The overall health of the Hampton Roads real estate market is showing strong signs of improvement. With the current inventory levels holding steady and sales continuing to rise.

As with any market, the real estate market utilizes key indexes to judge the health of the market. Based on the indexes know as the "absorption rate", "months' supply" and List Price to Sale Price (lp/sp).

It is widely accepted that a healthy market, where neither the seller nor the buyer have an advantage over the other, has a 6 month supply of inventory.

It is interesting to see the LP/SP comparison. That is how low home sellers are actually accepting (sale price), on average, when compared to their LP (list price).

Virginia Beach has a 7.39 months supply of residential real estate, that is at its current rate of home sales and inventory it will take just over 7 months to sell all the existing homes. The average home sale in Virginia Beach was $277,000 represent just under 3% of the average list price of $286,000.

This also indicates that home sellers have moved their home prices to "rock bottom" leaving little room to negotiate both closing cost and sales price. As the months supply reaches 6 months, we will begin to see sale prices increase slightly along with fewer buyers' concessions accepted.

While it is not generally reported in the MLS, it is understood that many home buyers continue to ask for, and receive closing cost assistance from the seller anywhere from 2 to 4 percent.

Interest rates are low! Most recently rates have dipped to the low 5's, home prices have dropped to "rock bottom" and sellers are still providing some concessions. If you have been sitting on the fence just thinking about purchasing a home the time has come to get off the fence and to call me for a no obligation home buyers consultation.

Sean Schroeder, REALTOR
The Real Estate-XChange
757-839-3954
SeanSchroeder@757realproperty.com

Moving to Virginia Beach due to military orders?

You just received your orders to transfer to NAS Oceana, Dam Neck, NOB or any of the other bases in Virginia Beach and Norfolk. Now you need to determine your next step.

A military relocation to a new city can be very stressful, and in some cases complicate. After all you are packing up your family, your property, and saying good-bye to friends and family, then moving it to a new home possibly across the country. This is no easy task!

My job, as a military relocation specialist, is to help make the entire process as easy as possible. To work with you and your family to find that PERFECT place that you can call home. As a professional Real Estate Agent helping the military members of the US Armed Forces relocate to Virginia Beach is my top priorityl. I can provide you with great tools, at no cost to you. These tools can help you search and categorize all of the available homes that meet your specifications.

Wether you are looking to purchase or sell a condo, townhouse, single family detached in Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake I am here to help you with all of your real estate needs.

Feel free to call me at 757-839-3954 or email me

Is City Assessment of any real value, other than to the City?

I like looking at numbers, specifically numbers that have some bearing on the real estate market in the cities that I work in. I ran a simple MLS report looking for all the SOLD transactions in the City of Chesapeake between 3/9/2009 and 4/8/2009.

The resulting report showed 181 Sold Listings, the average sold property is a 3 Bedroom, 2 Bath, 2,095 Sqr Ft home with a sale price of $272,000 sqr feet with an average of 97 days on the market.

I then looked at city assessments versus the sale price on the average home sold. I ran my second report based on the average sold home in Chesapeake, Va., with a sales price between $260K and $280K, and a closed date between 3/9/2009 and 4/8/2009.

The resulting report only identified 12 homes out of the original 181 sold homes in Chesapeake. The average sale price of these homes was $270,000 for a 3 bedroom, 2 bath home with 2,013 sq. ft.

I then looked at the sale price and the tax assessment of each home. Here is what I found:

8 out of 12 homes sold for less than the city assessment!

In the cities I work in, the city assessment should reflect the Fair Market Value of a home. In the sample case, I found that the city of Chesapeake Va, was off by an average 7%. On a home assessed at $200,000 the actual Fair Market Value would be about $186,000. Currently the city of Chesapeake charges $1.04 per $100 of assessed value in Non-Mosquito controlled areas.

Assuming the city over valued a home by $14,000 resulting in an assessment of $200,000 the tax paid will be $2,080. The tax paid on the fair market value, $186,000 would be $1,934 resulting in a difference of $146. According to the City of Chesapeake, there are 72,000 homes. If just half of these homes pay $146 over what they should be, the City of Chesapeake Va. may be over charging the home owners by as much as $5,256,000.

If you are sitting on the fence, you are not alone. Many home buyers just like you, are waiting to see what happens in the real estate market. It isn't surprising home buyers are missing out on terrific real estate opportunities. With all the doom and gloom in the news regarding the nation's real estate market, banks going out of business and the high number foreclosures I am not surprised that you are hesitant about purchasing a home.

The truth of the matter is ...

The high number of foreclosures, bank closings and mortgage defaults are creating a great "BUYERS MARKET". These issues have resulted in lower interest rates, which have dropped to "historic lows" currently around 5%. The number of foreclosures has increased, resulting in additional competition that is driving down home prices, and forcing sellers to offer closing costs assistance.

It is ironic that the very issues that the media has been focusing on are the very
reasons why you need to get off the fence today.

We are offering Free Home Buyers Bus tour of bank owned and foreclosed homes on January 24, 2008. Connie Ramsay with the Lending XChange, Sean Schroeder with The Real Estate-XChange, John Burke whit House Masters and Alison Rodriguez with Title Quest, will host the tour. We are there to show you homes, and to discuss with you the ins and outs of purchasing a home in today's exciting real estate market.

One last thought, as interest rates hit these historic low's, a small increase in home prices of 10% will negate a 1% decrease in your interest rate. The old saying is "Buy Low, Sell high" this is about as low as we can go.

Call today to for more information on our Home Buyers Bus tour at 757-839-5458 or email kathy.schroeder@757realproperty.com

Sean Schroeder, REALTOR

The Real Estate-Xchange
757-839-3954

Hampton roads home buyers bus tour

View foreclosed and Bank Owned Properties

It is a wonderful time to purchase a home! Home prices and interest rates are low and in 5, 8 or 10 years the purchase you make now will earn  more equity than if you wait. For this reason, we are putting together a "Home Hunters Bus Tour" featuring up to 10 or more homes, personally selected and previewed by Sean Schroeder. Many of these homes are Pre-Foreclosures, Short Sales, Bank Owned or Standard Listings.  Each home will offer  substantial value, and strong equity gains in the years to come.

The tours are sponsored by Title, Mortgage and home inspectors.  These professionals will be available to help explain and point out issues that may affect the purchase of a home.  Each guest will be provided infomation on all the homes to be viewed, mortgage information and options available, title information,  and facts regarding the purchase of of bank owned, pre-foreclosure properties. 

This tour is available to anyone looking to purchase a great value in Hampton Roads. We will offer tours in all the 7 cities: Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Hampton and New port News.

To register for the Home Hunters Bus tour, or to recieve a schedule  
please contact: Kathy Schroeder 
                      Email: kathy.schroeder@757realproperty.com or 
                      Call:   757-839-3954

ONLINE REGISTRATION