Reginald Gill, like other brokers, is ready for the mortgage market to get back on track.
Gill, a founder of the Bel Air branch of Challenge Investors Corp. of Bel Air, has felt the effects of the fears and anxieties associated with the market. In the past several months, the tough conditions caused Gill to lose his co-founder, Graham Goff.
“I?m having a difficult time getting people into loans,” Gill said. “The guidelines have changed and people have tightened up a bit.”
In a shaky market, homebuyers need to be as informed as possible and know there are many programs people can use to find a house they can afford, Gill said.
“This market is turning upside down,” Gill said. “Now it?s affecting people who have 700 or 800 credit scores, because the market got even tougher for them. It?s affecting everyone at this point.”
The market saw some encouraging signs late last week, as national homes sales increase 2.8 percent in July, according to the U.S. Commerce Department. Sales, however, were down 10.2 percent compared with last July.
In the Baltimore region, property sold for about $331,053 in July, according to the Metropolitan Regional Information Statistics Report. Sales in the region were down about 12.4 percent from the same period last year.
All markets are cyclical, thus the worst of the subprime mess could be over, said Carl Delmont, chief executive officer of Freedmont Mortgage in Hunt Valley.
“The pendulum has swung pretty far in both directions, but I think we?ll come back to the middle soon,” Delmont said. “Obviously, you have some inexperienced officers that continue to tell people things that aren?t true. People need to be financially literate and know the market, because if they understand their finances, then hopefully they won?t take these exotic loans.”
With financial literary, consumers have to know the market and know their broker during the homebuying process, said Lance Cassell, managing director of the Better Mortgage Bureau in Baltimore. Not all brokers are just out to make a sale, Cassell said.
“Ultimately, you have some unethical brokers, but they?re the squeaky wheel and get all of the attention,” Cassell said. “There is a large percentage of ethical and trained mortgage officers out there.”
Region?s housing market
» Houses for sale in the Baltimore region are on the market for an average of 80 days ? a 45 percent increased in time on the market from a year ago.
» In July 2006, houses were on the market for an average of 55 days before being sold, according to the Metropolitan Regional Information Statistics Report.
Staff Writer Dave Carey contributed to this article.
