Breaking News!

For the first time I have noticed in a long time, and yes its the last day of the month, and quarter, but pendings and solds, and even solds along have surpassed new listings. At least as of 4:21 pm. Note there are even 5 price increases...watch out!

LBAR 24-Hour Market Watch

New Listings 70
Back on Market 11
Price Increases 5
Price Reductions 53
Pendings 38
Solds 80
Expireds 19
Inactives 18

Asbestos and Insulation Tips

Kentucky Home Safety Tips & Asbestos Prevention

Purchasing or moving into a new home is the investment of a
lifetime. It will insure you and your family will have a safe and
healthy home for a long foreseeable future. However, it is also time
where additional responsibilities will be brought into your life.
Having the assistance of a reliable and honest Kentucky real estate
agent will make all the difference in the world.

Asbestos Tips

Used throughout the 20th century to insulate pipes, boilers and in
roofing, asbestos gained recognition due to its resistance to heat and
electrical conductivity. Homes built before 1980 may still contain
asbestos. Its main uses were found as insulation, piping, brake lining,
flooring and roofing. Asbestos exposure incidents in Kentucky have
mainly occurred as a result of industrial sites.

If asbestos is located, it must be left un-touched until a
professional can provide a course of action. In many situations, the
best action is no action. Asbestos that is disturbed or damaged due to
age is known as "friable" asbestos. This is a concern because its toxic
fibers can easily circulate and become inhaled.

Frequent and long term exposure to asbestos has been known to cause asbestosis and sarcomatoid mesothelioma,
two forms of asbestos lung cancer. Asbestos-related illnesses may not
appear until 20 to 50 years after exposure and may have symptoms which
are commonly found with less serious illnesses. This makes mesothelioma diagnosis even more difficult for physicians.

Sometimes, the best action is no action. If asbestos removal is
necessary, it should be performed by licensed abatement contractors who
are trained in handling toxic materials. The Kentucky Division for Air Quality strives to protect the environment and civilian health by monitoring and assisting in the disposal and removal of asbestos.

Green = Healthier and Cost Efficient Homes

Recently, congress passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment
Act. Included in this act were extensions to the tax incentives placed
for energy efficiency in 2005, as well as new credits for homeowners
who remodel or build using eco-sustainable methods. This promotes
incentives for home or business owners who implement green building
methods into their property.

Many locations throughout the United States are swiftly changing
their construction practices to suit the environment and the health of
human beings. Promoting new ways of building construction and
insulation, there are new regulations being put on older methods which
are now known to be harmful.

Most people are unaware to the fact that eco-friendly products can
cut energy costs by 25 % per year. These include the use of cotton
fiber, lcynene foam and cellulose. These alternatives have the same
flame resistant, durable qualities of asbestos, except they are
eco-friendly and safe. 

Conducting a study in 2003, the United States Green Building Council
also reported a savings of $50 to $65 for green constructed buildings. 
Rather than expensive and mal-treated wood, interior walls can be made
from steel and concrete, avoiding many of the problems associated with
asbestos and other insulation methods.

Jesse Herman
Mesothelioma Cancer Center
jesse@asbestos.com

Local vs. National News

OK once again I am going to say it, All Real Estate is Local, meaning I don't really care what Las Vegas is doing, and I REALLY do not care about California. So why is it that that is all we hear about? Florida is a little closer to home, and we New York is understandable, but still not relavant to Lexington, or Kentucky for that matter. However we hav to realize this is what our clients see everyday. Like the article on Yahoo today...

Home prices post 18.1 percent annual drop in April
Widely watched index shows home prices down by 18.1 pct. in April, but trend is stabilizing

Case-Schiller? Again that is only 20 cities, and none of them are in Kentucky. Plus it says that 8 of the 20 posted gains. WHO CARES ABOUT VEGAS!? But htis seems to contradict what NAR says...

Take a look at the recent local KAR and LBAR numbers to see what is happening in Kentucky and Lexington. Which one of these makes more sense to you and your clients who may be selling or buying a home? So share it...

Perspective is Key Cont....

Here are the answers I promised last week for my questions. #1 Should be obvious since it took a week for time to sit down and answer them....

1. Are you busy with real estate right now?
- Yes, June was the second best month I have had ever in 6+ years, really close to being the first and if I were real creative I could say it was the best, since one really closed in May, or if I included the properties I bought and sold personally it would be handsdown, but I'm not. The activity seems to have leveled off just a tad, but I am finding again that the good listings are selling. People are wanting to buy.

2. How many buyers have you seen NOT be able to get a owner occupied loan this year?
- If only real buyers are considered then 1 straight turned down no possibility, and 1 was borderline and they gave up.

3. What type and price range are people wanting the most right now?
- Under $250k and especially $100-150k which is surely due to the first tme home buyer incentives, I am starting to see a few looking more in the $300-500k but I am not ready to put a lot of stock in that yet.

4. How confident are you that the market will get better in the next year, HERE*, and why?
- Very confident. There are too many reason to but and not enough reasons not to buy right now. Why pay rent? You have to live somewhere....

Tow Your Own Listings

OK part of this is good but the day you see me pulling my next listing down the street behind my truck, I am getting out of the business.....

http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=3906861&cl=14127903&ch=4226720&src=news

Perspective is Key

In today's market it can be confusing, especially for people who are not in the real estate business everyday. Everywhere you turn there are conflicting messages telling you one thing, then seemingly another. Everything for example think of each of these and their current situation: North Korea, the UN, Iran, Goldman Sachs, Jodie Meeks, TARP, GM, Chrysler, Exxon, the price of gas, the economy, the housing market...I could go all day. It seems we never get the real story, only the story or the agenda whomever is reporting or telling the story wants you to have or hear. Since this is a real estate based site, then lets focus on that.
Here is the general overall take that most people get these days from all media sources.
"Everyone is in foreclosure, you can't get a loan, the market is falling even more, bank owned properties are a deal, don't buy, do buy, the time is now to buy, take advantage of the tax credit, market is bottoming out, by the end of the year the market will be rising again....again this could go all day. But take the pulse of the real market, get perspective. Call any Realtor or mortgage professional you know that will give you a straight answer, and ask them 4 questions.
1. Are you busy with real estate right now?
2. How many buyers have you seen NOT be able to get a owner occupied loan this year?
3. What type and price range are people wanting the most right now?
4. How confident are you that the market will get better in the next year, HERE*, and why?
* Here can be almost anywhere but the important thing is it is the town you are in.
I will answer my own questions tomorrow as well as pose it to a few friends of mine in the business and post their answers. I would be interested to hear what you find from these answers. Then next week I am going to get the question to people outside the real estate profession, common people and hopefully a reporter or two....I bet they are totally different.....

More on CentrePoint Fiasco

If CentrePointe financing fails, Webb has plans B and C, he said
By Beverly Fortune - bfortune@herald-leader.com
Developer Dudley Webb told the Lexington Forum on Thursday he has a Plan B and Plan C for financing for the CentrePointe project and if those plans don't work, he will look for fill dirt to level the site and plant grass.
Also, Webb said he remains optimistic that funding from his unnamed, deceased, financial backer will still come through. He said assets of the international investor's estate are being held in numbered Swiss bank accounts.
Conversations with the man's family indicate they are aware of his commitment of $250 million to finance Webb's luxury hotel and condominium project on West Main Street in downtown Lexington, Webb said.
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Their concern is, on the advice of their attorney, that the funds are there, Webb said.
Recently, Webb and the family reached a compromise that Webb will not look to them to finance CentrePointe if the money isn't the estate.
Webb was notified in late September of the death of the major investor in this project, Webb said. The investor had signed an agreement to provide the funding for the project in June 2008.
Webb and his nephew Woodford Webb are developers for the proposed project. A major portion of the land is owned by businessman Joe Rosenberg and his family.
Webb said he had evidence one year ago that the investor had earmarked $550 million for three projects in the United States, one of which was CentrePointe.
When Webb revealed in April that the investor had died without a will, concern was raised about whether the building would be built. Lexington Vice Mayor Jim Gray said the community had been hoodwinked.
"Believe me, neither the Rosenberg family or we would have gone in and torn down buildings if we didn't think the funding was there for building this project," he said Thursday morning.
Webb also revealed that an original partner in the CentrePointe, John Anderson, backed out of the project a year ago. Anderson had lined up financing with a bank in Atlanta, Webb said. Anderson has developed other project including Marriott hotels, Webb said.
Webb's Plan B includes another unnamed investor, he said. Plan C, he said, involves an unnamed bank "in the states that is interested in getting involved in helping us do this deal."
Earlier in the week, Webb said he had an offer of 20,000 cubic yards of fill dirt that could be used to level the site. If The Webb Companies could get the dirt for free, it would spread it and plant grass, he said. But he said, he "would hate to spend $200,000 to $300,000" to fill the building site hole when in 90 days, construction might begin.
However, he's tempted to take that step, "to shut these people up," he said, referring to the critics of the site.

LBAR Q1 Sales Top $100 Million

Residential real estate sales by members of the Lexington-Bluegrass Association of REALTORS® (LBAR) positively impacted the Fayette County economy in the first quarter of 2009 with 571 reported sales totaling $100,473,745. Sales continue to be a driving force in the Fayette County economy when considering the multiplier effect on the area of buyers and sellers who purchase appliances, carpet, flooring, landscaping, etc in response to their transaction needs.
The National Association of REALTORS® reported that the median sales price dropped 12.4% for the nation in March 2009. Median sales prices in Fayette County fell only 6% for the same time period. Median sales prices fell 3% for March 2009 compared to March 2008.
Additionally, for the Bluegrass region sales closed and pending inventory have increased over the past three months. LBAR President Gale Fulton says “While 2009 is different economic climate than 2008, we are seeing increases in sales, pending sales, stable median sales prices and days on market. This again shows that the Central Kentucky real estate market is not experiencing the crisis made so public by the national media.”
As the region’s leading advocate for homeownership, Lexington-Bluegrass Association of REALTORS® understands the value and joy of owning a home. LBAR represents more than 2,300 REALTORS® located in Anderson, Bourbon, Boyle, Clark, Fayette, Franklin, Garrard, Harrison, Jessamine, Madison, Mercer, Montgomery, Scott and Woodford Counties.

World Equestrian Games Rentals on WTVQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dT07kZOBv4g

Pending home sales rise 6.7 percent in April

By ALAN ZIBEL, AP Real Estate Writer Alan Zibel, Ap Real Estate Writer – 1 hr 48 mins ago
WASHINGTON – The number of U.S. homebuyers who agreed to purchase a previously occupied home in April posted the largest monthly jump in nearly eight years, a sign that sales are finally coming to life after a long and painful slump.
The National Association of Realtors said Tuesday its seasonally adjusted index of sales contracts signed in April surged 6.7 percent to 90.3, far exceeding analysts' forecasts. It was the biggest monthly jump since October 2001, when pending sales rose 9.2 percent.
Economists were encouraged by the report, and stock indexes advanced modestly.
"This is yet another positive indication that the bottoming process is forming," Jennifer Lee, an economist at BMO Capital Markets, wrote in a note to clients. "Now if only prices would stabilize."
Economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected the index would edge up to 85 from a reading of 84.6 in March. Typically there is a one- to two-month lag between a contract and a done deal, so the index is a barometer for future existing home sales.
In early trading, the Dow Jones industrial average added about 20 points to 8,741, and at times traded above 8,776.39, its finish for 2008.
Still, some economists wonder whether rising mortgage rates will dampen home sales. Nationwide average rates for 30-year-fixed rate mortgages are around 5.3 percent this week compared with about 5 percent a week earlier, according to Bankrate.com.
And analysts cautioned prices will take longer to stabilize, because of the glut of unsold properties on the market.
"Even if sales volumes rebound, home prices will keep falling under the weight of the massive inventory overhang," wrote Ian Shepherdson, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics.
The Realtors' index was 3.2 percent above last year's levels and has risen for three straight months after hitting a record low in January. A nearly 33 percent sales increase in the Northeast and a 9.8 percent jump in the Midwest led the overall surge. Sales contracts rose 1.8 percent in April from a month earlier in the West, but fell 0.2 percent in the South.
The big boost likely reflects the impact of a new $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers that was included in the economic stimulus bill signed by President Barack Obama in February. Since buyers need to finish their purchases by Nov. 30 to claim the credit, "we expect greater activity in the months ahead," Lawrence Yun, the Realtors' chief economist, said in a statement.
Still, Yun cautioned that the pending sales data is more volatile than in the past because many sellers need banks to agree to take less than the original mortgage — a so-called "short sale." That process is often difficult, time-consuming and can wind up falling apart before the deal closes.
The Federal Housing Administration last week released details of a plan in which borrowers who use FHA loans can get advances from lenders that let them effectively receive the credit in advance, so they don't have to wait to get the money from the Internal Revenue Service.
Completed home sales rose 2.9 percent to an annual rate of 4.68 million in April from a downwardly revised pace of 4.55 million in March, the Realtors' group said last week.
Sales of inexpensive foreclosures and other distressed low-end properties have even sparked bidding wars in places like Las Vegas, Phoenix and Miami. But the market for high-end properties remains at a virtual standstill.
The national median sales price in April plunged more than 15 percent to $170,200, from $201,300 in the same month last year. That was the second largest yearly price drop on record, according to the Realtors' group.