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On Feb. 2 the National Association of Realtors' Chief Economist, Lawrence Yun, said home sale statistics are skewed by the federal home buyer tax credit that sent some shoppers scrambling for a closing in 2009, and others racing to get in on a 2010 expanded and extended version of the federal break.
In fact, Yun said, pending home sales have stabilized and are up from those reported last year. The First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit threatened to sunset at the end of November in 2009. That caused an upswing in the number of homes sold. Then, the tax credit program was extended and expanded. The April 30 deadline for the extension is looming and home sales are again on the rise. The swings can be confusing.
In an NAR press release, Yun said, "These swings are masking the underlying trend, which is a broad improvement over year-ago levels. December activity was the fifth highest monthly tally in two years."
According to NAR, the Pending Housing Sales Index (PHSI) is a good market indicator. Following is a brief look at its recent performance.
Yun projects the extended and expanded tax credit will encourage 2.4 million households to take the credit in 2010. He expects new home sales to remain low, but existing home sales should rise to about 5.6 million this year. In 2009 there were 5.16 million existing-home sales. The increase in sales could help stabilize the market overall. It's simply a matter of supply and demand.
Go Green. Save Green (and Water)!
Water is one of the world's most precious commodities. Whether you're building a new home, have purchased an older home, or are simply trying to cut down on utility bills, there are many measures you can take to conserve water.
1. Drip, drip, drip. You know that annoying little drip in the bathroom sink? Did you know it can send up to 20 gallons of water down the drain every single day? If the drip has become a steady little stream, you can multiply that amount by many times.
If you're building a home, use high quality fixtures that won't leak. Proper installation is critical. Don't overlook even the smallest of leaks. Take a "Do-It-Yourself" course from a local building supply or plumbing store so you know how to identify problem pipes and fixtures and feel confident in repairing them. (Just think of the money you'll save!)
2. That toilet is sure noisy. If you suspect the toilet is leaking, try this tip. Remove the lid from the toilet tank and put three or four drops of food coloring in the water there. Wait 30 minutes (don't flush the toilet). If you see color in the bowl, that is an indication that your toilet is loosing water and replacing it with water from the tank. Find out where the water is going! Replace any parts that need to be replaced and repeat the test.
You can reduce the volume of water required to stop the flow into the toilet tank by inserting a commercial space taker in the tank away. To save even more money, simply use jars or jugs that are weighted down and will sink to the bottom of the tank. Be sure to keep room in the tank for at least three gallons of water.
When building your home, purchase toilets specifically designed to minimize the amount of water they use. Be sure to write down all of the water-saving measures you take in case you decide to sell your home. Conservation efforts will make your home more valuable and easier to sell.
3. Where is it all going? Play "Water Detective." Water leaks can be sneaky. You might be using excessive water and not even know it. Turn off all of the water in your house and yard. Record the numbers on your water meter. Wait two hours. The meter should display the same numbers as when you started. If not? You're losing water to a sneaky leak somewhere. Find the culprit and put an end to the waste.
4. Slow the flow. If you're building a new home, make it a point to use low-flow faucets and shower heads. If you're trying to make an older home more efficient, install flow restrictors. They are inexpensive and easy to install.
Aerators are readily available for faucets. Aerators allow you to adjust the spray volume you need for the task at hand. Aerators may feature a valve to easily reduce the flow of water without turning of the taps or readjusting them. Discuss the concept of water conservation with others living in your home. Carefully review water bills for water usage and plan a reward for significantly reducing the amount of water used each month. Encourage people to take shorter showers, avoid leaving water running needlessly, turn of the water while brushing teeth, etc.
5. The heat is on. Properly adjust your hot water heater and insulate pipes so hot water in the pipes stays hot and is readily available on demand. This will prevent you from having to run the water for an extended period of time to get water from the heater to the faucet.
6. Cool it down. Keep fresh, cold water in the refrigerator. That way, there will be no need to run water for an extended period of time to get it good and cold.
7. Fill it up. Purchase conservation conscious appliances. Even if you don't purchase new appliances, you can save water by making sure you only start appliances with a full load. Use the proper settings for the load you are washing. For example, if you're washing a regular load of dishes, don't use the "Pots and Pans" cycle of your dishwasher.
Set your clothes washer to a cycle that requires the fewest rinses.
8. Recycle. Garbage disposals require the use of running water to rinse food waste down the drain. You can recycle and save water by starting a compost pile. Instead of washing food waste down the drain, turn it into a valuable resource for your garden.
Personalize Your New Yard or Garden with Unique Stepping Stones
Buying your first home can be one of life's most exciting adventures. Most people begin immediately to personalize their newly-purchased home. Gardens and yards are great fun to landscape and decorate. You can create your own garden stepping stones for a unique walkway or random yard art. These are even great for small patios and balconies. They even look great in indoor gardens.
If you plan to upgrade to another new home some day, simply take the stepping stones with you and build on your collection through the years.
These personalized stepping stones also make great gifts for friends and family members year round. They are long lasting, homemade, and will remind recipients of your kindness when they tour their own yards and gardens.
Gather Supplies
Plan Your Design
There are many different ways to design your stepping stones and you are only limited by your own creativity.
Here are some other embellishment ideas:
Using Photographs
Laminate photographs before you firmly press them into wet cement that has dried for 30 to 60 minutes after pouring. Push rocks in around the edges.
You can also sandwich a photo between two pieces of glass. Wrap the edges with copper tape (this is available where stained glass supplies are sold). Set the photograph in concrete and gently roll wet concrete around the edges to make it stay.
My Favorite Tip
A professional stepping stone-maker commented on eHow.com about how to create designs. He recommended cutting out a piece of contact paper the same size as the bottom of the pan. Peel off the backing. Press embellishments onto the sticky side of the contact paper. Place the embellished paper in the bottom of the pan and spray it with oil such as WD-40. Cover all sides of the pan. Gently scoop concrete over the design. The contact paper holds it in place and you can easily peel it away when the stone is dry!
A Different Way to Add Handprints and Footprints
Fill a container with heavy, moist sand. Press your hand very firmly in the sand. Brush the inside gently to smooth the indentation. Mix concrete and spoon it into the indentation. Allow 24 hours to dry. Pull the creation out. Create your stepping stone and add the handprint or footprint after wet cement has dried for 30 to 60 minutes.
Making Your Stepping Stones
For a very unique and personal walkway, pour square or rectangular stones and fit them together.
If you're ready to purchase your first home, contact us today! Time is running out to claim your $8,000 federal First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit. Many local and state government entities are also offering attractive incentives to homebuyers.
Call us today!
NAR Bucks for More Housing Bucks from FedsThe National Association of Realtors® is encouraged by the increase in home sales bolstered by an historic federal $8,000 homebuyer tax credit and is seeking an extension of the program. The program is s
cheduled to expire Nov. 30 and NAR told Congress this week, that's too soon.
NAR® Regional Vice President Joseph L. Canfora testified this week of the program's success and urged a Congressional panel to continue offering the monetary encouragement through 2010.
Canfora, a broker-owner with Century 21 Selmar Realty in East Islip, N.Y., also told the panel during a U.S. House Small Business Committee hearing that new appraisal processes in the Home Valuation Code of Conduct has caused delays that could prevent some would-be participants from meeting the looming tax-credit deadline.
In an NAR® press release issued this week, Canfora spells out the success of the tax-credit program in hard numbers. "The credit is working," Canfora said. He pointed out that the 355,000 to 400,000 transactions directly attributable to the credit made a significant dent in the housing inventory and will help to stabilize home prices. He said the credit has provided a huge indirect benefit to local governments, shoring up property tax bases in particularly hard-hit areas.
According to NAR®, $63,000 is shot into the economy every time a home is purchased. Canfora warns the country's housing market is not out of the woods. Reset mortgage rates, unemployment, and quick sale of properties dumped on the market by lenders wanting to take advantage of a more stable economy could curb the economic upswing.
Canfora told committee members, "The more robust the credit and the greater its duration, the greater the chance that the housing market can perform its traditional role of helping the economy move out of a recession." He said the new HVCC standards have caused the loss of home sales throughout the nation.
NAR is encouraging the public to contact their legislative representatives and impress upon them the importance of extending the tax-credit deadline.
Go Green: Trees Can Add 15% to Your Property Value ...... and Much More to Your Environment
Healthy trees are a great asset to real estate and to the environment in general. If you are building a new home, be sure to include plenty of trees in your landscape plans. Not only will you beautify your property, you will realize real savings in water, heating and cooling bills. You will also be contributing to clean air and a healthy environment.
It's never too late to plant a tree. Research tree varieties before you plant. Make a list of the qualities you are looking for in a tree and visit your local nursery. Determine which trees are best suited to your environment. Decide exactly what you want from your new tree or trees including:
Also consider:
Author Arthur Plotnik sings the praises of trees in, The Urban Tree Book; An Uncommon Guide for City and Town.
In his book, Plotnik details eight really great reasons to plant, grow, nurse, and maintain trees. This book explores history, folklore, aesthetics, and the necessity of trees. Following are Plotnik's eight arguments favor of the almighty tree as published by Steve Nix at About.com:
While it's true that mortgage lenders are tightening the purse strings, home loans are still out there and readily available to those who qualify. The only way you will know if you do qualify is to seek a mortgage pre-approval.
A mortgage pre-approval will help:
Your loan application information will be the basis for your mortgage pre-approval. Lenders will also weigh heavily three credit reports and income verification. Before you shop for a mortgage pre-approval, review your own credit history. Determine what you can comfortably afford to pay for housing including taxes and insurance.
Before you visit a lender, or fill out a loan application, check your credit report for potential problems. Your credit score will help determine whether or not you get a loan, the terms of the loan and the interest rate you will pay.
Federal law entitles you to one free credit report in a 12-month period from each major credit reporting agency. Get a free report at www.annualcreditreport.com. Check the report for errors and resolve errors before you apply for a loan. You can also call the three major nationwide consumer credit reporting companies for your free report:
Mortgage Pre-approval vs. Mortgage Pre-Qualification
A mortgage pre-approval is not the same as a mortgage pre-qualification. Many people confuse the two terms. A mortgage pre-qualification is the first step to getting a mortgage pre-approval.
During the mortgage pre-qualification process, a mortgage lender will evaluate your financial status based on information you give over the telephone or internet. It does not usually require an application fee or require you to substantiate income and expense claims. The lender will determine how much you are likely to be able to afford for housing. It is important to be completely honest with your lender and yourself during this process.
A mortgage pre-approval is more formal. It will require fees including an application fee and a credit report fee. You will be asked to provide documents to verify employment or other forms of income. The mortgage lender working on the mortgage pre-approval will pull your credit reports and review your credit history. Mortgage pre-approval is a better guarantee of your eligibility than a mortgage pre-qualification.
Mortgage Pre-Approval Gives You Bargaining Power
Home shoppers are often disappointed when they are turned down for a loan. Home sellers suffer too when their intended buyer is not able to secure a loan. Sellers are wary of buyers who may not qualify for a home loan. A mortgage pre-approval will give you bargaining power.
Our company has a vast network of lenders and other real estate transaction support services. Contact us today for help getting pre-approved for a home loan.
What is a Comparative Market Analysis or CMA?
If you're thinking about selling your home or property, a comparative market analysis or CMA is a great way to help you determine the actual value of your home.
You could conduct your own comparative market analysis, but it's best to seek the assistance of a trained real estate professional. Real estate professionals have access to up-to-date geographic-related information about:
- Active, pending and expired real estate listings
- Comparable home sales
- Market trends including the average number of days area homes remain on the market before they are sold
- An area's recent highest, lowest and average home sales prices
When you enlist a real estate agent to provide you with a CMA, you are likely to get more complete information faster. An agent will also help you to analyze the information in a comparative market analysis. A CMA is in no way a price guarantee. There are many factors that go into pricing a home and some of them are very personal including a seller's motivation. Some sellers are financially distressed, or are under pressure to relocate for employment purposes and are willing to drop the price of a home for a quick sale. Other sellers are willing to wait for the right buyer to purchase his or her home at a premium price.
The depth of comparative market analysis reports varies. Ask your real estate agent to explain what you can expect to learn from the CMA he or she provides. At the very least, a standard CMA will include:
Active listings or homes currently for sale. This will give you a snapshot of homes your potential buyers will be viewing and comparing to yours. A seller can list a home at any sales price, so be careful not to read too much into active listings. In the end, a home is worth what a buyer is willing to pay.
Pending listings. A pending listing is a home under contract. This means the sale has not yet closed. Like sold listings, pending listings can help you determine what buyers are willing to pay for property comparable to yours. Because pending sales are still in the legal negotiation process, this information is often kept private.
Sold listings. Appraisers are strongly influenced by the price at which comparable homes have sold in the same geographic area as your home. An estimated market value will be largely based on sold listings.
Withdrawn or canceled listings. Sellers sometimes withdraw their homes from the market and the reasons vary. A change in life circumstances, low offers, and repairs required for buyer financing are just a few. This information can, however, be very helpful in determining how high is too high.
Expired listings. An expired listing is one that has been on the market beyond the length of a realtor contract. Sometimes these properties are overpriced. Sometimes they are not marketed aggressively. Occasionally a seller will change agents in the middle of the sales process.
It is very important to only compare properties that are similar to yours in a comparative market analysis. In some locations, this will be hard to do. Important comparables include:
Of all of these factors, you have the most influence over condition and amenities and upgrades. A thorough comparative market analysis or CMA will help you determine whether or not repairs and upgrades will significantly increase the value of your home. It's best to seek a CMA before spending too much money on repairs and remodeling.
Call us today for your comparative market analysis or CMA. We're here to help you price your home right.
What's a Mortgage Calculator and How Can it Help Me?Blessed technology has given us the power to do for ourselves, what we depended on others to do in the past.
Remember calling the operator for "information?" Remember going to the library to research simple issues? Remember scouring the town for tax forms at the eleventh hour? Well, all of that is behind us now. Technology has turned ours into an independent society of do-it-yourselfers who are learning the information they need is right at their fingertips -- online, of course.
Our agency is thrilled to participate in all that technology offers us - and you, our clients. Now you can not only search for a home online, you can zoom right into the neighborhood via web-based maps that will practically tell you what kind of a bike your 10-year-old neighbor rides.
Tools such as our Mortgage Calculator will help you arm yourself with useful information before you go out shopping for a new home. The Mortgage Calculator is easy to use and will help you figure out what your monthly payments will be on a new home loan.
The Mortgage Calculator's final figure is based on many factors. The form looks something like this (you will fill in the blanks with your information and then click on "calculate"):
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MORTGAGE CALCULATOR |
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The calculator does factor in private mortgage insurance (PMI) for loans with less than a 20 percent down payment (we don't like nasty surprises). This tool isn't intended to replace a qualified agent at all. It's another help to prepare you for the shopping trip of your lifetime. It's our intention to arm you with information so you know what you can expect to pay in advance. You can even request the results show an amortization schedule.
The tool isn't foolproof and it doesn't provide definitive answers. The figures are estimated and while it's great information, it's important that you work with a professional mortgage loan officer to calculate final figures.
Go ahead, find our mortgage calculator for home buyers and try it out for yourself. You may be surprised by how much home you can really afford at today's low interest rates. Not ready to buy? The mortgage calculator is a great tool to help you set goals and work toward becoming a home owner.
Third Quarter National Statistics Show Promising Sales Increase
Third quarter 2009 existing home sales figures are in. The National Association of REALTORS® is reporting a rebound in the existing home market. The association credits the recent increase to first-time home buyers hoping to take advantage of an $8,000 federal tax credit targeting them. In fact, gains in the housing market over the last six months appear to be related to the credit, according to an Oct. 23 report released by NAR.
The term, "existing home sales" refers to:
Sales increased 9.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted rate of 5.57 million units in September compared to 5.09 million in August. The sales rate is 9.2 percent higher than that of September 2008 when 5.10 million units sold.
"Sales activity is at the highest level in over two years, since it hit 5.73 million in July 2007," according to NAR an association that represents 1.2 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.
The association's chief economist, Lawrence Yun, attributes the sales increase to the Federal Stimulus Package's First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit of $8,000 made available to a specific socioeconomic group of Americans. Yun said the tax credit is working, but sites a desperate need for the tax credit to be extended. The tax credit is set to expire Nov. 30. All qualifying home sales must be completed by that date in order for home buyers to be eligible for the stimulus windfall. NAR is pushing for the credit to be expanded to more buyers through the middle of 2010 in order to maintain sales momentum and secure the housing industry's recovery.
While there's talk on Capitol Hill of extending the tax credit, fraudulent claims for the first-time home buyer tax credit have some legislators raising eyebrows. In an Oct. 23 Los Angeles Times business article reporter Tiffany Hsu drew attention to the fact that 90,000 ineligible claimants have applied for the credit including one 4-year-old child.
According to Hsu's article, more than 1.4 million claims have been made for the home buyer's credit. Hundreds of thousands more claims are expected when tax returns are filed in 2010. Feds expect to pay about $18 billion in tax credits. There's talk on the hill of creating better checks and balances and more regulations that specify a minimum home buyer age of 18.
In the NAR report, Yun praised the market's improvement, but said it still has a long way to go. "Despite spectacular gains in the stock market, principally from the financial sector recovery, most of the 75 million home owning families have more wealth tied to their homes. Home values could soon turn consistently positive and help the broad base of middle-class families, but we are not there yet," he said. "We're getting early indications of price stabilization, but we need a steady supply of qualified buyers to meaningfully bring inventories down and return us to a period of normal, steady price growth and to fully remove consumer fears, which would then revive the broader economy. Without a firm foundation for middle-class wealth recovery, the post-recession economic growth likely will be one of the weakest in U.S. history."
On Nov. 13, 2009, NAR will release the 2009 National Association of Realtors® Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers. The report is expected to demonstrate that more than 45 percent of homes sold in the last year were purchased by first-time home buyers. A separate practitioner survey shows distressed homes accounted for 29 percent of transactions in September.
Prices are still low and lenders are willing to finance homes for qualified buyers. Contact us today to begin the search for your quality, affordable home.
Cha-Ching: Home Buyer Tax Credit Extention Looking Good
If you're a potential first-time home buyer lamenting the fact that missed the amazing opportunity to gain an $8,000 tax credit just for purchasing your own home - today you can breath a little easier. The stimulus housing package is scheduled to sunset on Nov. 30, 2009. Now Congress is considering extending that deadline to April 30, 2010.
Bloomberg.com's Brian Faller is reporting a possible tax credit extension could be wrapped up by the US Senate and House as early as Nov. 3. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is credited for scheduling a vote Nov. 2 with the hope of whipping the legislation through the House on Nov. 3. Home buyers aren't the only ones that might get a little extra relief - the unemployed could also be marked in the package for extended benefits.
The result could be a kinder, gentler plan that allows some higher-income buyers to get in on the great deal and expand the parameters of the tax credit to include a $6,500 credit for home buyers who have lived in their prior residences for at least five years, according to Faller's report.
The Joint Committee on Taxation expects the home buyer tax credit revision to cost about $10.8 billion over the next 10 years. How will the Fed's pay for all of this? Multinational companies might not be as delighted as home buyers and the unemployed when they learn a delay in a tax break for the multinational companies could be marked to compensate the government's budget.
Congress is putting its proverbial and collective foot down on a few points:
Contact us today and let us help you prepare to take advantage of this historic opportunity to get paid by the government for buying your own home!
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