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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, July 1, 2010
Realtor Call to Action Success
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.
if(miyahoo.ads[mi_live_or_preview].dart.enabled){ // 'live' or 'preview' is set during page build
_krdDartInc++;
document.write('');
}
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.
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