November 2009 Click here to sign up to receive this newsletter regularly via email. WELCOME TO JILL'S REAL ESTATE NEWSLETTER FOR THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER
Wishing all of you a HAPPY THANKSGIVING
Big Rebound in Existing-Home Sales
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said favorable conditions matched with a tax credit are boosting home sales. “Much of the momentum is from people responding to the first-time buyer tax credit, which is freeing many sellers to make a trade and buy another home,” he said. “We are hopeful the tax credit will be extended and possibly expanded to more buyers, at least through the middle of next year, because the rising sales momentum needs to continue for a few additional quarters until we reach a point of a self-sustaining recovery.”Even with the improvement, Yun said the market is underperforming. “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. Conditions for First-Time Buyers
Early information from a large annual consumer study to be released on Nov. 13, the 2009 National Association of REALTORS® Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers,shows that first-time home buyers accounted for more than 45 percent of home sales during the past year. A separate practitioner survey shows that distressed homes accounted for 29 percent of transactions in September. NAR President Charles McMillan said affordability conditions remain historically high. “Potential first-time buyers can take heart in that affordability conditions this year are the highest on record dating back to 1970, but with the first-time buyer tax credit scheduled to expire at the end of next month, people could hold back from entering the market,” he said. “Our read is that housing overshot on the downside because homes are selling for less than replacement construction costs in much of the country, and the home price-to-income ratio has fallen below the historical average.” Inventory Falls
Total housing inventory at the end of September fell 7.5 percent to 3.63 million existing homes available for sale, which represents an 7.8-month supply at the current sales pace, down from an 9.3-month supply in August. Unsold inventory totals are 15.0 percent below a year ago. According to Freddie Mac, the national average commitment rate for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage fell to 5.06 percent in September from 5.19 percent in August; the rate was 6.04 percent in September 2008. Here’s the region-by-region picture: Northeast: Existing-home sales increased 4.4 percent to an annual level of 950,000 in September, and are 11.8 percent higher than September 2008. The median price was $234,700, down 7.0 percent from a year ago.
Midwest: Existing-home sales jumped 9.6 percent in September to a pace of 1.25 million and are 7.8 percent above a year ago. The median price was $147,600, which is 1.0 percent below September 2008.
South: Existing-home sales rose 9.0 percent to an annual level of 2.06 million in September and are 10.8 percent higher than September 2008. The median price was $153,500, down 7.6 percent from a year ago.
West: Existing-home sales surged 13.0 percent to an annual rate of 1.30 million in September and are 5.7 percent above a year ago. The median price in the West was $219,000, which is 15.0 percent below September 2008. Source: NAR
Build the Perfect Home Office
As more and more companies are allowing their employees to work from home, the need for a sufficient home office space is becoming increasingly important to homeowners. The following tips will help you create the perfect home office.
Create a House Hunt Checklist
Are you on the house hunt? Touring dozens of homes can be an overwhelming process for anybody. If you find yourself asking whether it was the second or the ninth house with that great fireplace, then you may need a better way to organize your observations. One of the best ways to do this is by creating a checklist. Consider ranking elements like the home, neighborhood and schools on a scale as either "good", "average" or "poor".
Prepping Your Home for Sale
Preparing your home to be listed can be an overwhelming task for some. But with "94.6% of Associate Staged Professional (ASP) Staged Homes selling on average in 35 days or less", according to StagedHomes.com, taking the time to prepare your home for sale is an important task.
Savory Seasonal Dishes
With Thanksgiving right around the corner, we wanted to bring you and your family some savory seasonal dishes to enjoy throughout the month. These recipes come from the 50th anniversary edition of Real Living's cookbook. Enjoy!
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