Kay Baker

Realtors are asking for a buydown on the rate to 4.5%

With a new President on January 20, 2009, just exactly what does this mean to the housing market. No one knows for sure exactly what this will mean, but, we are hearing pleas from Realtors nationwide. The National Association of Realtors and Realogy Corporation, a global provider for real estate and relocation, have both submitted a proposal to Congress for a federal buy down of the interest rates to 4.5%. "There are millions of credit-worthy people ready to jump back into the housing market, but they need to be motivated," said Realogy President and CEO Richard A. Smith. "In our view, the incentive of substantially lower mortgage rates would directly stimulate the housing market -- both in sales volume and price -- and thus accelerate the overall U.S. economic recovery." They are proposing that the buy down could be funded from the $700 Billion federal plan to put liquidity back into the markets. The buy down proposed would apply to the purchase of all homes under $1 Million Dollars. The NAR is also asking for a temporary $7500 tax credit for all buyers. There is also a request to make permanent the FHA limits to $729,750.

Realogy Corporation conducted a survey amongst their 2300 independently owned and operated real estate companies such as Century 21 and Coldwell Banker and the brokers unanimously stated that they predicted an increase in home sales if the interest rates were in the 4.5% range. Rest of the story...

Selling your home

Selling your home could be one of the most important decisions you will make in your lifetime. And if you are like most sellers, your ultimate goal is to tell your home for the most money in the shortest possible amount of time.

If your home has been on the market and you have not received any offers you're probably facing the question of what to do. If your house stays on the market too long without selling it can begin to appear "stale" and can actually damage your future chances of a sale.
How long is too long? If your home has been on the market for as much as 45 days and you have not received an offer, you need to pay special attention to these tips from a longtime professional Realtor. Rest of the story....

"The answer, my friend, is blowin in the wind. The answer is blowin in the wind" Bob Dylan. Where is the answer? While the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department think they have the answer. Congress thinks they have the answer and Wall Street has a bailout, now the Auto Industry is looking for help. With so many plans and paths the consumer is confused and has no confidence in our economic system right now. So they sit and wait and hold on to what they have. What is the answer for the consumer?

We continue to be down in sold units but our bright spot is our rolling 12 month average sales price which is now just behind 2007 by $12,674, this represents a minus 4.7%. In units we are showing a 26.7% decline. Most agents will agree that it is a buyer's market when the listing inventory exceeds 6 months; we are there at 16.4 month supply of homes. We have a few plus factors - Our listing inventory has about peaked out as anticipated and the average list price has remained stable - the last 5 months it has remained in the $420,000's and November it is just under target at $418,684. The amount of sellers paying concessions is 21.3%, we want this number going down and it went down from last month. Our average days on the market are 116 days which is typical for a buyer's market it went up by 2 days over last month. Then I look at the factors that are slowing us down. The list to sold ratio is 94.7% we want this number to be going up, and it went down .06% from last month. Our sold units over last year same month is down by 24.9%. One area I continue to look at is the Pending Inventory, and based on the current numbers we will see decreases as we approach the winter. Our pending inventory numbers have gone from the high 900's the first week of July into the mid 840's the first part of August and into the mid 760's the first week of September and into the high 690's the first week of October and we are now approaching the low 600's here in mid November. I would like to tell you that we are reaching bottom, some interesting facts; Average list price had been in the $420,000's for the last 5 months, sellers paying concessions has stayed the same range for 3 months and the rolling 12 month average sales price is only down 4.7%.More stats...

As a long time local Realtor, I have seen many closings get postponed or never closed due to the fault of a lender or an attorney. Many times a purchaser will get to the day of closing and the lender will then start asking for additional documentation. These documents should have been requested 2 to 3 weeks prior to closing. I have often put these buyers in touch with a reputable lender that could get the loan documented and closed in a matter of days. Remember, a good buyer's agent will put you in contact with lenders that can usually get the job done quickly.More.....

1) Get pre-approved by a reputable lender- Be sure you have a pre-approval letter in hand and present it with your offer to assure your strongest bargaining position.
2) Sell your present home first- Contingency offers are not at all appealing to most sellers. The seller has to typically wait until your house sells before he gets his money. Therefore, the seller is not willing to negotiate with you. So, either wait for your home to sell or get preapproved for a bridge loan in the event your home does not sell. Chances are pretty good that you may sell your present home before your closing on the new home.
3) Hire a top notch buyer's agent- You need a knowledgeable Realtor with local expertise in the market place. You Realtor will work on your behalf and negotiate the best price and terms for you. In addition, your expert Realtor will assist with the home inspection, appraisal, and closing details.More....