Real estate prices continue to fall and the number of foreclosures is still on the rise, yet some realtors in Queens are excited. “Buy, buy, buy,” they chant – and even over the phone one can practically see their proverbial fist-pumps and toothy smiles as they animatedly underscore attractive interest rates.
“It’s absolutely a buyer’s market,” said Buddy Hoosein, the President of the Long Island Board of Realtors (LIBOR) – a network of 23,000 realtors across Queens, Nassau and Suffolk Counties – and the owner of Wally Realty in Hollis. “You’ll never see these prices again or these interests rates again for a long time.”
However, according to data crunched by the Multiple Listing Service of Long Island, a subsidiary of LIBOR, realtors like Hoosein do not have much to be thrilled about. The medium closing price on homes sold in Queens dropped more than 20 percent – from $438,000 to $343,800 – from January 2008 to January 2009. In the same period, the number of actual home sales in the borough dropped nearly 30 percent – from 531 to 380.
However, Hoosein is confident that real estate value will start to bounce back in the spring, and he says the current market is optimal for first-time buyers who can afford this year’s interest rates – down from last year’s rate of around 7.5 percent to an average of 4.75 to 5.5 percent, he said. Additionally, Hoosein noted, first-time buyers are bolstered by an $8,000 credit included in President Obama’s stimulus package.
Hoosein admitted that the troublesome economy, replete with lay-offs, has eliminated some would-be buyers from the picture, “but some people still have their job,” he said.
Annette Kroll, an Associate Broker with Magic of Great Neck Realty, who deals largely in real estate at North Shore Towers in Floral Park, has seen a similar trend.
“What has happened is that as the prices have come down, it has certainly become more affordable and appealing to the younger part of the population,” Kroll said.
She added, however, that some homes have maintained their value, as the location of a unit or the renovations within can be major factors. Likewise, Kroll included a caveat to her characterization of the current “buyer’s market:” “Yes, certainly” the environment is ripe for those interested in purchasing real estate, she said. “If somebody’s in a position to go forward.”
Down in Howard Beach, Frank Lasker, the CEO of FSL Realty Management, has seen his fair share of buyers expecting too much from the current market.
“You’ve got buyers coming in looking for $200,000 ‘give-mes’ – it doesn’t make sense,” said Lasker, who added that many of the cheaper homes are foreclosed and “destroyed properties” that require rebuilding after purchase.
“It’s a buyer’s market due to interest rates,” Lasker continued. “There are properties out there if you’re handy with renovations. Some people daydream, though, and you have to look at being realistic.”
While Lasker has advised his employees, including his wife who is a broker, to look into rental and commercial properties for alternative sources of income, he is hopeful the market will bounce back in the third quarter of 2009.
“If you’re looking to buy, now is the time to buy,” he said, “because you’ll never get hurt with real estate. Last time it was this bad was the 70s, and we rebounded from that and we’ll rebound from this.”
