Arthur Chapman

Demand is back! The pending index is consistenly above 3 sales per day for the first time since August 08. We have over 170 pending sales in Newport County, again, as high as it's been since late summer. Sign calls, internet inquiries, corporate leads from website.. all are up significantly!

Interest rates at historic lows! Buyers are recognizing the opportunity of a lifetime!! Time to BUY!!

When will we see a bottom in the real estate market? How do we know when things are starting to stabilize and "this is the time to get in" will become the prevailing attitude.

How do you catch a falling knife?

Instead of waiting until the "absolutely best time to buy", focus on your financial situation, the local market trends and your real needs. If you are renting, you should seriously consider buying - NOW!

With interest rates hovering in the 5% range, prices are down significantly and sellers getting more anxious by the day - it's time to jump in.. the water's fine.

Of course you need to know your local employment situation. If there are companies in the area that are in trouble and you expect layoffs, perhaps caution would be a good course at this point. But if the area has a stable employment base.. buy. Perhaps even buy a multi-family that can pay a portion of your mortgage!

In any case, make sure you team up with an experienced Realtor and get them to be your Buyers Agent. That way, you have a professional on your side at no cost!

48%.

102 vs. 49.

Wow.

In January and February in 2008 there were 102 sales in Newport County. Same time period in 2009 - 49! Down 48%. Today is the last day for closings this month and I don't expect we'll see 53 closings, perhaps 15 or so..maybe.

The GOOD news is that the pending index is up, not dramatically, but up. There are 140 pending sales in Newport County and the index is approaching 3 pendings per day, so we should see an increase in closings for March/April.

Keep Hope Alive!

We are in the midst of a refi BOOM! Speaking with my good friends in the mortgage business and they are swamped! One of the problems, however, is that if you bought in the past year or two you may have very little equity in the property, so refinancing isn't so easy. But the phone is ringing at the mortgage companies and many deals are being done!

I have a good friend who is in the Title business in New Mexico. He reports that the market is picking up significantly out there!

The sales market in southern RI is certainly picking up. I am very impressed with the number of sign calls. To me, sign calls are a strong indicator of emotional interest. People want that information NOW! They don't want to wait until they get home and look it up on web or look in the local newspaper... wait.. who reads newspapers anymore?

Anyway, around here we are seeing VERY good interest.

Keep Hope Alive!

I've finished the stats for one of the ugliest years on record in Newport County. 2008 was truly terrible on a lot of levels... Here's the highlights - or lowlights! Transactions - 730 total transactions - down 22% from 2007 Average Sales price - When you combine all properties average sales price was down 13% and median was down 9%. Here's an interesting chart on where we stand compared to 1/1/05: 2005 2008 % Change Number of Sales 1,216 730 -39.97% Average List Price $ 594,541 $ 568,106 -4.45% Average Sales Price $ 562,595 $ 520,133 -7.55% Median List Price $ 459,558 $ 379,000 -17.53% Median Sale Price $ 441,804 $ 350,000 -20.78% DOM 108 127 17.23% Prices will continue to slide in 2009. Best bet is a further erosion of value by approximately 7% to 10% for average sales price and 5% to 7% for median sales price. Listing prices are critically important. Please explain to your sellers that going UNDER what the property may list for will result in good interest. Our employment base continues to grow with the scheduled 800 net increase in jobs at the US Naval Base in Newport along with an increase in student population from current 6,000 to 16,000. Also the recent news of General Dynamics being awarded a $14B contract to build submarines will add 300 jobs to North Kingstown. While 2008 has been an awful year, there continues to be brighter days on the horizon and it's getting better every day. Market conditions can always be found on my website at www.arthurchapman.raveis.com. Click Local Housing Data.