Lancaster’s Real Estate Market Improves

The gap between the 2008 and 2009 real estate markets in Lancaster County is down to a razor’s edge.  On Wednesday of this week, the front page of the Intelligencer Journal ran the following story:

Market Here For Housing Gets Better ¹
Numbers for pending home sales improve

The housing market in Lancaster County continued to rebound in May, creeping ever closer to 2008′s level, local Realtors reported Tuesday.

The number of pending home sales here was down only 2.5 percent from the May 2008 figure, the smallest gap so far this year, according to the Lancaster County Association of Realtors.

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Advance! Advance!

Keep movin'!

Photo courtesy of Flickr

In a report released today by the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR), the Pending Home Sales Index advanced for a fourth month in a row.  Granted, the increase was only 0.1% from April to May, but it was still good news.  In addition, the index continued a four month positive trend which is the first time that has happened in nearly five years.  On an even brighter note, the index rose a whopping 6.7% when you compare it to May of last year.

We do need to temper our enthusiasm; however, because a rise in sales contracts may not yield a like increase in completed sales.  Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist said, “Closed existing-home sales have improved but are coming in lower than expected because some contracts are delayed or falling through from the application of new appraisal rules for many transactions.”

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WARNING: Overpricing Your Home is Hazardous to Your Wealth

The health of your money is at stake!

Image courtesy of Flickr

The typical homeowner wants to get the most money for their home when it comes time to sell.  That’s just human nature.  So the natural inclination is for them to price their home for sale above their home’s true market value so as not to leave any money on the table.  Seems like a wise move on the seller’s part; however, this strategy is loaded with pitfalls that will actually lead to less greenbacks in their back pocket.

Keep in mind that the seller of real estate does not determine what it actually sells for – - – buyers do (see my previous post).  So with that in mind, let me review the dangers associated with overpricing a home when it is put on the market for sale.

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The Planets Are Aligned

Line 'em up!

Image courtesy of Flickr

    
If you take a moment and peer up into the sky you will actually see that we are at the crossroads of a real estate buying opportunity like we haven’t seen in my lifetime.  All the factors that go into making a real estate buying decision are perfectly configured.  But like most perfect planetary alignments, clouds and precipitation sometime make it difficult to see this truly amazing sight and before you know it, the moment has passed.  The four planets that I see aligning are as follows:

1.  Mortgage Financing - If you’re like most people, you will need a mortgage to assist you in purchasing a home.  Interest rates right now are the lowest that they have been in decades (see ‘Mortgage Info’ tab).  When I first got into the real estate business over twenty-five years ago, the 30 year fixed rate was about 17% (this is not a misprint).  To put that in easier terms to understand, a principal and interest payment on a $150,000 mortgage then was $2,138 – - – now $805.  Hopefully, President Obama’s programs and endeavors will start to have some positive effects on the economic growth in this country.  When that happens and consumer spending starts to pick up, what do you think will happen to interest rates?  I was not an Economics major in college, but even I can figure out that rates will tick up because of inflationary fears.  So if you have good credit, money to work with and an income that can be verified, there has never been a better time to get a mortgage.

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Are We Really in a Housing Crisis?

Is it really this bad?

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Most of our elected government officials right now are scrambling around trying to fix Humpty-Dumpty because he fell off the “Housing” wall and is supposedly shattered in a thousand pieces.  All the kings horses and all the kings men are trying to put the pieces back together again.  But what if Humpty-Dumpty doesn’t need fixing?  What if all he has is a bad cold that will run its course regardless of the medicine that is administered?  Essentially, that is what Todd Zywicki, a law professor at George Mason University, is saying.  Zywicki has done extensive research on the subject of bankruptcy and foreclosure and has appeared before Congress as an expert witness to testify on the subject.
    
In a recent article* that appeared on Forbes.com, Zywicki takes serious umbrage with the way President Obama and his administration is handling the housing situation in this country.  Obama has recently referred to the housing situation as a “crisis” that is “unraveling home ownership, the middle class and the American Dream itself.”  Zywicki’s assertion is that this just isn’t the case.  Before you unload on me and say that I’m just another conservative (I am) Republican (I am) wack-job (questionable) trying to drag down our country and the Democrats, consider this – - – I voted for him.

Zywicki’s research indicates that different parts of the country experience different sets of problems when it comes to real estate.  In other words, one size doesn’t fit all which is essentially what he argues the Obama Administration is trying to do with its housing policy.  Zywicki points to three distinct types of housing markets that exist today:

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Money For First-Time Homebuyers in Lancaster City

       
Let's buy a house in Lancaster!The following article has been reproduced in it’s entirety from Lancaster City Living, a popular website promoting the benefits of living in Lancaster City.  After you’re done reading the article, explore the website where you’ll find a brief history of the Red Rose City and the many attributes that set it apart from other cities in the Keystone State and the US.

- – - – - – - – - – -

CITY HOME PURCHASES GET BOOST OF $5K *
Buyers now eligible for federal help on closing costs, down payments.

Buying a first city home just got a little easier for low- to moderate-income residents.

First-time homebuyers in the city will now have access to a pool of $350,000 in assistance for down payment and closing costs through the Lancaster Housing Opportunity Partnership.

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Short Sale Principles

 

Oh No!

Image courtesy of Flickr

Before I even begin to talk about short sales, a word of warning; these transactions are extremely complicated and time-consuming.  No homeowner should try to do one without the help of a good real estate attorney and an experienced REALTOR®.  To do otherwise, would be like walking a tightrope without a net – - – you may get to your destination but one small misstep and you’ll end up flattened like a pancake.

Let’s start with a definition: A short sale occurs when the price that can be obtained for a home when it is sold is less than what is remaining on the mortgage which will cause the lender to be “shorted” what they are due.  Usually the events that lead up to the need to consider a short sale are:

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The Abridged Version of the Stimulus Package

 

Gimmie, Gimmie, Gimmie!

Image Courtesy of Flickr

If you’re like me, you’ve had it up to here (place hand over head exactly 1’7″) with all the talk about the “stimulus package.”  There was a House version, a Senate version, a Republican version, a Democratic version, the Auto manufacturers’ version, the State Governor’s version, the Sesame Street version, etc. etc.  If you want to read the entire piece of legislation that finally got signed by President Obama known as “The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009″more power to you.  Most people though just want to know how it impacts them in their personal and professional lives.  Because you are reading a real estate related blog, I will assume that you have interest in just the portions of this legislation dealing with real estate so I will limit my review to those provisions.  Grab a cup of coffee – - – here we go!

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