After recently watching the movie “Home Alone”, we were reminded that the holidays are the most popular time for break-ins. Although this movie obviously had a funny theme, the dangers of leaving your home unattended are all too real.

Over the last few days, I’ve seen a ton [...]]]>

Will Your Home Be Safe?

After recently watching the movie “Home Alone”, we were reminded that the holidays are the most popular time for break-ins. Although this movie obviously had a funny theme, the dangers of leaving your home unattended are all too real.

Over the last few days, I’ve seen a ton of posts from my “friends” about their upcoming vacations. Things like: “2 days to Florida…can’t wait”, “Entire family headed to the airport—1 week of fun in the sun”.  

Remember, your posts are not as private as you think and telling the whole world that your home will be empty is an invitation for trouble.  In the spirit of security, we wanted to share a few tips to make sure your home is safe and secure this holiday season.

1.     Make Sure All Doors and Windows Are Locked. – Yes, I realize this is pretty obvious, but you’d be surprised how many people rush out the door without checking every single entrance to their home. Some locks stick, especially in older homes, so be sure to check everything before leaving.

2.     Cancel Your Newspaper. – Nothing screams vacant home better than newspapers piling up in your driveway.

3.     Keep Lights On With A Timer. – My grandparents always used timers and I thought they were silly, but actually make a lot of sense if your home is empty.

4.     Tell Your Neighbors. – Let your neighbors ( provided that you like and trust them of course ) know of your plans so they can be on the lookout for any suspicious activity.

5.     Have A Friend Check On Your Home- Having someone stop by to make sure things are ok is a smart idea.  I actually have a friend who has someone pull into and out of his garage when there is a snowfall, so that anyone driving by will see the new tracks, giving the appearance that someone is home. A little paranoid perhaps, but not a bad idea.  

Oh, and a another suggestion, please don’t post while you are actually on vacation, because this is just as bad. Share the pictures of you on the beach after you get home.

Enjoy your vacation, just be smart.

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House hunting is just like any other shopping expedition. If you [...]]]>

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Check out this great video by Jay Papsan

With a mortgage [...]]]> “Buy Now or Later?”
Savvy homebuyers who want to save the most money are jumping into the market now. That’s because home prices are at or near bottom, and mortgage rates have dropped FURTHER due to continued economic turmoil. Mortgage analysts can’t agree on how long these rates will stick around.

With a mortgage loan, your interest expenses can really add up. This is because your monthly mortgage payment includes much more interest than principal during the initial years of your loan term. So for the first several years, most of your money is going to the lender to pay them for the interest rate, not toward the principal balance to pay off the loan. Having a low interest rate saves you a larger amount of money than you might expect. Today’s rate was actually 4.375%, so even lower than the 4.500% example in exhibit A.

A.
$200,000 Loan Balance
4.500% Interest
30 year fixed loan
Monthly Principle & Interest Payment: $1013
Interest paid over the first 5 years: $43,801
Interest paid over life of loan: $164,813

B.
$200,000 Loan Balance
5.500% Interest
30 year fixed loan
Monthly Principle & Interest Payment: $1135
Interest paid over first 5 years of loan: $53,903
Interest paid over life of loan: $208,808

C.
$200,000 Loan Balance
6.500% Interest
30 year fixed loan
Monthly Principle & Interest payment: $1264
Interest paid over first 5 years of loan: $64,084
Interest paid over life of loan: $255,088

So, if you’re ready to buy a house but you find yourself waiting for something you can’t quite explain – jump in now. A smart buy at low costs now is much like giving yourself a raise…a $90,275 raise for moving forward now versus later.

Courtesy of Jen Bell & JJ Lee Kwai @Rose City Mortgage

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Most every home can be made more energy efficient—it’s all about knowing where to begin and determining what fits within your budget. Energy Trust offers three easy ways to evaluate and improve your home’s energy performance, and provides cash incentives to help complete your improvement projects.

This [...]]]>

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Earlier this week, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed an extension and expansion of the homebuyer tax credit. This morning, the House of Representatives approved the agreement reached in the Senate by a vote of 403-12. The bill has now passed both [...]]]>  Breaking News: Homebuyer Tax Credit Set to be Extended and Expanded!

Earlier this week, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed an extension and expansion of the homebuyer tax credit. This morning, the House of Representatives approved the agreement reached in the Senate by a vote of 403-12. The bill has now passed both chambers and is awaiting the President’s signature, which could be as early as tomorrow!

Thank you all for helping mobilize REALTORS® in Oregon as the entire Oregon Congressional delegation voted in favor of this vital measure for the housing market.

Below is a summary of the new modifications in the extension and expansion of the tax credit:

1)  The $8,000 tax credit will be extended and available for first-time purchases before May 1, 2010.

2)  A new $6,500 tax credit will be available for repeat buyers who purchase between December 1, 2009, and May 1, 2010. To qualify for this provision, buyers must have used the home sold or being sold as a principal residence consecutively for 5 of the previous 8 years.

3)  Prospective purchasers with binding contracts in place as of April 30, 2010, will be allowed an additional 60 days to complete the transaction.

4)  Income limits are expanded to $125,000 on a single return and $225,000 on a joint return.

For a complete summary of changes to the tax credit visit: NAR Issue Brief – Homebuyer Tax Credit

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Existing-home sales bounced back strongly in September with first-time buyers driving much of the activity, marking five gains in the past six months, according to the National Association of Realtors®.

Existing-home sales – including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – jumped 9.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate1 of [...]]]> Washington, October 23, 2009

Existing-home sales bounced back strongly in September with first-time buyers driving much of the activity, marking five gains in the past six months, according to the National Association of Realtors®.

Existing-home sales – including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – jumped 9.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate¹ of 5.57 million units in September from a level of 5.09 million in August, and are 9.2 percent higher than the 5.10 million-unit pace in September 2008. Sales activity is at the highest level in over two years, since it hit 5.73 million in July 2007.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said favorable conditions matched with a tax credit are boosting home sales. “Much of the momentum is from people responding to the first-time buyer tax credit, which is freeing many sellers to make a trade and buy another home,” he said. “We are hopeful the tax credit will be extended and possibly expanded to more buyers, at least through the middle of next year, because the rising sales momentum needs to continue for a few additional quarters until we reach a point of a self-sustaining recovery.”

Even with the improvement, Yun said the market is underperforming. “Despite spectacular gains in the stock market, principally from the financial sector recovery, most of the 75 million home owning families have more wealth tied to their homes. Home values could soon turn consistently positive and help the broad base of middle-class families, but we are not there yet,” he said. “We’re getting early indications of price stabilization, but we need a steady supply of qualified buyers to meaningfully bring inventories down and return us to a period of normal, steady price growth and to fully remove consumer fears, which would then revive the broader economy. Without a firm foundation for middle-class wealth recovery, the post-recession economic growth likely will be one of the weakest in U.S. history.”

Early information from a large annual consumer study to be released November 13, the 2009 National Association of Realtors® Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, shows that first-time home buyers accounted for more than 45 percent of home sales during the past year. A separate practitioner survey shows that distressed homes accounted for 29 percent of transactions in September.

NAR President Charles McMillan, a broker with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Dallas-Fort Worth, said affordability conditions remain historically high. “Potential first-time buyers can take heart in that affordability conditions this year are the highest on record dating back to 1970, but with the first-time buyer tax credit scheduled to expire at the end of next month, people could hold back from entering the market,” he said.

“Our read is that housing overshot on the downside because homes are selling for less than replacement construction costs in much of the country, and the home price-to-income ratio has fallen below the historical average,” McMillan said.

Total housing inventory at the end of September fell 7.5 percent to 3.63 million existing homes available for sale, which represents an 7.8-month supply² at the current sales pace, down from an 9.3-month supply in August. Unsold inventory totals are 15.0 percent below a year ago.

“The current housing supply is the lowest we’ve seen in two and a half years,” Yun said. “If we could continue to absorb inventory at this pace, home prices would return to normal, modest appreciation patterns next year.

According to Freddie Mac, the national average commitment rate for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage fell to 5.06 percent in September from 5.19 percent in August; the rate was 6.04 percent in September 2008.

The national median existing-home price³ for all housing types was $174,900 in September, which is 8.5 percent lower than September 2008. Distressed properties continue to downwardly distort the median price because they generally sell at a discount relative to traditional homes in the same area.

Single-family home sales rose 9.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.89 million in September from a pace of 4.47 million in August, and are 7.7 percent above the 4.54 million-unit level in September 2008. The median existing single-family home price was $174,900 in September, which is 8.1 percent below a year ago.

Existing condominium and co-op sales jumped 9.7 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 680,000 units in September from 620,000 in August, and are 21.2 percent above the 561,000-unit pace a year ago. The median existing condo price⁴ was $175,100 in September, down 11.7 percent from September 2008.

Regionally, existing-home sales in the Northeast increased 4.4 percent to an annual level of 950,000 in September, and are 11.8 percent higher than September 2008. The median price in the Northeast was $234,700, down 7.0 percent from a year ago.

Existing-home sales in the Midwest jumped 9.6 percent in September to a pace of 1.25 million and are 7.8 percent above a year ago. The median price in the Midwest was $147,600, which is 1.0 percent below September 2008.

In the South, existing-home sales rose 9.0 percent to an annual level of 2.06 million in September and are 10.8 percent higher than September 2008. The median price in the South was $153,500, down 7.6 percent from a year ago.

Existing-home sales in the West surged 13.0 percent to an annual rate of 1.30 million in September and are 5.7 percent above a year ago. The median price in the West was $219,000, which is 15.0 percent below September 2008.

The National Association of Realtors®, “The Voice for Real Estate,” is America’s largest trade association, representing 1.2 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.

# # #

NOTE: NAR also reports monthly comparisons of existing single-family home sales and median prices for select metropolitan statistical areas, and is posted with other tables at: http://www.realtor.org/research/research/ehsdata. For information on areas not included in the report, please contact the local association of Realtors®.

¹The annual rate for a particular month represents what the total number of actual sales for a year would be if the relative pace for that month were maintained for 12 consecutive months. Seasonally adjusted annual rates are used in reporting monthly data to factor out seasonal variations in resale activity. For example, home sales volume is normally higher in the summer than in the winter, primarily because of differences in the weather and family buying patterns. However, seasonal factors cannot compensate for abnormal weather patterns.

Existing-home sales, which include single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, are based on transaction closings. This differs from the U.S. Census Bureau’s series on new single-family home sales, which are based on contracts or the acceptance of a deposit. Because of these differences, it is not uncommon for each series to move in different directions in the same month. In addition, existing-home sales, which generally account for 85 to 90 percent of total home sales, are based on a much larger sample – more than 40 percent of multiple listing service data each month – and typically are not subject to large prior-month revisions.

Single-family data collection began monthly in 1968, while condo data collection began quarterly in 1981; the series were combined in 1999 when monthly collection of condo data began. Prior to this period, single-family homes accounted for more than nine out of 10 purchases. Historic comparisons for total home sales prior to 1999 are based on monthly single-family sales, combined with the corresponding quarterly sales rate for condos.

²Total inventory and month’s supply data are available back through 1999, while single-family inventory and month’s supply are available back to 1982.

³The only valid comparisons for median prices are with the same period a year earlier due to the seasonality in buying patterns. Month-to-month comparisons do not compensate for seasonal changes, especially for the timing of family buying patterns. Changes in the composition of sales can distort median price data. Year-ago median and mean prices sometimes are revised in an automated process if more data is received than was originally reported.

⁴Because there is a concentration of condos in high-cost metro areas, the national median condo price generally is higher than the median single-family price. In a given market area, condos typically cost less than single-family homes.

Existing-home sales for October will be released November 23. The next Pending Home Sales Index is scheduled for November 2. NAR’s quarterly report on metro area home prices and state home sales is on November 10; release times are 10 a.m. EST.

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Will Congress extend the wildly popular $8,000 home buyer tax credit beyond its Dec. 1 expiration date?

That’s a question generating huge pressure on Capitol Hill from would-be buyers who haven’t found the right house as well as from realty agents, builders, lenders and squads of lobbyists working on their [...]]]> Reporting from Washington -

Will Congress extend the wildly popular $8,000 home buyer tax credit beyond its Dec. 1 expiration date?

That’s a question generating huge pressure on Capitol Hill from would-be buyers who haven’t found the right house as well as from realty agents, builders, lenders and squads of lobbyists working on their behalf.

But here’s the first hint of an answer: On Sept. 17, the leadership of Congress’ primary tax legislative committee introduced a tax credit bill that’s likely to zip through the House and move to the Senate rapidly. Charles B. Rangel (D-N.Y.), chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, sponsored the bipartisan Service Members Home Ownership Tax Act (H.R. 3590), which would extend the credit for another 12 months for thousands of military, Foreign Service and intelligence agency personnel who’ve been posted abroad during 2009.

Rangel’s bill, with 29 cosponsors, would keep the credit alive through Nov. 30, 2010, for service members who had at least 90 days of overseas duty assignments during 2009 and who otherwise meet the eligibility requirements.

The bill would also prohibit the IRS from “recapturing” the $8,000 credit when service members are forced to sell or rent out their houses because they are ordered to deploy to a different duty station, overseas or inside the country.

Under the regular rules of the program, buyers who obtain the credit must use their houses as a principal residence for 36 months or repay the credit to the IRS.

As a result of the 36-month rule, many military and diplomatic employees have been hesitant to buy a house and claim the credit or are worried that their absence from the country could force them to repay the money.

For example, the spouse of a Foreign Service officer posted to the Philippines this summer for a two-year assignment wrote to Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) to alert him to a flaw in the tax credit program. The Oregon couple bought their first home earlier this year, encouraged by affordable prices and the $8,000 credit. But having now been posted abroad, they cannot claim to occupy the house as their principal residence. Under current rules, they face recapture of the full credit.

Blumenauer, who is a member of the Ways and Means Committee, said “it is absurd that thousands of Americans serving our country, away from friends and family, must choose between their service work and homeownership.” He wrote corrective legislative language that was incorporated into Rangel’s tax bill.

Though nothing is guaranteed on Capitol Hill, legislation eliminating tax penalties on the military during wartime looks like a good bet for early passage in both houses. Equally significant: It now appears likely that there will be an $8,000 tax credit available a year from now — at least for some purchasers. Which raises the question: Why not leave it in place for all first-time buyers?

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