Old-fashion mortgage rates combined with the latest technology can make home sales happen

When my father sold the home I grew up in, he told me an amazing fact.

“You know, when I bought this house back in the 60s,” he said with a grin, “The interest rate on my mortgage was only 4%.”

Ah, the good old days. If only life was that simple again. Better times. Lawrence Welk. Ed Sullivan. The Beatles.

Screeeeeech. Wait. Hold it a minute.

Have you looked at the 30-year fixed mortgage rate as of Thurs., Dec. 15?

It’s 3.95%!

The good old days are here again.

To put this in perspective, in 1991, the 30-year fixed rate was 9.25%.

The difference in monthly payments on a 30-year fixed loan for $200,000 from that rate and today’s rate comes out to nearly $700 a month. That’s enough to lease two cars. Buy a condo. Go on vacation. Do something!

Okay, you might say, rates have been low for a while.

Yes, but how are you communicating to your prospect this latest drop to all-time lows?

It’s an event Money magazine referred to as “an historic opportunity for those who can afford to buy or refinance.”

An historic opportunity.

Sure, the housing market is tough. But you are also in a time of historic opportunity in terms of technology.

Use this technology to do what it takes to convince homeowners now is the time to sell and move up to a larger house. Or to convince renters now is the time to buy and own a house.

Get an iPad and illustrate what these interest rates mean. How they are at an all-time low but there is certainly no guarantee they will stay there.

Make a video. Post a blog. Show a link to a chart on Facebook.

Use a marketing tool like the IDX and lifestyle search engine SpatialMatch to show clients how you have the latest, state-of-the art resources to find buyers for their home.

Or use SpatialMatch to show buyers how a particular home not only fits their household needs, but is situated close to all the things they like to do. So they better grab it fast.

Yes, it’s a tough housing market for agents and brokers. But there are many, many tools and factors out there (such as low mortgage rates) that when combined, can pry out those sales.

Sure, it seems that things were better back then. But remember, you also had to get up to change the channel on the TV and pull off to the side of the road to call someone on a pay phone.

The big difference today is technology. Are you taking advantage of all the latest real estate technology to make things happen in your market?

Use it to shake things up and make things happen.

For a demo on what SpatialMatch technology can do for you, click here.