge out-building, and Deer Creek schools!