Duck Dynasty real estate
I had to do it, I had to watch an episode of Duck Dynasty after last month’s uproar over patriarch Phil Robertson’s, shall we say, insensitive comments. Well, as luck would have it, the one and only episode I choose to watch was about buying real estate. I couldn’t have been happier if Donald Trump himself called me with real estate advice.
For those of you who aren’t familiar with Duck Dynasty basically it’s a reality TV show about a family from Louisiana who became wealthy by selling products for duck hunters. Well, what do wealthy families do, they move up to larger homes and in the words of Miss Kay Robertson, start to enjoy their money “after all we deserve it.”
Well good old Phil didn’t quite see it that way. His idea of a good hunt was not hunting houses, but hunting ducks, preferably from the back deck of his house. After all if you can’t shoot something right out your back door, what good is the house? Well, you get the picture.
But Miss Kay was actually on to something since the 2014 housing picture looks pretty good for stepping up to your family’s dream home. Although the houses the Robertson’s realtor showed them might have been a little too McMansion for Phil with frescos on the ceilings and spas on the deck, most of us would have been in heaven.
Trulia chief economist Jed Kolko has stated that the coming year should be a good mix of buyers. Not only will there be families finally moving up, but also first time buyers, who are encouraged by the economy leveling off. This is a really healthy place for the real estate market to be in rather than all those years of catering to all cash investors.
Increasing mortgage rates dictated, by the Federal Reserve’s bond buying program, will also serve to stabilize the market, since buyers now know that the previous years of low rates are coming to an end and will finally get that this is the time to make their move.
Mortgage rates will probably move above 5 percent, and in some markets, mortgages may be easier to get, but since there are still a lot of new mortgage regulations starting this month banks will continue to be cautious. Also the supply and demand of properties is pretty much in line keeping both buyers and sellers in more of a reality zone and encouraging builders to move forward with projects.
The one slightly dark note on the horizon is that nationally the home price appreciation index is predicted to be less than last year, increasing only by an estimated 3 percent versus 5.2 percent in 2013. Overall, after years of instability in the housing market, this could be the year where things return to more of a vigorous and stable footing.
It certainly was a good year for the Robertson family, who during the episode I watch were also celebrating 40 years in their Duck Commander business by building the world’s largest duck call. I’m not sure I learned anything about real estate from Phil and Miss Kay’s little excursion, but I certainly learned something about the 12 million viewers of cable TV’s biggest hit.
Let’s just say if youth is wasted on the young then granite and stainless steel will likely be wasted on the Robertsons. Don’t waste your buying opportunity. Go out and shoot a house before they all fly away.