Alison Moss - Cincinnati Real Estate

CABR released the following press release about May Home Sales in Cincinnati. Home sales locally continued their upward climb last month, as Realtors sold 1,658 units. That’s a 19.8% improvement over April’s sales activity. The average sale price in May was $155,896, a 12.9% improvement over April.

Statewide, the Cincinnati region posted the second highest average selling price last month. Columbus was highest at $168,576. Dayton was at $125,236; Cleveland/Akron $118,016, and Toledo

$104,146.

In comparing month-over-month, May sales were down 13.7% from a year ago. For the first five months, sales were off 14.6% from the same period one year ago. Nationwide, seasonally-adjusted home sales climbed 2.4% in May over April.

“The public continues to buy homes despite a soft economy” said Paul Jacob, president of the Cincinnati Area Board of Realtors. “That’s because continued home buying is a testament to asset building.” Mortgage rates near 5.7% remain favorable, Jacob added. “It’s not as low as two months ago at
5.2%, but it’s better than a year ago when mortgage rates were at 6.7%.”
Inventory of homes available for sales is another plus for buyers. Current inventory is 8.48 months of homes for sale. Last month it was 9.96 months. A year ago it was 8.35 months. A lower number means greater demand for current inventory. A balanced market for buyers and sellers is around six months, and that’s why a buyers’ market still exists.

The current $8,000 tax credit for persons who buy a home that haven’t owned a home in the past three years is another part of a buyer’s current-day advantage. That program expires Nov. 30. Jacob said home buying should continue to improve, as buyers realize that sitting on the fence too long simply delays asset wealth building. Bargains exist today, and smart buyers are doing just that buying smartly.

Cincinnati homeowners and homeowners around the U.S. need to be aware of the following information if they are looking to refinance and are having difficulty getting approved. There are options for refinance and loan modifications mandated by the federal government.

The Making Home Affordable Program was created to assist homeowners whose home values have declined to the point where they may no longer have equity in their homes. So the homeowners have not be able to refinance their homes and take advantage of lower interest rates. In addition, many of these homeowners are also locked in to 3,5 or 7 year adjustable mortgage rates which will soon reset at higher rates. To try to assist these homeowners the federal government started the Making Home Affordable Program. The purpose of the program is to stop the cycle of foreclosures and short sales and to provide homeowners who are in this position to have options to save their home and financial stability. This program has eligibility requirements that must be met. For more information please visit the Making Home Affordable Website. This site helps borrowers learn basic facts about mortgages, homeownership, and resources available, with more than 17.7 million page views in less than two months.

Fourteen servicers, including the five largest, have now signed contracts and begun modifications under MHA. Between loans covered by these servicers and loans owned or securitized by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, more than 75 percent of all loans in the country are now covered by the program. The 14 participating servicers have extended offers on over 55,000 trial modifications and mailed out over 300,000 letters with information about trial modifications to borrowers.

Cincinnati sits atop the list of the most vacant properties in a city. WCPO reported that there are about $4 million vacant properties nationwide. Cincinnati’s Over-the Rhine Neighborhood has the highest vacancy rate in the Tri-State area.

My professional opinion about this situation as a Cincinnati Realtor is that property owners in areas where vacancy rates are elevated, can face delated property values. Before purchasing a property you should always be aware of the sales trend and vacancy rates in that specific area prior to signing any contracts.

RISMEDIA reported record low mortgage interest rates boosted pending home sales for the third consecutive month, with some benefit now from the first-time buyer tax credit, according to the National Association of Realtors.

The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in April, rose 6.7% which is 3.2% above April 2008.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said buyers are responding to very favorable market conditions. “Housing affordability conditions have been at historic highs, but now the $8,000 first-time buyer tax credit is beginning to impact the market,” he said. “Since first-time buyers must finalize their purchase by November 30 to get the credit, we expect greater activity in the months ahead, and that should spark more sales by repeat buyers.”

The Pending Home Sales Index in the Northeast shot up 32.6% to 78.9 in April and is 0.8% above a year ago. In the Midwest the index rose 9.8% to 90.4 and is 11.1% above April 2008. The index in the South slipped 0.2% to 93.0 in April but is 3.5% higher than a year ago. In the West the index rose 1.8% to 94.8 but is 2.9% below April 2008.