Elizabeth Veilleux

Join agents of Keller Williams for a lunch tomorrow...

Date: Tuesday Dec. 16th

Time: 11:30 to 1:30

Location: 1210 Duke Street at Alexander Court

Come for some lunch and to see these exquisite coastal cottages. You won't believe the craftsmanship and attention to detail.

While you enjoy your lunch feel free to preview the furnished model as well as get more information on other floor plans available.

For those of you that don't know I moved from San Diego, CA and still hold my license there. The owner of my old office sent this article out to myself and the other agents today. He also said that for the past 4 months the median prices in the San Diego area have remained level. Also the inventory supply at the end of August stood at 4.8 months, down from nearly 16 months at the beginning of this year. This is great news and appears to be an idicator that the local market in San Diego has bottomed out. Since this is an area to watch to get an idea of where our market is headed I thought I would share. Just stay positive and focused on taking good care of your clients and you'll get through this shift in the market!

Breaking News: Good News for Real Estate? Largest Monthly Home Sale Percentage Increase in 5 Years Reported

Posted in: Today's Top Story

RISMEDIA, Oct. 24, 2008-Due to falling real estate prices and rising foreclosures on the West Coast, sales of existing homes rose to its highest level in 13 months and highest percentage increase in five years, according to a report issued today by the National Association of Realtors (NAR). The increase resulted from buyers responding to improved housing affordability conditions, the organization stated.

Existing-home sales-including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops-rose 5.5% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.18 million units in September from a level of 4.91 million in August, and are 1.4% higher than the 5.11 million-unit pace in September 2007.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said more markets are seeing year-over-year gains. "The sales turnaround which began in California several months ago is broadening now to Colorado, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri and Rhode Island," he said. "The South was hampered by much lower home sales in Houston in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike."

NAR President Richard F. Gaylord, a broker with RE/MAX Real Estate Specialists in Long Beach, Calif., said low home prices and low interest rates have been attracting buyers. "This is the first time since November 2005 that home sales have been above year-ago levels," he said. "Credit tightened at the end of September, but the improvement demonstrates that buyers who've been on the sidelines want to get into the market to make a long-term investment in their future."

According to Freddie Mac, the national average commitment rate for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage fell to 6.04% in September from 6.48% in August; the rate was 6.38% in September 2007.

Yun said there may be market disruptions. "The credit markets are not settled yet, although the mortgage market stabilized with the government takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Inventory remains high, and price declines are pressuring owners," he said. "Additional housing stimulus would stabilize prices more quickly, which in turn would bring faster stability to Wall Street. Removing the repayment feature on the first-time buyer tax credit and permanently raising loan limits would bring more buyers into the market and further reduce inventory."

Total housing inventory at the end of September fell 1.6% to 4.27 million existing homes available for sale, which represents a 9.9-month supply² at the current sales pace, down from a 10.6-month supply in August. This marks two consecutive monthly declines since inventories peaked in July.

The national median existing-home price for all housing types was $191,600 in September, down 9.0% from a year ago when the median was $210,500. "Compared to a fairly small share of foreclosures or short sales a year ago, distressed sales are currently 35 to 40% of transactions. These are pulling the median price down because many are being sold at discounted prices," Yun explained. "The current market is not being dominated by speculative investors. Rather, 80% of current buyers are purchasing a primary residence, which is a bit higher than historic norms."

Single-family home sales increased 6.2% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.62 million in September from a pace of 4.35 million in August, and are 3.8% above the 4.45 million-unit level a year ago. The median existing single-family home price was $190,600 in September, which is 8.6% below September 2007.

Existing condominium and co-op sales were unchanged at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 560,000 units in September, but are 15.7% below the 664,000-unit pace in September 2007. The median existing condo price4 was $199,400 in September, down 10.2% from a year ago.

Regionally, existing-home sales in the West jumped 16.8% to an annual rate of 1.25 million in September, and are 34.4% higher than September 2007. The median price in the West was $253,600, down 18.5% from a year ago.

In the Midwest, existing-home sales increased 4.4% to an annual pace of 1.19 million in September, but are 2.5% below a year ago. The median price in the Midwest was $152,500, which is 7.9% lower than September 2007.

Existing-home sales in the South rose 2.2% in September to a pace of 1.90 million but remain 7.8% below September 2007. The median price in the South was $167,200, down 4.1% from a year ago.

In the Northeast, existing-home sales slipped 1.2% to an annual pace of 840,000 in September, and are 7.7% lower than a year ago. The median price in the Northeast was $246,800, down 5.4% from September 2007.

For more information, visit www.realtor.org/.

RISMedia welcomes your questions and comments. Send your e-mail to: realestatemagazinefeedback@rismedia.com.

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Hey Everyone!

I will be holding an open house tomorrow Thursday October 23rd from 11:30-1:30pm. Scott Bingham will also be holding an open house at the same time down the street. I encourage you to stop by to see him first as he will be serving lunch and I will have the dessert! I look forward to seeing everyone tomorrow :-)

Locations:

1035 Otter Circle Beaufort, SC 29902

114 Five Oaks Circle Beaufort, SC 29902

Click on the addresses above to learn more about each specific property.

Now military Members and/or their dependents that are forced to move out of their rental because a foreclosure action is taken against their landlord are authorized a short distance move. If you know someone in this situation it is also advised that they go to their legal office for guidance. For more information on this you can go to:

http://www.dfas.mil/mil-news/september2008/foreclosure.html

So I received an email today that had some great news. First of all, the number of pending homes has increased as well as the number of mortgage applications. While these numbers have increased interest rates have been lowered. This is great news for everyone! Let's stop listening to the negative and concentrate on the facts, which seem to be much more positive then some want to point out.

I have included several articles that I thought I would share with you.

Pending home sales up 7.4% in August - USA Today

Mortgage Applications Rise as Home Loan Rates Dip - CNBC

Mortgage rates slip to 5.94% - CNN Money