Thursday, November 1, 2012
Thursday, June 7, 2012
What School District is that Home in Anyway?
I get this question VERY often, and there is a simple solution. What school district is this home in anyway? I mean really everyone wants to know what school their kids will attend if they buy a new home. Some may be targeting specific schools and only want to buy in those areas. Some may want to change schools. even people who do not have kids are often curious because they feel it will be important to the resale and potential future, and sometimes current, value of the home. All of these are legitimate and good reasons, and very important. Visit this link and you can find out what schools any particular listing in Lexington and Fayette County is districted to attend.
Of course these are not warranted by me, as it is a service provided by Fayette County Public Schools and many schools, particularly the new elementary schools in Fayette County fill up, but the alternate schools are listed as well.
(Here is what it looks like on their site)
This site also lists the testing information, schedules, and lots of other information about the schools as well.
If you would rather see it on a map so you do not have to type in a particular address for every property this may help.
- Fayett County School Districts
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Distressed Properties Continue to Put Pressure On Home Prices, Latest HousingPulse Finds
Despite solid demand for home purchases overall, a glut of distressed properties is continuing to put downward pressure on home prices, according to the latest Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance HousingPulse Tracking Survey.
Distressed properties accounted for a hefty 46.1% of home purchase transactions in November as reported in the HousingPulse Distressed Property Index (DPI), using a three-month rolling average. Significantly, November marked the 23rd month in a row that the DPI has been above 40%.
At the same time, however, homebuyer demand for housing appears surprisingly strong, especially for lower-priced foreclosed properties or real estate owned (REO). Time on market for move-in ready REO was just 10.1 weeks in November, the lowest in 15 months, according to HousingPulse. Time on market for damaged REO was even lower at 9.0 weeks in November, also the lowest in 15 months.
Short sales were the largest segment of the distressed property market during the month of November, accounting for 17.6% of total home purchase transactions tracked in the HousingPulse survey. Move-in ready REO was the next largest group of distressed properties with a 15.2% share, followed by damaged REO with a 13.3% share of total transactions. Non-distressed home purchases accounted for the remaining 53.9% of home purchases in November.
Average pricing for distressed property was substantially lower than for non-distressed property. The average short sale sold for $209,200 in November, while the average move-in ready REO sold for $189,700. Damaged REO sold for far lower at $98,600. At the same time, non-distressed properties sold for $258,900.
Despite solid demand for home purchases overall, a glut of distressed properties is continuing to put downward pressure on home prices, according to the latest Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance HousingPulse Tracking Survey.
Distressed properties accounted for a hefty 46.1% of home purchase transactions in November as reported in the HousingPulse Distressed Property Index (DPI), using a three-month rolling average. Significantly, November marked the 23rd month in a row that the DPI has been above 40%.
At the same time, however, homebuyer demand for housing appears surprisingly strong, especially for lower-priced foreclosed properties or real estate owned (REO). Time on market for move-in ready REO was just 10.1 weeks in November, the lowest in 15 months, according to HousingPulse. Time on market for damaged REO was even lower at 9.0 weeks in November, also the lowest in 15 months.
Short sales were the largest segment of the distressed property market during the month of November, accounting for 17.6% of total home purchase transactions tracked in the HousingPulse survey. Move-in ready REO was the next largest group of distressed properties with a 15.2% share, followed by damaged REO with a 13.3% share of total transactions. Non-distressed home purchases accounted for the remaining 53.9% of home purchases in November.
Average pricing for distressed property was substantially lower than for non-distressed property. The average short sale sold for $209,200 in November, while the average move-in ready REO sold for $189,700. Damaged REO sold for far lower at $98,600. At the same time, non-distressed properties sold for $258,900.
| Residential Real Estate Pricing and Commission Metrics | |||||
| Average Sales to Listing Price Ratio | 2011 Year to Date | ||||
| Region | Damaged REO | Move-In Ready REO | Short Sale | Non- Distressed | |
| AZ & NV | 97% | 99% | 95% | 94% | |
| California | 97% | 99% | 96% | 96% | |
| Farmbelt | 89% | 97% | 92% | 95% | |
| Florida | 94% | 97% | 91% | 93% | |
| Industrial Midwest | 92% | 94% | 91% | 94% | |
| Northeast | 93% | 95% | 92% | 94% | |
| Oil Producing | 90% | 97% | 92% | 96% | |
| Pacific NW | 98% | 95% | 96% | 96% | |
| Rocky Mountain | 91% | 96% | 92% | 95% | |
| South | 89% | 95% | 91% | 95% | |
| National Average | 93% | 96% | 93% | 95% | |
| Average Property Price by Region--Year to Date | ||||
| Region | Damaged REO | Move-In Ready REO | Short Sale | Non- Distressed |
| AZ & NV | $120,003 | $170,303 | $173,001 | $247,834 |
| California | $203,618 | $274,488 | $301,190 | $444,699 |
| Farmbelt | $75,646 | $136,991 | $161,036 | $201,224 |
| Florida | $84,488 | $155,823 | $153,236 | $245,320 |
| Industrial Midwest | $60,639 | $113,306 | $136,641 | $204,813 |
| Northeast | $146,411 | $295,458 | $232,080 | $327,816 |
| Oil Producing | $66,851 | $150,284 | $159,930 | $209,096 |
| Pacific NW | $107,134 | $234,574 | $255,663 | $321,266 |
| Rocky Mountain | $149,109 | $171,828 | $191,836 | $246,136 |
| South | $79,779 | $156,464 | $191,169 | $222,129 |
| National Average | $102,149 | $182,687 | $199,718 | $259,661 |
Courtesy Campbell Surveys
Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance HousingPulse Tracking Survey
It is based on a national survey of more than 2,500 real estate agents each month and provides up-to-date intelligence on home sales and mortgage usage patterns throughout the United States, broken down by region.
______________
Housing Trends Update
Housing Trends Update is published monthly and is available only to real estate agents who are part of the Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance HousingPulse survey panel.
Copyright © 2011 by Campbell Surveys
www.housingpulse.com
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
The Basics
The Basics
Its funny how lately in real estate, and life for that matter, how complicated things have become. QR Codes, Smart Phones, Text Marketing, Tags, SEO, Dynamic Positioning, Key Words, Robots, Spiders, Organic Optimization, IDX, Listing Sync, Facebook, Twitter, Zillow, Trulia, Google, Ad Words, Pay per Click, click through rate, stickiness, social marketing, 24/7 Instant News Sources ….you get the point.
But what does this all do for us? How does this make what we do for our clients better? After all having a QR code on a listing sign may be cool, but how will it work? Does the buyer driving by have to stop the car on the street, get out of the car, walk into the sellers yard to get close enough to take a picture of the sign? Maybe the picture can be taken from the car, but is that safe?
Is communicating with your Facebook friends and clients violations of Facebook terms, and client confidentiality and potentially violating your fiduciary responsibilities?
Does your personal website or company website and BLOG really warrant the investment in time and energy to compete against the big boys and girls in the industry? I read that our local board website www.LBAR.com was one of the top 30 visited MLS’s in the country this year so far. In a town of less than 300,000 people. Imagine that beating the big boys. But what does that say for me, and the other 2,000 other real estate professionals out there who pen $25-$1,000 a month for websites and all the bells an whistles to market it and get leads? Is it worth it? Or would our time be better spent elsewhere?
Has that paradigm shifted in the market and we are yet to face it? Here is the question I am proposing here. What about the basics?
I venture to say that every professional reading this post will agree, publicly or not is a different issue, that if being 100% honest with yourself you will find the following challenge and proposed theory to be true. Here is the challenge:
Log in to your MLS or black book, day planner, whatever you use and go back search for your last 5 years business (or as far as you can go back) - closed, expireds, deleted, actives, pendings all of it and print them out, and evaluate each one. Then for as many as you can write down where that business came from. i.e personal sphere of influence, open house, referral, past client, online client, third party source, walk in, sign call convert, yellow pages, cold call…whatever your categories are, just stay consistent in placing them. Then once you have done this go through and total up how many in each category. For example of the 100 sales, X came from sign calls, X from personal referrals, X from online,….. My theory is that an overwhelming percentage came from “old school” techniques, such as personal referrals, sphere of influence, sign calls, personal generated marketing, walk ins and a small minority came from online leads from personal website, third party leads, QR codes, text marketing, etc.
NOW does this mean that these other new fangled techniques are a waste of time and money? No, probably not. Does it mean that next year that QR codes will not become a bigger percentage maybe, maybe not. But I speculate it does mean that most of our time should be spent on proven, repeatable, productive activities. Such as….well that is a post of next week, this is enough to think about for now.
The point is that we as Realtors® and other sales professionals can get wrapped up in all the gadgets and glitz, and forget about the basics. Maybe its more its important to do the basics, and then add a little glitz, and gadgets.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Thursday, September 30, 2010
My New Company
Always looking for an opportunity I have seized the opportunity to create the Kentucky American Air Company. Noticing the apparent need to create private companies to package and sell the vital life giving necessities of life for profit, and the willingness of the PSCSC's (Public So-Called Service Commission) to allow these generous companies the right to make a substaitial profit to provide these vital services. When interview the PSCSC's chairman, Adolf Richard Head, said "You know these vital companies provide a life sustaining and necessary product, that while available to everyone already they make it easy to get, and clean enough that you only have to filter it or buy it bottled if you pan to ingest it, and we need to make sure that these German....er...uh...great companies are allowed to make a substaitial profit on that service. Afterall air isn't free, really you know." Mr. Head then mumbled almost inaudibly as he sped away in his AMC Mercedes "If they don't like it then they can get their air somewhere else, or well die."
So as you can see there is a great opportunity here, hell its practically a monopoly. So with that being said for this great service we are going to only charge a reasonable fee of $.01 per cubic foot of air, which we calculate as the average capacity of the adult lung per breath and makes sense to us as a measurable unit. Pleas note we have already announced plans to ask for small increases over the next couple years and we provide more air just in case we need it in the future, but no more than 60%, but this year it will only be 37%, which we feel is reasonable considering the cost we have to take on to provide this service and the effect it may have on our share holders with out the raise. Yes these services were subsidized and partially provided by government and developers, and yes they pay for most of that, but we have to be able to pay all of our employees to monitor the increased future usage and quality of our product. Also storage of this new air will be difficult as nature you know is a very inefficient care taker of such resources, the facilities are simply not there for such capabilities. That being said our collection department will be very reasonable and we commit to only use as our last resort, the plactic bag over the head cutoff method for chronic non payers, after all they shouldn't be able to use the product we all need to live for free. And use that only as long as it takes them to find an alternative supplier of air in their neighborhood. Because after all we are a private enterprise, the market is unpredictable out there these days with opportunistic governments and eager beavers everywhere, anyone can come along tomorrow and beat us out of the market with another air company you know.
So I am pleased to announce that effective immediately we are in operation, and legal owner of all the air around you. You will see your first bill soon. Please note we reserve the right to increase our rates at any time to ensure a substantial, but fair, profit for our share holders, and remeber they are air breathers too, so are we, so we are really all in this together.
We are concerned that this rate increase may be a stretch for some and we understand this, but if you would like to come by our office we have a pamphlet we have designed, at our own cost, to educate you as to how to conserve air, and lower your new higher bill each month. Common sense ideas such as rebreathing methods, and not over exerting yourself which uses more air, and always remember to use air wisely after all we all need it.
Thank You
Me, Owner and Air Czar KAAC
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Realtor Call to Action Success
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| To: All REALTORS® Date: July 1, 2010 Re: NAR Update: Tax Credit Deadline Extended; Flood Insurance Program Reinstated Dear fellow REALTOR®, The extension applies only to transactions that had ratified contracts in place as of April 30, 2010, and have not yet closed. There will be no gap between June 30 and the date the President signs the bill into law. Additionally, Congress has extended the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) through September 30th. The bill is retroactive and will cover the lapse period from June 1, 2010, to the date the law is enacted. NAR will continue to work with Congress on the NFIP Reform bill, and we will keep you posted on those efforts. For additional information on both the tax credit deadline and the NFIP, visit Realtor.org/Government_Affairs. Neither of these bills would have passed without your support. Nearly 83,000 REALTORS® responded to our latest Call for Action, sending more than 250,000 letters to Congress asking them to extend the National Flood Insurance Program. I know many of you also raised your voices in support of extending the tax credit deadline. On behalf of NAR, I thank you, and I ask that you visit the RealtorActionCenter.com and make your voice heard on every issue. Sincerely,
Vicki Cox Golder, CRB |
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Lexington Number 6 Place to Live
Good article today about Lexington.
By Jaclyn Colletti and Joel Weber, researchers
updated 10:37 a.m. ET, Tues., Oct . 20, 2009
From the moment she finds out she's expecting, a new parent's mind begins to construct a fantasy of the perfect place to build a nest: a community that's safe, nurturing, stimulating, and economically sound. A neighborhood where parents reflect your values — education, health and fitness, concern for the environment — and raise their children the same way. The kind of place where a child can slip on her rubber boots, grab her colorful umbrella, and play on the quiet, tree-lined street outside her home without worry.
The editors of Children's Health wanted to find where in America such places existed and how we can make the communities we live in today more like that ideal, so we embarked on a comprehensive statistical analysis to rank 100 noteworthy American cities scattered across the country. We considered more than 30 factors that parents deem vitally important, including crime and safety, education, economics, housing, cultural attractions, and health. (See the criteria used.) When we crunched the numbers, these were the cities that best complemented family life.
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/33385798/ns/today-parenting_and_family/
By Jaclyn Colletti and Joel Weber, researchers
updated 10:37 a.m. ET, Tues., Oct . 20, 2009
From the moment she finds out she's expecting, a new parent's mind begins to construct a fantasy of the perfect place to build a nest: a community that's safe, nurturing, stimulating, and economically sound. A neighborhood where parents reflect your values — education, health and fitness, concern for the environment — and raise their children the same way. The kind of place where a child can slip on her rubber boots, grab her colorful umbrella, and play on the quiet, tree-lined street outside her home without worry.
The editors of Children's Health wanted to find where in America such places existed and how we can make the communities we live in today more like that ideal, so we embarked on a comprehensive statistical analysis to rank 100 noteworthy American cities scattered across the country. We considered more than 30 factors that parents deem vitally important, including crime and safety, education, economics, housing, cultural attractions, and health. (See the criteria used.) When we crunched the numbers, these were the cities that best complemented family life.
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/33385798/ns/today-parenting_and_family/
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Lexington home sales up 13 percent, region up 7 percent
By Scott Sloan - ssloan@herald-leader.com
The Lexington-Bluegrass Association of Realtors said home sales in and around Lexington grew in the third quarter, with September particularly strong. Residential sales rose 13 percent in Lexington and 7 percent in the region as a whole.
The growth for the full quarter, although lower, was still growth, which has been tough to come by as the real estate market suffered during the recession.
The number of residential real estate sales that closed during the third quarter in Lexington increased 4.7 percent, the Lexington-Bluegrass Association of Realtors said Thursday. In the 14-county area served by LBAR's members, single-family sales were up 4 percent.
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During the quarter in Lexington, 1,194 sales closed, up from 1,140 in the same quarter of 2008. Sales were gaining momentum as the quarter ended, with a 13 percent rise in September with 347 sales, 40 more than a year ago.
During the quarter in the region, 2,110 sales closed, up from 2,028 in the same quarter of 2008. Sales also gained momentum as the quarter ended with a 6.7 percent rise in September. That month saw 651 sales, 41 more than a year ago.
September is the first month this year that home sales in the region exceeded their 2007 figures, according to the data provided by LBAR's members.
Sales declined 0.7 percent in the region in August but were up 6.2 percent in July.
In Lexington, sales were up just 1.7 percent throughout July and August. The months are not broken out separately in LBAR's statistical report.
Year-over-year price changes varied during the quarter. Lexington saw a substantial decline in the median sales price for residential sales in September: The price fell 7.5 percent to $149,838 from $162,000 a year ago.
The region saw varied results. In July, the median sales price for residential homes was $147,398, down 1.7 percent year-over-year. In August, it fell to $144,000 from $152,900 in August 2008, a drop of 5.8 percent. In September, the percentage drop-off narrowed to 1.8 percent with a median sales price of $140,000.
Central Kentucky's drop in sales prices has not been as pronounced during the recession as other areas of the country.
The average days on the market for a single-family home in the region was 78 at the end of the quarter, down from 93 a year earlier. Lexington was better with an average days on market of 66 compared to 69 a year ago.
The inventory of homes also was down in the region, with 6,238 for sale in September 2009, a drop of 5.4 percent.
"Interest rates are very low; there is a good selection of homes on the market and there is no reason not to be able find the home of your choice," LBAR president Gale Fulton said in a statement.
The Lexington-Bluegrass Association of Realtors said home sales in and around Lexington grew in the third quarter, with September particularly strong. Residential sales rose 13 percent in Lexington and 7 percent in the region as a whole.
The growth for the full quarter, although lower, was still growth, which has been tough to come by as the real estate market suffered during the recession.
The number of residential real estate sales that closed during the third quarter in Lexington increased 4.7 percent, the Lexington-Bluegrass Association of Realtors said Thursday. In the 14-county area served by LBAR's members, single-family sales were up 4 percent.
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document.write('');
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During the quarter in Lexington, 1,194 sales closed, up from 1,140 in the same quarter of 2008. Sales were gaining momentum as the quarter ended, with a 13 percent rise in September with 347 sales, 40 more than a year ago.
During the quarter in the region, 2,110 sales closed, up from 2,028 in the same quarter of 2008. Sales also gained momentum as the quarter ended with a 6.7 percent rise in September. That month saw 651 sales, 41 more than a year ago.
September is the first month this year that home sales in the region exceeded their 2007 figures, according to the data provided by LBAR's members.
Sales declined 0.7 percent in the region in August but were up 6.2 percent in July.
In Lexington, sales were up just 1.7 percent throughout July and August. The months are not broken out separately in LBAR's statistical report.
Year-over-year price changes varied during the quarter. Lexington saw a substantial decline in the median sales price for residential sales in September: The price fell 7.5 percent to $149,838 from $162,000 a year ago.
The region saw varied results. In July, the median sales price for residential homes was $147,398, down 1.7 percent year-over-year. In August, it fell to $144,000 from $152,900 in August 2008, a drop of 5.8 percent. In September, the percentage drop-off narrowed to 1.8 percent with a median sales price of $140,000.
Central Kentucky's drop in sales prices has not been as pronounced during the recession as other areas of the country.
The average days on the market for a single-family home in the region was 78 at the end of the quarter, down from 93 a year earlier. Lexington was better with an average days on market of 66 compared to 69 a year ago.
The inventory of homes also was down in the region, with 6,238 for sale in September 2009, a drop of 5.4 percent.
"Interest rates are very low; there is a good selection of homes on the market and there is no reason not to be able find the home of your choice," LBAR president Gale Fulton said in a statement.
Friday, October 2, 2009
Does this Sound Familiar?
Not that I am for taking the horse farms and turning them into subdivisions, I am not, but maybe we could learn something from here in Central KY?
Urban planning to blame for housing bubble? - REAL Trends Between 2000 and the bubble's peak, inflation- adjusted housing prices in California and Florida more than doubled, and since the peak they have fallen by 20 to 30 percent. In contrast, housing prices in Georgia and Texas grew by only about 20 to 25 percent, and they haven't significantly declined. In other words, California and Florida housing bubbled, but Georgia and Texas housing did not. This is not because people don't want to live in Georgia and Texas: since 2000, Atlanta, Dallas-Ft. Worth, and Houston have been the nation's fastest-growing urban areas, each growing by more than 120,000 people per year. According to a new study by the CATO Institute and Randal O'Toole, this suggests that local factors, not national policies, were a necessary condition for the housing bubbles where they took place. The most important factor that distinguishes states like California and Florida from states like Georgia and Texas is the amount of regulation imposed on landowners and developers, and in particular a regulatory system known as growth management. In short, restrictive growth management was a necessary condition for the housing bubble, says the study. Read more click here.
Real Trends Comment: Thomas Sowell's book, "Housing Boom and Bust" is one great read to understand how it was government involvement at all levels, local, state and federal, that was mostly responsible for both the boom and the bust in housing. At local and state levels, governmental action to reduce the land available for development and the cost of development caused huge price bubbles that exacerbated the wild swings in prices in such markets as San Francisco and Los Angeles when compared to cities like Atlanta and Houston. At the federal level the stimulus to accelerate low income households entry into homeownership caused Fannie and Freddie to purchase too many low downpayment and low credit scoring families - ending with the high foreclosure rates even before the recession.
Urban planning to blame for housing bubble? - REAL Trends Between 2000 and the bubble's peak, inflation- adjusted housing prices in California and Florida more than doubled, and since the peak they have fallen by 20 to 30 percent. In contrast, housing prices in Georgia and Texas grew by only about 20 to 25 percent, and they haven't significantly declined. In other words, California and Florida housing bubbled, but Georgia and Texas housing did not. This is not because people don't want to live in Georgia and Texas: since 2000, Atlanta, Dallas-Ft. Worth, and Houston have been the nation's fastest-growing urban areas, each growing by more than 120,000 people per year. According to a new study by the CATO Institute and Randal O'Toole, this suggests that local factors, not national policies, were a necessary condition for the housing bubbles where they took place. The most important factor that distinguishes states like California and Florida from states like Georgia and Texas is the amount of regulation imposed on landowners and developers, and in particular a regulatory system known as growth management. In short, restrictive growth management was a necessary condition for the housing bubble, says the study. Read more click here.
Real Trends Comment: Thomas Sowell's book, "Housing Boom and Bust" is one great read to understand how it was government involvement at all levels, local, state and federal, that was mostly responsible for both the boom and the bust in housing. At local and state levels, governmental action to reduce the land available for development and the cost of development caused huge price bubbles that exacerbated the wild swings in prices in such markets as San Francisco and Los Angeles when compared to cities like Atlanta and Houston. At the federal level the stimulus to accelerate low income households entry into homeownership caused Fannie and Freddie to purchase too many low downpayment and low credit scoring families - ending with the high foreclosure rates even before the recession.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
To Extend or not to Extend
I will make this short and sweet, which is unusual for me, but anyone either in the market to buy or sell, or a real estate professional has an opinion on this current first time buyer tax credit. Now to debate the actual effects of the credit, good or bad, or how it is or is not market manipulation or control at some level is beyond the scope of this post, no matter how well founded or accurate they may or may not be. But like the cash for clunkers this is indeed creating a real shift in demand at least in the short term. Again the long term effect will be another matter all togeher for another time. So here are the top 3 pros and cons as I see it as a real estate professional and a property investor. And my idea to continue the plan so there is no cash for clunker type hangover period should it expire as set to do so in a matter of weeks.
Pro's:
1. Stimulates many on the fence buyers to go ahead an purchase property now rather than later
2. Helps to reduce the inventory available and in theory stabilize prices in the target price range.
3. Gives real a tangible monetary benefit to the average person, not an untangible corporation or group
Con's:
1. Limited to the typical first time home buyer target market and price range which may not address problems that created the current climate
2. Artificial inducement to act may create hangover effect in the future and creates minimum expectation standard for the future, and which may arguably be the root of the problem in the first place
3. By creating a hard deadline creates problems by rushing to act by too much of a sense of urgency to act.
My solution:
Now the numbers are arbitrary and can and should be adjusted as required for area and budget reasons. But here is a plan I think could be introduced to extend and most importantly expand the current credit.
The Ty Brown Real Estate Stimulus and Recovery Act of 2009
- $8,000 Federal Tax Credit in the first year for ANY owner occupied purchaser to be given to the buyer similar to the same current guidelines, except open to ALL buyers.
- and additional $1,000 interest credit towards federal taxes for each of the next 6 years the purchaser remains in the home.
- $2,000 incentive to purchaser to make home more energy efficient should home be in need, again similar to current guidelines -or-
-$8,000 principal reduction credit for a current seller that must sell their home that in turn purchases a new home that will lower their monthly mortgage payment by at least 20%. Then they would not be eligible for the $8,000 credit but would be eligible for the $1,000 interest credit and energy efficiency credit.
So this would be a great deal for someone that wanted to sell their home and couldnt because the value has decreased. They could lower their price by $8,000, the buyer could still use the $8,000 toward the purchase, and both could go to a new home and use the remaining credits.
The two biggest hurdles are 1. Who would fund the $8,000 principle reduction, and 2. Again is this TOO much artificial stimulus in a open market....
Pro's:
1. Stimulates many on the fence buyers to go ahead an purchase property now rather than later
2. Helps to reduce the inventory available and in theory stabilize prices in the target price range.
3. Gives real a tangible monetary benefit to the average person, not an untangible corporation or group
Con's:
1. Limited to the typical first time home buyer target market and price range which may not address problems that created the current climate
2. Artificial inducement to act may create hangover effect in the future and creates minimum expectation standard for the future, and which may arguably be the root of the problem in the first place
3. By creating a hard deadline creates problems by rushing to act by too much of a sense of urgency to act.
My solution:
Now the numbers are arbitrary and can and should be adjusted as required for area and budget reasons. But here is a plan I think could be introduced to extend and most importantly expand the current credit.
The Ty Brown Real Estate Stimulus and Recovery Act of 2009
- $8,000 Federal Tax Credit in the first year for ANY owner occupied purchaser to be given to the buyer similar to the same current guidelines, except open to ALL buyers.
- and additional $1,000 interest credit towards federal taxes for each of the next 6 years the purchaser remains in the home.
- $2,000 incentive to purchaser to make home more energy efficient should home be in need, again similar to current guidelines -or-
-$8,000 principal reduction credit for a current seller that must sell their home that in turn purchases a new home that will lower their monthly mortgage payment by at least 20%. Then they would not be eligible for the $8,000 credit but would be eligible for the $1,000 interest credit and energy efficiency credit.
So this would be a great deal for someone that wanted to sell their home and couldnt because the value has decreased. They could lower their price by $8,000, the buyer could still use the $8,000 toward the purchase, and both could go to a new home and use the remaining credits.
The two biggest hurdles are 1. Who would fund the $8,000 principle reduction, and 2. Again is this TOO much artificial stimulus in a open market....
Friday, July 31, 2009
Florida Tile to move headquarters to Lexington
Florida Tile to move headquarters to Lexington
By Emily Ulber - eulber@herald-leader.com
State officials announced on Thursday the relocation of a Florida company to Lexington.
Florida Tile Inc. will move its headquarters from Lakeland, Fla., to Lexington, which will bring the company's corporate offices closer to its manufacturing plant and national distribution center in Lawrenceburg.
The move, which should occur in the next year, will result in the initial creation of 25 new jobs, growing to 51 over the term of the agreement. The project represents a capital investment of $3,732,500 for the state.
Kevin Verhoven, a broker for The Gibson Co., is representing the developers handling Florida Tile's move to Lexington. It will be housed in a 10,000-square-foot property in Beaumont Circle, he said.
The move might prompt other companies the size of Florida Tile to look at Lexington in a more favorable light, Verhoven said
The project is one of the first to be approved by the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority under the Kentucky Business Investment Program.
KEDFA preliminarily approved Florida Tile for up to $1,275,000 in tax incentives, which can be earned over a 10-year period through corporate income tax credit and wage assessments. The maximum annual approval amount to be earned is $127,500.
By Emily Ulber - eulber@herald-leader.com
State officials announced on Thursday the relocation of a Florida company to Lexington.
Florida Tile Inc. will move its headquarters from Lakeland, Fla., to Lexington, which will bring the company's corporate offices closer to its manufacturing plant and national distribution center in Lawrenceburg.
The move, which should occur in the next year, will result in the initial creation of 25 new jobs, growing to 51 over the term of the agreement. The project represents a capital investment of $3,732,500 for the state.
Kevin Verhoven, a broker for The Gibson Co., is representing the developers handling Florida Tile's move to Lexington. It will be housed in a 10,000-square-foot property in Beaumont Circle, he said.
The move might prompt other companies the size of Florida Tile to look at Lexington in a more favorable light, Verhoven said
The project is one of the first to be approved by the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority under the Kentucky Business Investment Program.
KEDFA preliminarily approved Florida Tile for up to $1,275,000 in tax incentives, which can be earned over a 10-year period through corporate income tax credit and wage assessments. The maximum annual approval amount to be earned is $127,500.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Housing Market Is Bouncing Back???
Housing market is bouncing back
By Alan Zibel and Alex Veiga - Associated Press
WASHINGTON — New-home sales rose last month at the fastest clip in more than eight years as buyers eagerly took advantage of bargain prices — a clear sign, economists said, that the real estate market might finally be bouncing back.
Historically low interest rates and a federal tax credit for first-time homeowners also helped push home sales to their highest level since November, the Commerce Department reported Monday.
Home prices are still falling around the country, but sales have risen for three months in a row. New-home construction is at the busiest level since last fall. And home resales rose in June for the third straight month.
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"The worst of the housing recession is now behind us," said David Resler, chief economist at Nomura Securities. And as with the overall economy, the "recovery" is likely to be slow and arduous, he said.
Put in perspective, the improvement in sales is modest. The pace of sales for new homes in June was 72 percent below the peak of four summers ago, and there is an enormous inventory of homes lingering on the market.
"There's been signs of improvement, but we're a long ways off from being back to a normal market," said Corey Barton, president of CBH Homes in Meridian, Idaho. Sales were up there in June, Barton said, but "it wasn't our biggest jump in eight years."
But there were clear signs the housing market is showing more life than at any point since the recession began. Keystone Custom Homes of Lancaster, Pa., founded in 1992, had its best June ever. July is looking good, and president Larry Wisdom expects an even stronger August.
"We doubled our sales in May, and then in June it took off," he said.
New-home sales for June came in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 384,000, blowing past the expectations of economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters, who expected 360,000.
The figure is up 11 percent from May, and May's number of 346,000 was higher than previously thought. The increase is the largest since December 2000, when investors scared by the tech-stock bubble were looking for more stable places to put their money.
Sales were strongest in the Midwest, where they jumped 43 percent from May's total. Sales climbed 29 percent in the Northeast and 23 percent in the West. They declined slightly in the South.
The median sales price was $206,200, down from $234,300 a year ago and $219,000 from May. Economists expect home prices to continue falling until the competition from low-priced foreclosures ebbs sometime next year.
To drum up sales, CBH Homes has had to slash prices by as much as 10 percent from last year's levels. The new homes CBH builds have to compete with the glut of foreclosures, which have drawn many first-time home buyers.
In addition to lower prices, buyers are rushing to take advantage of a federal tax credit that covers 10 percent of the home price or up to $8,000 for first-time buyers. Home sales must be completed by the end of November for buyers to take advantage.
"There's definitely more first-time home buyers in the market than what we've seen in the last several years," Barton said.
Fallout from the housing crisis played a central role in the U.S. recession, now the longest since World War II. Mortgages went bad, home builders pulled back and fired thousands of workers, foreclosures spiked, and lenders were shuttered by the dozen.
Although the real estate market appears to be starting a recovery, that doesn't mean it will instantly become a powerful economic engine. Construction is weak because builders have too many unsold homes sitting vacant.
At the current sales pace, there are enough new homes for sale to last nearly nine months. That's slightly less time than in May but much longer than the six-month mark that indicates a balanced market.
Falling prices mean homebuilding companies won't be making much money anytime soon, but their stocks soared nonetheless on the impressive June sales. Beazer Homes USA gained 13 percent, and shares of Centex and Hovnanian Enterprises rose 9 percent.
By Alan Zibel and Alex Veiga - Associated Press
WASHINGTON — New-home sales rose last month at the fastest clip in more than eight years as buyers eagerly took advantage of bargain prices — a clear sign, economists said, that the real estate market might finally be bouncing back.
Historically low interest rates and a federal tax credit for first-time homeowners also helped push home sales to their highest level since November, the Commerce Department reported Monday.
Home prices are still falling around the country, but sales have risen for three months in a row. New-home construction is at the busiest level since last fall. And home resales rose in June for the third straight month.
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_krdDartInc++;
document.write('');
}
"The worst of the housing recession is now behind us," said David Resler, chief economist at Nomura Securities. And as with the overall economy, the "recovery" is likely to be slow and arduous, he said.
Put in perspective, the improvement in sales is modest. The pace of sales for new homes in June was 72 percent below the peak of four summers ago, and there is an enormous inventory of homes lingering on the market.
"There's been signs of improvement, but we're a long ways off from being back to a normal market," said Corey Barton, president of CBH Homes in Meridian, Idaho. Sales were up there in June, Barton said, but "it wasn't our biggest jump in eight years."
But there were clear signs the housing market is showing more life than at any point since the recession began. Keystone Custom Homes of Lancaster, Pa., founded in 1992, had its best June ever. July is looking good, and president Larry Wisdom expects an even stronger August.
"We doubled our sales in May, and then in June it took off," he said.
New-home sales for June came in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 384,000, blowing past the expectations of economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters, who expected 360,000.
The figure is up 11 percent from May, and May's number of 346,000 was higher than previously thought. The increase is the largest since December 2000, when investors scared by the tech-stock bubble were looking for more stable places to put their money.
Sales were strongest in the Midwest, where they jumped 43 percent from May's total. Sales climbed 29 percent in the Northeast and 23 percent in the West. They declined slightly in the South.
The median sales price was $206,200, down from $234,300 a year ago and $219,000 from May. Economists expect home prices to continue falling until the competition from low-priced foreclosures ebbs sometime next year.
To drum up sales, CBH Homes has had to slash prices by as much as 10 percent from last year's levels. The new homes CBH builds have to compete with the glut of foreclosures, which have drawn many first-time home buyers.
In addition to lower prices, buyers are rushing to take advantage of a federal tax credit that covers 10 percent of the home price or up to $8,000 for first-time buyers. Home sales must be completed by the end of November for buyers to take advantage.
"There's definitely more first-time home buyers in the market than what we've seen in the last several years," Barton said.
Fallout from the housing crisis played a central role in the U.S. recession, now the longest since World War II. Mortgages went bad, home builders pulled back and fired thousands of workers, foreclosures spiked, and lenders were shuttered by the dozen.
Although the real estate market appears to be starting a recovery, that doesn't mean it will instantly become a powerful economic engine. Construction is weak because builders have too many unsold homes sitting vacant.
At the current sales pace, there are enough new homes for sale to last nearly nine months. That's slightly less time than in May but much longer than the six-month mark that indicates a balanced market.
Falling prices mean homebuilding companies won't be making much money anytime soon, but their stocks soared nonetheless on the impressive June sales. Beazer Homes USA gained 13 percent, and shares of Centex and Hovnanian Enterprises rose 9 percent.
Monday, July 27, 2009
June new home sales rise 11 percent
By ALAN ZIBEL, AP Real Estate Writer Alan Zibel, Ap Real Estate Writer – 1 hr 21 mins ago
WASHINGTON –
New U.S. home sales rose by the largest amount in more than eight years last month, in another sign the housing market is finally bouncing back from the worst downturn in decades.
The Commerce Department said Monday that sales rose 11 percent in June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 384,000, from an upwardly revised May rate of 346,000.
It was the strongest sales pace since November 2008 and exceeded the forecasts of economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters, who expected a pace of 360,000 units. The last time sales rose so dramatically was in December 2000.
Sales have risen for three straight months. The median sales price of $206,200, however, was down 12 percent from $234,300 a year earlier and down nearly 6 percent from $219,000 in May.
The report is another encouraging sign that the beleaguered housing sector is finally coming back to life. Last Thursday, the National Association of Realtors reported that home resales posted a monthly increase of 3.6 percent in June.
There were 281,000 new homes for sale at the end of June, down more than 4 percent from May. At the current sales pace, that represents 8.8 months of supply — the lowest level since October 2007.
Fallout from the housing crisis has played a central role in the U.S. recession, now the longest since World War II. Foreclosures have spiked, homebuilders have slashed construction, and financial companies have lost billions.
WASHINGTON –
New U.S. home sales rose by the largest amount in more than eight years last month, in another sign the housing market is finally bouncing back from the worst downturn in decades.
The Commerce Department said Monday that sales rose 11 percent in June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 384,000, from an upwardly revised May rate of 346,000.
It was the strongest sales pace since November 2008 and exceeded the forecasts of economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters, who expected a pace of 360,000 units. The last time sales rose so dramatically was in December 2000.
Sales have risen for three straight months. The median sales price of $206,200, however, was down 12 percent from $234,300 a year earlier and down nearly 6 percent from $219,000 in May.
The report is another encouraging sign that the beleaguered housing sector is finally coming back to life. Last Thursday, the National Association of Realtors reported that home resales posted a monthly increase of 3.6 percent in June.
There were 281,000 new homes for sale at the end of June, down more than 4 percent from May. At the current sales pace, that represents 8.8 months of supply — the lowest level since October 2007.
Fallout from the housing crisis has played a central role in the U.S. recession, now the longest since World War II. Foreclosures have spiked, homebuilders have slashed construction, and financial companies have lost billions.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
For more people, scales tip toward buying a home
By ALEX VEIGA, AP Real Estate Writer Alex Veiga, Ap Real Estate Writer – Tue Jul 21, 5:52 pm ET
For Aaron Carter, a musician who was struggling to fit a drum set, a piano and three guitars into his 600-square-foot apartment in Phoenix, the math on owning a home finally began to work in his favor.
Rent for the apartment he shared with his wife: $615. Mortgage payment for a home with twice the space: $760. And the interest on a mortgage is tax-deductible. So they jumped at the chance to buy some elbow room.
"We figured that everything together, getting more space, getting out of the apartment life and also just the prices right now, it just was the perfect time for us as a couple" to buy, said Carter, 20.
For Americans debating whether to buy or rent their homes, the scales are tipping toward ownership. Because of the slide in home prices, low interest rates and tax incentives, renters are realizing they could handle a mortgage for a just little more money.
An Associated Press analysis of 45 metro areas finds the gap between the monthly mortgage payment on a median-priced home and the median rent has shrunk from $777 a month to just $221 in the past three years.
It could mean a quicker end to the housing-market doldrums, as renters buy up unsold homes languishing on the market.
In some metro areas, including Cleveland, Atlanta, Indianapolis and St. Louis, the gap was less than $100 a month. And home prices are expected to fall faster than rents this year, which means the gap should get even smaller.
In once-inflated markets like Phoenix, Las Vegas and inland swaths of California and Florida, where prices have tumbled more than 40 percent, sales are rising because first-time homebuyers are snapping up bargain-priced homes.
They are getting help from a federal tax credit that covers 10 percent of the home price or up to $8,000 for first-time buyers who earn up to $75,000 a year, or $150,000 for a couple. The credit expires at the end of November.
Cheap foreclosures in some of those markets are now drawing multiple bids. As supply and demand even out, home prices will eventually begin to rise. But for now buyers are having little trouble finding bargains.
Jere Ross, an Air Force vehicle operator, and his wife recently bought a four-bedroom, 1 1/2-bath house in Zephyrhills, Fla., a Tampa suburb, for $86,500 rather than jump into another yearlong apartment lease.
Ross, 23, used a Veterans Administration loan, which doesn't require a down payment, and got a 30-year mortgage at a fixed rate of 5.5 percent. His monthly payment comes to $700 a month, including property taxes and insurance — $110 less than he paid to rent an apartment nearly half the size.
"It just came to a point where we were just throwing our money away on rent," Ross said. "When it came to find out that we could own this house for, less than what we're paying in rent, it was a 'no duh!' kind of moment."
The study, conducted for the AP by Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services, used prices for the first three months of this year.
It calculated mortgage payments by assuming a 10 percent down payment, a 30-year fixed loan at 5.15 percent, and taxes and insurance that added up to 1.5 percent of the purchase price. It assumed borrowers used private mortgage insurance.
While the analysis found the gap between what it costs to own and rent is shrinking, it's still too wide for millions who live paycheck to paycheck.
Renters with jobs in the education, retail and transportation industries don't earn enough to rent the average two-bedroom apartment in many of these major cities, let alone buy, according to a recent study of 200 metro areas by the Center for Housing Policy.
Renters who want to become homeowners also face the obstacles of scraping together a down payment and qualifying for the loan. And renters with a record of paying bills late will have a hard time getting a low interest rate.
"There's still those buyers that are having trouble getting financed," says Brad Snyder, an agent with ZipRealty in Las Vegas. "A lot of them are still just looking for that easy way in, and it's just not there."
Homeowners also have to shoulder many costs renters don't face — association fees, insurance, some utilities. And there are still cities, among them San Francisco and Los Angeles, where it's usually still more affordable to rent — even though home prices have fallen more than 30 percent.
Mike Sigal, a longtime renter in San Francisco, has looked at buying a home for the past couple of years. But buying one comparable to the two-bedroom, two-bath apartment he has now would cost more than $600,000, meaning the mortgage would far exceed his $1,800 rent.
"The math doesn't come out," said Sigal, 42, who runs an information services company. "I've got extreme value for my rent."
Nevertheless, homes in some parts of country are more affordable than they've been in decades. Even Dean Baker, an economist who sounded early warnings about the housing bubble and sold his own condo in 2004, has come around.
Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington, bought a five-bedroom house last month for $650,000, which he figures is about 20 percent below what it would have gone for at the peak of the market.
"We feel we got a pretty good deal," Baker said.
By buying, he accepted the risk that he might lose money if home values keep dropping. "We'll probably end up more or less even," he said. "Depending how much further down they go."
For Aaron Carter, a musician who was struggling to fit a drum set, a piano and three guitars into his 600-square-foot apartment in Phoenix, the math on owning a home finally began to work in his favor.
Rent for the apartment he shared with his wife: $615. Mortgage payment for a home with twice the space: $760. And the interest on a mortgage is tax-deductible. So they jumped at the chance to buy some elbow room.
"We figured that everything together, getting more space, getting out of the apartment life and also just the prices right now, it just was the perfect time for us as a couple" to buy, said Carter, 20.
For Americans debating whether to buy or rent their homes, the scales are tipping toward ownership. Because of the slide in home prices, low interest rates and tax incentives, renters are realizing they could handle a mortgage for a just little more money.
An Associated Press analysis of 45 metro areas finds the gap between the monthly mortgage payment on a median-priced home and the median rent has shrunk from $777 a month to just $221 in the past three years.
It could mean a quicker end to the housing-market doldrums, as renters buy up unsold homes languishing on the market.
In some metro areas, including Cleveland, Atlanta, Indianapolis and St. Louis, the gap was less than $100 a month. And home prices are expected to fall faster than rents this year, which means the gap should get even smaller.
In once-inflated markets like Phoenix, Las Vegas and inland swaths of California and Florida, where prices have tumbled more than 40 percent, sales are rising because first-time homebuyers are snapping up bargain-priced homes.
They are getting help from a federal tax credit that covers 10 percent of the home price or up to $8,000 for first-time buyers who earn up to $75,000 a year, or $150,000 for a couple. The credit expires at the end of November.
Cheap foreclosures in some of those markets are now drawing multiple bids. As supply and demand even out, home prices will eventually begin to rise. But for now buyers are having little trouble finding bargains.
Jere Ross, an Air Force vehicle operator, and his wife recently bought a four-bedroom, 1 1/2-bath house in Zephyrhills, Fla., a Tampa suburb, for $86,500 rather than jump into another yearlong apartment lease.
Ross, 23, used a Veterans Administration loan, which doesn't require a down payment, and got a 30-year mortgage at a fixed rate of 5.5 percent. His monthly payment comes to $700 a month, including property taxes and insurance — $110 less than he paid to rent an apartment nearly half the size.
"It just came to a point where we were just throwing our money away on rent," Ross said. "When it came to find out that we could own this house for, less than what we're paying in rent, it was a 'no duh!' kind of moment."
The study, conducted for the AP by Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services, used prices for the first three months of this year.
It calculated mortgage payments by assuming a 10 percent down payment, a 30-year fixed loan at 5.15 percent, and taxes and insurance that added up to 1.5 percent of the purchase price. It assumed borrowers used private mortgage insurance.
While the analysis found the gap between what it costs to own and rent is shrinking, it's still too wide for millions who live paycheck to paycheck.
Renters with jobs in the education, retail and transportation industries don't earn enough to rent the average two-bedroom apartment in many of these major cities, let alone buy, according to a recent study of 200 metro areas by the Center for Housing Policy.
Renters who want to become homeowners also face the obstacles of scraping together a down payment and qualifying for the loan. And renters with a record of paying bills late will have a hard time getting a low interest rate.
"There's still those buyers that are having trouble getting financed," says Brad Snyder, an agent with ZipRealty in Las Vegas. "A lot of them are still just looking for that easy way in, and it's just not there."
Homeowners also have to shoulder many costs renters don't face — association fees, insurance, some utilities. And there are still cities, among them San Francisco and Los Angeles, where it's usually still more affordable to rent — even though home prices have fallen more than 30 percent.
Mike Sigal, a longtime renter in San Francisco, has looked at buying a home for the past couple of years. But buying one comparable to the two-bedroom, two-bath apartment he has now would cost more than $600,000, meaning the mortgage would far exceed his $1,800 rent.
"The math doesn't come out," said Sigal, 42, who runs an information services company. "I've got extreme value for my rent."
Nevertheless, homes in some parts of country are more affordable than they've been in decades. Even Dean Baker, an economist who sounded early warnings about the housing bubble and sold his own condo in 2004, has come around.
Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington, bought a five-bedroom house last month for $650,000, which he figures is about 20 percent below what it would have gone for at the peak of the market.
"We feel we got a pretty good deal," Baker said.
By buying, he accepted the risk that he might lose money if home values keep dropping. "We'll probably end up more or less even," he said. "Depending how much further down they go."
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