Saturday, March 24, 2012

The Seller's Role: How Big Is Their Part?

By Al Heavens
RISMEDIA, Saturday, March 24, 2012— (MCT)—Spring arrived very early this year in much of the country, bringing what traditionally is the best time to buy and sell real estate, even through the downturn. 
Issues of tight credit linger, and median home prices continue to decline, though more slowly.
Yet there appear to be enough positive indicators to push once-reluctant sellers into the market.
Among those pluses: record-low fixed interest rates for mortgages and the highest affordability levels since record-keeping began in the 1970s.
For sellers, it is time for real estate theater. The house is the star. The cast includes agents and brokers, home inspectors, title people, mortgage companies, lenders, underwriters, and, obviously, buyers.
What is the seller’s role, and how big is their part?
Full Article/Source:
http://rismedia.com/rrein/7959/91376/4582391/34623

Good Morning to All on this beautiful, sunny, spring morn in the mountains! This article tells what I have told my sellers - the price has to be right and the home still has to look good. My Sellers follow that direction and make the improvements that appeal to the buyer whilst keeping the price competitive with foreclosures and short sales. BUT, my Sellers have CLEAR TITLES and WARRANTY DEEDS - most foreclosures do not. Buyers must ask themselves "why is this property so cheap?" If you don't see it with your eyes, better read the fine print. Most foreclosures come with an "insurable title" but not a "marketable title" - another reason to have an Agent who is representing your best interest - and that would not be the Bank or their Agent. 

This article is also good news for the buyers, because this will increase the inventory and thus, your options. IT'S A GREAT TIME TO BUY, but a rough time for approval with a bank - before you waste your time or an Agent's time, make sure you are pre-approved for a loan and how much. We have great local banks here that know the value of local property and the strength of the local economy - give them a chance to give you a good deal as well as your home bank.

I look forward to seeing you soon!!!

Thank you, MY SELLERS, you are the best Sellers out there!! Honest, fair, and reasonably priced!

Speaking of honest, I just have to tell you - I have a Seller who had someone contact them directly through the mail to purchase the home "when it expired" and my Seller told him that it will not expire and to contact me, that he would not go around me. The buyer then went to another agent and never made an offer on the home. BUT, I GOT TWO OFFERS ON THE HOME WITHIN TWO WEEKS OF THAT HONESTY AND INTEGRITY from my Seller!

Good still triumphs over evil in the mountains of Young Harris, Hiawassee, and Blairsville, Georgia and Hayesville, North Carolina!!!


Thursday, March 15, 2012

GOOD NEWS! HOUSING IS HEALING!!!

Housing Is Healing: Asking Prices to Show Gain in 2012
RISMEDIA, Thursday, March 15, 2012— For the first time in six years, sellers’ asking prices tracked by the Department of Numbers Website have gone positive on a year-to-year basis, another sign that the housing economy is slowly healing itself.

Sellers’ asking prices nationally first showed a positive year over year gain in December, and increased to 3.9 percent as of March 5.

“I wanted to see January’s data follow suit lest I prematurely announce a sign change only to have it reverse direction the following month. Of course there’s nothing that precludes that even with two months of positive Y/Y numbers, but it does tell me that the housing market is slowly healing itself,” wrote Ben Engebreth, an independent programmer and data analyst who operates the site.

As of March 5, 2012 there were about 858,688 single family and condo homes listed for sale in the 54 metro areas Engebreth tracks. The median asking price of these homes was estimated to be $224,322.2. Since this time last year, the inventory of homes for sale has decreased by 20.5 percent and the median price has increased by 3.9 percent.

“The Y/Y inventory decline of roughly 15 percent (which puts it at an all-time low for the series) offers additional supporting evidence. That’s not to say that we’ll be returning to rapid price appreciation any time soon; I certainly don’t foresee that,” Engebreth wrote.

The median asking price for homes in the US peaked in June 2006 at $319,459 and is now $95,137 (29.8 percent) lower. From a low of $211,844 in January 2011, the median asking price in the US has increased by $12,477 (5.9 percent).

In its January data, REALTOR.com, the massive listings site which also tracks asking prices, reported list prices were up 3.69 percent on the year in the 146 metros it covers. The site reported the top four markets in terms of year over year increases were all in Florida: Miami (up 32.75 percent), Fort Myers-Cape Coral (up 21 percent), Punta Gorda (up 19.33 percent), and West Palm Beach (up 18.60 percent). Inventory was down 23.20 percent on the year.

For more information, visit www.realestateeconomywatch.com.