Top Three of the Seven Reasons Why Now is a Good Time to Buy a Home

There are many good reasons to buy a home, and right now, there are seven that stand out, according to a new publication by Keller Williams Realty, my brokerage.

Below are three of the reasons (4&5 will be tomorrow, 6&7 the last day), and my take on each one:

1) Homes Have Never Been More Affordable. This is true! In much of the Baltimore real estate market, home prices took another dive in September. With interest rates at the lowest they have been in recorded history, plus low house prices, buyers can take advantage and save thousands of dollars in both cost and interest.

In 2006, when housing prices were at their peak, mortgage payments took, on average, 25.1% of monthly household income. That has dropped to 14.9% in 2010, allowing homeowners to keep 10.2% more money in their pockets each month.

2) Mortgage Rates are at Rock Bottom and Won’t Stay There Forever. As I mentioned in #1, rates are at an historic low. Never before in recorded history have interest rates been this low. They will not remain this way forever!

3) Prices are Trending Back Up. Across the US, after 30 months of heading towards the floor, prices, in general are heading back up. This is true in areas of Baltimore County, like Towson real estate and Hunt Valley real estate. Other areas still saw a drop in September 2010, but these areas saw inclines over the same period last year.

These are just the top three. There are four more to go!

Realtormarney Social Media Panel of Experts with Rick Geha for Keller Williams Realty International

Last Wednesday, I, Realtormarney, was honored to be on a social media panel of experts with Rich Geha for Keller Williams Realty International’s “Spotlight on Social Media” course.

I enjoyed the preparation, and sharing my insights on social media, including twitter, facebook, and blogging.

Even as I shared my expertise, I always learn when in class. I am looking forward to implementing more to make my Towson real estate business even more informative and useful to my clients!

My Keller Williams Excellence Realty Office raised $1,500 for Charity Sunday!

On Sunday our Lutherville office of Keller Williams Excellence Realty held a tailgating party to raise money for KWCares, a 501 (c) (3) Charity.

We were HOPING for a Baltimore Ravens win, since we were watching our home team on multiple screens throughout the office, but we had a victory in our own right!

Through our auction items, including VIP seating, iTunes gift cards, massages, restaurant gift cards and more, plus a raffle of 3 Ravens-Steelers tickets to the game on November 29, 2009, we raised $1,500 for the KWCares Charity!

I was so proud to be a part of the KWCares Committee who brought this event together to raise such a significant amount for our charity.

This was our first year, and we are already planning for next year to make it an annual event!

So mark your calendars for 2010 for an away game against the Bengals. Because we WILL win next year’s match-up and raise even MORE money for charity!

Internet Lead Generation Course

So I am sitting here in a fantastic course taught by John Prescott on Internet Lead Generation. I am learning such a great deal and realize how I can serve my customers in even more of a top notch way! I can’t wait to implement these ideas and tools! I will be asking many of you to test drive my new tools and hope you are as energized by these great things as I am!