Top Paso Robles Real Estate Agent, Cassandra Merrill, Provides Reassuring Data on the Housing Market To California Real Estate Buyers and Sellers

February 4, 2008

PASO ROBLES, CA – In the midst of negative media on the housing market, Cassandra Merrill, a top San Louis Obispo County Realtor®, is educating her clients on historical real estate data. The data, accessed through The National Association of Realtors (NAR), provides promising truths to the value of home ownership. This information is particularly important for home buyers and sellers in the California markets, where there has been a high level of speculation regarding the future of the real estate market.

NAR has complained for some time that the media is distorting the news about housing and the Real Estate Market. Now, Cassandra Merrill is communicating directly with current real estate clients and prospects in Paso Robles, San Luis Obispo, Atascadero, Templeton and Pismo Beach, by sharing little-known facts about the housing market.

The NAR spends over $40 million annually on public service messages, but the news media typically turns a deaf ear. Real estate is local, but the media would have you believe that the losses of Florida and San Diego are your losses, too.

Below are some of the FACTS published by NAR that the news media obviously ignores.

· Over the past 30 years, home values have risen more than 6% annually.

· On average, the value of a home nearly doubles every 10 years.

· 60 percent of the average homeowner’s wealth comes from their home’s equity.

· The average homeowner’s net worth is $171,000 – that’s nearly 46 times that of a renter, who has an average net worth of $4,800.

· Home owners benefit from the power of leverage. At an annual appreciation rate of 5 percent, a 10 percent down payment on a home will return 94 percent after 3 years. After 5 years, the rate of return increases to 225 percent and after 10 years, 623 percent.

Cassandra Merrill reinforced this message to San Louis Obispo real estate buyers by saying, "As you probably know, the real estate marketplace has changed. What you might not realize is there's a world of opportunity out there for home buyers. To truly make the most of your long term real estate investment, you need to understand a buyer’s market and be able to react to it."

She also emphasized that nationwide, real estate is in what they call a buyer's market. This means it can be a great time to buy. Buyers have lots of homes to choose from and are in the driver's seat when it comes to negotiating and pricing. The funny thing is that most buyers have a hard time buying in a buyer's market. Their fear is a result of the negative press that always accompanies a buyer's market. The repeated negativity makes them hesitate. They often decide to take a "wait and see" attitude. Time goes by, and they keep waiting to know for sure that the market has bottomed out. (Sound Familiar?)

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