Archive for February, 2010
Get Your Listings Out of the Winter Blues
With the market heating up early this year because of expiring tax credits, more practitioners will find themselves showing—and selling—properties in the cold.
Here are some suggestions for bringing a little warmth to the sale:
* Keep safe. Make sure the walkways and the driveways are shoveled, sanded, and sprinkled with snowmelt or salt on them.
* Go shoeless. Ask potential buyers to remove their boots so they don’t track mush through the house or slip on a puddle. Offer them a pair of disposable slippers instead.
* Hide the shovel. Leaving snow-removal equipment in plain sight is an unnecessary reminder that there is work involved in homeownership.
* Light a fire in the fireplace. Nothing makes a house seem cozier than a warm fire on a cold day.
* Turn up the heat. If the house is cold, it will feel dank and it may smell that way too.
* Show the home in summer. An album of photos of the yard in bloom will help buyers envision themselves living there.
Source: Newsday, Laura Koss-Feder (01/29/2010)
Front Gate Properties, We’re selling the BEST Real Estate in Aiken, SC.
More Borrowers Lower Mortgages With Refis
In the fourth quarter of 2009, 33 percent of borrowers refinanced their loans and in the process, lowered the principal balance, Freddie Mac reported in its quarterly Refinance Report.
That’s the highest cash-in refinance share since Freddie Mac began tracking refinance transactions in 1985.
The share of borrowers who increased their loan balances by 5 percent or more during the fourth quarter was at a record low of 27 percent. From September of 2008 to November 2009, consumers cut $100 billion in revolving debt from their obligations, according to the Federal Reserve Board.
Source: Freddie Mac (01/26/2010)
Front Gate Properties, We’re selling the BEST Real Estate in Aiken, SC.
4 Demographic Trends That Will Affect Housing
A new report from the Urban Land Institute predicts two major changes in the U.S. housing market as we began a new decade.
* Home appreciation will slow considerably to about 1 percent to 2 percent annually.
* The current U.S. homeownership rate, now at 67 percent (which is down from a record high of 69 percent), will fall further to about 62 percent.
4 Major Demographic Trends
The report also cites four major U.S. demographic trends that will have a major impact on housing.
1. Aging baby boomers (ages 55 to 64 years old): They will keep working, and many will be forced to stay in their suburban homes until values recover. Those who are able to move will choose mixed-age living environments that cater to active lifestyles. Walkable suburban town centers also will appeal to this group.
2. Younger baby boomers (46 to 54 years old): They are now entering their prime earning years but they will lack home equity and unlike the older members of their generation, they won’t be able to purchase second homes. This will likely curb the prospects for the second-home market.
3. Generation Y: They are larger than the baby boom generation (with a population of about 86 million). As they enter the housing market, they are less interested in homeownership than their parents were when they were young adults. “They will be renters by necessity or choice for years ahead,” says John K. McIlwain, author of the report.
4. Immigrants – both legal and illegal: They are nearly 40 million strong. They often prefer multi-generational households and if they can afford them, larger homes in neighborhoods with a strong sense of community.
Source: The Urban Land Institute (01/27/2010)
Front Gate Properties, We’re selling the BEST Real Estate in Aiken, SC.
Fannie to Offer Closing Cost Aid on Foreclosures
Fannie Mae, the largest provider of residential home funding in the United States, announced Friday that it would pay the closing costs on purchases of foreclosed homes in its inventory.
The government-controlled company said buyers of qualified properties will get up to 3.5 percent in closing costs, or an equivalent amount for the purchase of new appliances.
The goal of Fannie is to clear out the nearly 50,000 properties it has in inventory— listed on HomePath.com, the Web site created by Fannie Mae last year to sell the growing number of foreclosed homes.
“Attracting qualified buyers to the market and reducing inventory of vacant homes is critical to stabilizing neighborhoods and helping the market recover,” said Terry Edwards, executive vice president for credit portfolio management, in a statement.
Source: Reuters News, Al Yoon (01/28//2010)
Front Gate Properties, We’re selling the BEST Real Estate in Aiken, SC.