Choice Real Estate®

Rockville condos | Rockville townhomes | Rockville houses

FOR LATEST KING FARM LISTINGS (UPDATED DAILY), CLICK HERE

-

4 active KING FARM listings on the market in Montgomery County, MD on 9/24/09:

MC6950611 $329,950 100 WATKINS POND BLVD #2-304

MC7057031 $339,900 101 WATKINS POND BLVD #4-205

MC7111237 $339,900 101 WATKINS POND BLVD #404

MC7153017 $299,800 100 WATKINS POND BLVD #2-204

-

FALLSGROVE REAL ESTATE

Rockville condos | Rockville townhomes | Rockville houses

FOR LATEST FALLSGROVE LISTINGS (UPDATED DAILY), CLICK HERE

-

8 active FALLSGROVE listings for sale in Montgomery County on 9/24/09:

MC7031034 $499,990 110 GARCIA LN

MC7036139 $598,000 9405 BLACKWELL RD #212

MC7103040 $999,500 110 LONG TRAIL TER

MC7106355 $940,000 417 NATURE LN

MC7130983 $399,000 9405 BLACKWELL RD #103

MC7130125 $985,000 202 PRETTYMAN DR

MC7130850 $445,450 208 FALLSGROVE BLVD

MC7160423 $890,000 101 WINDY KNOLL DR

-

KING FARM REAL ESTATE

One thing that is making us feel better about the housing market are positive words from some of the big national homebuilders, who essentially get housing data in real time from around the country. As a result, they don't have the same reporting lag as the data that everyone else must rely on to
gauge the health of the sector. Toll Brothers CEO Robert Toll told CNBC in mid-July that he thinks the housing slide had ended two or three months previously. With their in-house networks, the builders can pick out the strongest markets for home sales.

So where are these markets? Pulte Homes CEO Richard Dugas, also appearing on CNBC, identified the Washington, DC area as "the best market in the country," thanks, in part to the government, which has been adding jobs. "DC has bottomed and is getting better," he said. Dugas said his company is starting to see demand coming back into the market. Pulte just completed a merger with Centex, and is now the largest U.S. homebuilder, so its reach throughout the country is extensive. Bob Toll also picked markets that he thinks are showing signs of recovery: the New York suburbs, Jersey City, Raleigh, Washington DC, along with parts of Virginia, Connecticut, Florida, Delaware and northern California.Even the government data, lagging though it might be, is starting to show improvement.

Freddie Mac recently suggested that "declines in some local housing markets may be nearing an end." Freddie pointed out that median existing home prices rose in 17% of major metropolitan areas in the second quarter from the same period last year, up from 12% showing gains during the first quarter, according to data from the National Association of Realtors. This represents the greatest number of areas experiencing annual growth since the third quarter of 2008, Freddie said. Moreover, 81% of major cities had house prices rise between the first quarter and second quarter of this year, though part of that may have been due to seasonality (prices generally move higher in the spring).

Even the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price indices, a series that is highly publicized and has been relentlessly negative, is showing a positive trend for the first time in many months. The Case-Shiller index logged four consecutive months of improvement in annual returns from January through May (their data lags by about two months). "There is a clear inflection point in the year-over-year data," said S&P, with prices now moving higher. The May data, said S&P "showed 13 of the 20 metro areas reporting positive returns; and the 10-City and 20-City Composites reported positive returns for the first time since the summer of 2006. To put it in perspective, these are the first time we have seen broad increases in home prices in 34 months."

No matter what the data shows, house price appreciation requires confidence in the future of home values. One survey found that 36% of homeowners think their home's value will increase over the next six months, while 47% thought it would stay the same. Only 19% thought that the value would fall. Some commentators saw the survey as evidence that homeowners are clueless FALL continued from page 1 and over-optimistic about their home's value, since there are still "experts" that are calling for yet more price declines. We don't draw the same conclusion. James Surowiecki in his new book, The Wisdom of Crowds, appears to be right on point. "Chasing the expert is a mistake, and a costly one at that. We should stop hunting and ask the crowd...instead. Chances are it knows." Maybe homeowners are better attuned to the value of their home than the experts give them credit for. They know when the house down the block sold for a shockingly low price, it was because the owner was behind on the mortgage and had to sell or that the home's condition was awful.

What we have heard is that most homeowners who are listing these days are very realistic about what price their home might bring. But they also anticipate paying less for their next home than they would have a few years back, so they see the benefits ahead. If we accept the proposition that home prices are at or near their lows, then the other big component of housing costs, mortgage rates, again takes center stage. Right now, with mortgage rates in the low 5% range, they are probably as low as we can expect to see them for years to come. The Federal Reserve was able to push rates down below 5% for a time this year, but that fleeting opportunity has come and gone. Don't count on seeing it again.

In a recent New York Times editorial opinion piece, famed investor Warren Buffet warned that changes in policy by the Federal Reserve and the federal government need to be made in order to avoid runaway inflation. To rein back, the Federal Reserve will have to raise interest rates before too much longer, probably starting in late 2010. Because the financial markets know that, interest rates will start to march higher well before the Fed moves. Memories of high interest rates may have faded, but it should be recalled that as recently as this decade (May 2000), the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was as high as 8 1/2%. That is almost two-thirds higher than where we are now.

While it looks like the housing market is finally stabilizing, most areas will not see big upticks in prices, there are just too many headwinds. That said, there are, surprisingly, a scattering of sellers' markets where prices are getting bid up by eager buyers. Those market conditions are usually a result of prices having been washed out to super-low levels. Much of the strength of the current market has been due to a wave of first time homebuyers. The added incentive of the first-time buyer credit convinced many that they were now able to realize their homeownership dreams. What will happen when that expires later this year is a valid concern. The continued drag of foreclosures is another very serious worry. Late mortgage payments rose to a record high for the second quarter of 2009. Most of the new delinquent borrowers had prime, fixed-rate loans. Previously, delinquencies were mostly among subprime borrowers whose adjustable mortgages had become unaffordable. The understanding is that the new delinquencies
are due to the economy's woes. If a lot of these delinquencies go to foreclosure, that could once again weigh heavily on the market. At present, lenders seem to be carefully managing their foreclosures.

That has created a "shadow inventory" of houses that will become available at some point in the future, but are not reflected on the books as homes for sale right now. Administration efforts to encourage lenders to modify Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans has been disappointing so far. Lenders claim they have been overwhelmed by those seeking modifications. Critics think lenders are just resistent. FHA recently announced a modification program that could help borrowers with FHA loans. ©2009, Real Estate Information Services, Capitol Assets.

Representative Van Hollen:
Please take some time to review the issues of Bill # H.R. 3044. The issue at hand is the Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC) that has been thrust upon an industry vital to our country's economic recovery. This Code is detrimental to the housing sector in a number of ways and has negative repercussions for millions of homeowners and potential homeowners across the country and in your Congressional District - MD 8th.

The HVCC has unemployed hundreds if not thousands of professionals across the real estate industry. The domino has affected the livelihoods of appraisers, mortgage professionals, realtors, settlement officers, home inspectors, handymen, termite inspectors, etc. Many people and industries touch every real estate transaction. This one implemented code has had a negative effect on an entire professional cross section of our country. It is with this in mind that I implore you to add your name as a supporter of H.R. 3044 and assist in ridding this road block to our professional life, your constituents' housing options, and our country's recovery from our current recession.

As a practitioner in the Home Lending industry, I have seen the HVCC backfire many times from it's intended purpose. Attorney General Andrew Cuomo of NY in agreement with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac had the HVCC implemented as a buffer between the mortgage professionals originating loans and the appraisers who valued these collateral properties. A noble idea but a failed one when implemented.

The HVCC has cost the consumer lost interest rate opportunities due to delayed transaction times. To effectively manage this buffer in accordance with the code, institutional investors are relying on 3rd party appraisal management companies (AMC) to manage the ordering and delivery of unbiased, non-pressured property valuations for loan underwriting. These AMC's have member appraisers that they utilize in different geographic areas. The appraisers may be from the same zip code as the subject property or from hundreds of miles away. The pool of experienced appraisers has dwindled since the AMC's became involved in the process as well. Appraisers earn less per appraisal performed because the AMC's deduct their management fee which could be as much as 50 percent from what I have gathered. This reduction in fee has resulted in experienced appraisers having to conduct many times the number of property inspections to earn the same living. As a result, many of these appraisers have left the industry in attempt to locate steady employment leaving the AMC's with inexperienced appraisers from outside an acceptable geographic area from the subject property to perform the requested appraisal. The result has been unacceptable appraisals in terms of finished product and unsupported valuation (both high and low).

The Code also puts pressure on the appraisers to complete the appraisals in unrealistic time frames further reducing the validity of the appraisal. Should an appraiser not complete the assignments as per the exact specifications the AMC's put on them, they risk being black listed for future work. This pressure from the AMC's was one of the issues that the HVCC was supposed to get rid of but has made worse. If a consumer receives a report that they do not agree with, the rebuttal process allowed within the Code is too cumbersome for there to be an effective discussion of the concerns of the consumer. If the value within a report comes in lower than anticipated, not only is time lost attempting to review the information with the appraiser through the AMC's rebuttal process but taking the appraisal in its initial form from one lender to another that may accept the value for their program is unrealistic as well. Portability has been written into the Code as well. Unfortunately, each individual lender has an AMC relationship and will not accept an appraisal not done through their AMC protocol. Add in the new addition of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (HERA) and the appraisal ordering implications of this law, the portability issue is further complicated. Most times the only option is to order a new appraisal at an additional cost to the consumer and hope the new appraisers' opinion of value equals or exceeds the prior appraisers' opinion. If it doesn't, the transaction is dead at the second lender.

The opinion of value of an appraiser is just that, the opinion of a professional valuator. When the professional is inexperienced and from another area than the subject property, the losers in the process are the customer who can no longer complete the home purchase they were attempting, the economy because of the borrower who can no longer refinance their high rate loan they are struggling to pay, and of course the institutional investors who should have a new performing loan on their books to profit from and the old struggling loan off their books that could ultimately result in foreclosure further depreciating the local real estate market and our county's economic recovery.

Thank you for taking the time to review my words and for the difficult work you do to better our district and our country. I look forward to seeing your name appear as a supporter of this very important moratorium agenda.

8,000 home buyer credit soon to expire
There's a Federal income-tax credit available to first-time home buyers for 10% of the property purchase price (up to a total of $8,000).

The credit's availability is, however, about to expire.

Unless the credit's legislatively extended (and I've heard nothing about its extension), no home purchase which closes after November 30 of this year will qualify.

Are you a first-time home buyer?

The fact you may own property which has never been your principal residence doesn't disqualify you for this tax credit.

if you pay combined Federal income taxes of more than $4,600 a year and you buy a house for $460,000 and close on it before November 30, then this tax credit is the same thing as the taxpayers of the U.S. giving you both a tax-free gift of $4,600--10% of your home's purchase price.

As it happens, the average price of a house in Montgomery County is presently $460,000.

That's 14% lower than the average price a year ago.

Having the taxpayers give you 10% of a home purchase price isn't to be sneezed at.

Currently renting w/a Landlord interested in selling? You might want to consider this very real possibility in whatever price negotiations you undertake with him/her.

But, remember, you have to close on a home purchase before November 30 to qualify for this tax credit.

That means you'd almost have to have a purchase contract signed by about the end of September.

So, if you're still interested in buying a house you need to start doing some serious negotiating right away if you want this tax credit.

To learn more, contact a loan officer;
Virginia, homebuyer tax credit | Maryland, 8,000 tax credit | D.C., 8,000 credit | Delaware homebuyer 8000 | Montgomery County first time buyer credit | Fairfax VA home buyer 8k credit