Today's Real Estate Reality Blog
Home Sellers – Feeling Lucky With Your Real Estate Sale?
August 24, 2010 by James K Barath, CMPS · 2 Comments
In case you missed this morning’s headline, Existing Home Sales Swan Dive. That’s right. Sales of existing home sales plummeted 27.2 percent in July. Furthermore, the National Association of Realtors stated that July’s existing home sales is the lowest reading since NAR has been keeping track.
It should also be noted that total housing inventory increased by 2.5 percent in July. It will now take up to 12.5 months to sell the existing homes inventory.
What does this mean for home sellers?
If you’re a home seller, there’s no more time to waste on hoping for a buyer to come along and pay you what you think your home is worth. It’s time for home sellers to get serious and figure out what is their liquidation home sale price.
What are the odds that home sellers will actually sell their homes?
Every real estate market is different, but the growing consensus is the same. Successful real estate transactions are becoming more difficult by the day whether it is due to inflexible home sellers, home buyers remorse, unflattering home inspections and/or below market value home appraisals.
Other mind numbing real estate headlines for home sellers to think about.
- Redfin: Less Than Half of All Home-Sale Attempts Successful in ’09 - The Wall Street Journal
- Nearly Half of the Homes on the Market in July 2010 Had Prices Cut, According to ZipRealty – RISMedia
If home sales is a game of numbers, wouldn’t you want to be on the side with the highest probability of success. Understanding the dynamics of the real estate market is one aspect that your real estate professional must grasp. Working with a local real estate professional who can provide clarity is a must.
Otherwise, if you’re feeling lucky your best bet for your home sale may come down to the flip of a coin.
What’s News for Mortgage Rates This Week: August 23rd
August 23, 2010 by James K Barath, CMPS · 4 Comments
If you’re a fan of cliff diving, last week was your week. It was full of economic reports that took a nose dive for the real estate industry, mortgage markets and the overall economy.
Mortgage bonds and mortgage rates took a beating while all ears were listening to hear the outcome and recommendations of the “Future of Housing Finance” conference last Tuesday. At the end of the day, the majority of opinions agreed to the fact that government still needs to be involved in the housing market in the form of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and FHA.
In other real estate specific news, not only did the NAHB Housing Market Index fall short of estimates, so did housing starts and building permits. These combined reports proved that the housing tax credit may have done more harm than good to the housing industry.
Although the manufacturing indexes showed signs of improvement, the fact that Initial Claims came in well above expectations drew skepticism about the health of the employment markets. Furthermore, the buzz has begun about a second dip in the economy if new jobs are not created. Jobs is extremely important to the economy and the recovery of home values.
Highlights for this week’s news will be the Existing Home Sales Report on Tuesday and the New Home Sales Report on Wednesday. These two reports will either confirm the dismal state of the housing industry post-homebuyer tax credit or show a new spark for the real estate industry.
Durable Goods Report will be released on Wednesday and the all important Gross Domestic Product Report on Friday. Collectively, these two reports will provide greater detail on economic activity and specifically in which direction the economy is heading.
The report that has garnished the most weekly attention will be released on Thursday….Initial and Continuing Jobless Claims Report. As the summer comes to an end, will the seasonal employment surge now become a major drag on any potential recovery. The lack of jobs still is a big key to real estate.
This is What’s News for Mortgage Rates This Week: August 23rd.
Quick general rule of thumb when keeping an eye on mortgage rates.
Strong Economic News: $$$ from Bonds —> Stocks = Home Loan Rates Worsen
Weak Economic News: $$$ from Stocks —> Bonds = Home Loan Rates Improve
Want to see what other economic reports might impact home buyers and home refinance options in the coming week? Visti the Mortgage Market Update and check out the Economic Calendar.
Buying a house? The last thing you want is an unsuccessful closing. Check out the Mortgage Market Guide View for some tips that will help ensure your home buying experience moves in the right direction.
This Weekend–Fun Events Around Portage Indiana
August 20, 2010 by Steve Cardwell · 1 Comment
Portage Indiana is the hub for a wide range of family friendly activities. If you are looking for something to do this weekend consider starting your search with these. In addition to a long list of year-round leisure activities, here are a few special events to consider for this weekend only.
Farmers Markets
Portage Farmer’s Market, Founder’s Square Park, Portage Indiana
Sundays 11-4pm, ongoing through September
Chesterton European Market, Broadway & 3rd, Downtown Chesterton Indiana.
Saturdays 8am-2pm, ongoing through October
Amusement Fair & Expo
Taste of Porter County runs Friday evening, Saturday and Sunday all day. You will soon appreciate all that Porter has to offer when you tour this large venue and see all that our local community has to offer. Plus, it is FREE admission to this event with a wide variety of family activities, music, cars & bikes, and vendors showcasing food and fun. Located at the Porter County Expo Center, Hwy 49, Valparaiso Indiana.
Boat Show
Michigan City kicks off the annual In-Water Boat Show, with a variety of yachts, sailboats, and runabouts on display from area boat dealers. The show runs Thursday through Sunday, 11am until dusk, in Washington Park, Michigan City Indiana.
Art Festival
Enjoy a Two-Fer in Michigan City Indiana with the Lubeznik Center for the Arts is hosting their Lakefront Art Festival corresponding with the Boat Show. Both events are within walking distance of each other. Artists will have work on display to view and purchase. There are food vendors and hands-on art demonstrations. The Lubeznik Center is located North of Rte. 12 at the corner of Pine and 2nd St.
Baseball
This weekend it’s a pair of home games against the Rockford Riverhawks, Friday at 6p and Saturday at 2pm. Friday’s game features a post-game fireworks show. On Wednesday a group of 25 dedicated fans from Ogden Dunes Indiana cheered on the Cats to defeat the Schaumburg Flyers at the Steelyard Stadium, Gary Indiana. Check their site for the complete schedule of upcoming games.
Check with these links to verify the schedules. Some events have admission and parking fees. And if you are visiting from outside Porter County, picture yourself living in one of these unique coastal communities. I can help you find out more.
Summer’s End in Crown Point Indiana
August 18, 2010 by Cathy Mattan · 3 Comments
August 19th..
The big day for all school age children in Crown Point, Indiana. It is like the night before Christmas as all the children in Crown Point, Indiana are going to bed all eager, excited, and ready to see what the next day will bring. The first day of school in Crown Point, Indiana. Preparing for the big day in Crown Point, Indiana; laying out their new clothes, loading the book bags, and getting to bed early is all part of getting ready for the first day of school in Crown Point, Indiana.
Crown Point, Indiana home of The Bulldogs! Soon it will be Friday night football games and the homecoming parade around the square.
Understand Property Values Foot-By-Foot
August 18, 2010 by Steve Cardwell · 1 Comment
To understand real estate property values one measurement that’s mentioned frequently is Price-Per-Square-Foot. Simply put it is the PRICE of your home divided by its AREA. In other words, how much you are paying for each 12 inch by 12 inch square. Easy right? If you have ever hired a contractor or bought carpet, they probably gave you a quote based on the size of the job or AREA of the rooms.
The most important reason for buyers and sellers to use this calculation is so you can compare homes of different sizes. If one home is twice the size as another similar property it’s PRICE should be twice as much.
Comparing homes by price per square foot can give us great insights far beyond mere structure. Certainly we get a feel for it’s condition, and the quality of it’s construction, but beyond that are the amenities & landscaping, location of the home, even the surrounding community. All these add up to the home’s desirability or its’ value.
But let’s expand our view. Are there vacant homes on this block? Does one family have junk cars and trash all over? What price value can we put on a superior school system in dollar terms? Are there parks, a library, medical facilities and shopping nearby? How much is a lakefront property worth more than one with just a lake view?
Taken together, do these outside factors of the surrounding community give the house more value or take some value away? Understanding the price-per-foot measurement can be used not just for individual homes, but also for specific price segments, micro-neighborhoods, subdivisions, even entire towns.
Here is an example of how prices have fluctuated in Portage Indiana over the past year, measured in price per square foot terms. Notice a 10% drop occurred in the average from $103 to $93 last Winter, then recently there has been a modest rebound.
So what changed exactly? What made homes suddenly less desirable, then become more valuable again? Obviously none of the homes changed location. Did the local home center have a clearance sale on granite counter-tops? Probably not. But the desirability of Portage Indiana real estate did change, first down, then up again, as reflected in hard dollars. Since the homes themselves didn’t change much, we will have to blame those mysterious “market forces”.
In future posts we will further break down the components that create and bend these forces in more detail. For now just understand that the large sized numbers of real estate prices can be scaled down to the size of a shiny piece of 12 inch glazed ceramic tile that you can hold in your hand.
