March 19, 2012

HARRY’S WEEKLY UPDATE
A CURRENT LOOK AT THE COLORADO SPRINGS RESIDENTIAL real estate MARKET


COLORADO SPRINGS JOB MARKET IS LOOKING HEALTHIER
The Gazette: March 12, 2012

The job market outlook in the Colorado Springs area for the second quarter is among the best in the past 3 ½ years,
according to a quarterly employment survey by temporary staffing giant Manpower.

The area’s outlook for the April-June quarter ranks among the top third of the nation’s 100 largest metropolitan areas, with
19% of local employers planning additional hiring.


NEW SURVEY SHOWS AMERICANS UPBEAT ABOUT HOME VALUES
Daily real estate News: Friday March 16, 2012

The latest Outlook Survey shows that 70% of Americans say they are confident that property values will rise within the next two years. Furthermore, 63% say that they still view real estate as a good investment.

96% of the 1000 people surveyed (these are people who are in the market to buy or sell a home) say that now is a good time to purchase a home.

We couldn’t agree more !!! Low mortgage interest rates, low prices and a good inventory of available homes to choose from all add up to a great opportunity for Buyers. …Call us to cash in on this ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ market.

Call us at 598-3200, or, 800 677-6683 (MOVE).


HOUSING STARTS INDICATE THAT HOUSING MAY BOOST THE ECONOMY IN 2012
Bloomberg Businessweek: March 18, 2012

Spurred by rising employment and record-low mortgage rates, buyers are wading back into the market. Indicators are that housing may become a major net-contributor to the U.S. economy for the first time since 2006.

Peter de Bruin, an economist with ABN Amro Group, has been the most accurate forecaster of new-home sales in the two years ended Feb. 1, 2012, states that, “Housing will contribute modestly to recovery this year, and we will see a sustained recovery in 2013 through 2015.”

Existing-home sales reached their fastest pace in 20 months in January and more Americans that forecast signed contracts to buy, according to NAR.

Some of the upbeat data in the Bloomberg Businessweek article show that housing starts are up 20%, Homebuilder confidence is up 122%, and the increase in lumber moved by railcar was 26%.

That’s the good news …The bad news is that, if you wait much longer to buy your new home, inventory will be smaller, thus forcing prices up, and rates will be higher, thus forcing monthly payments up. (The Department of Numbers Website reports that, in the 146 major metro areas it tracks, Sellers’ asking prices were up 3.69% on the year. This marks the first time in six years that the numbers have gone positive).

The bottom line: Buy now. Call us at 598-3200, or, 800 677-6683 (MOVE).


NOW IS A GOOD TIME TO THINK ABOUT BUYING A RENTAL PROPERTY

Fannie Mae’s February 2012 National Housing Survey shows that both renters and landlords expect home prices and rents to increase over the next 12 months.

On average, the survey respondents expect home rental prices to increase by 3.5% over the next 12 months.

In fact, the Wall Street Journal (Monday, March 19, 2012) reports that some of the biggest names on Wall Street are lining up to become landlords by bidding on pools of foreclosed properties being sold by Fannie Mae.

WSJ goes on to point out that rentals promise a relatively high rate of return compared with other investments right now.

Warren Buffett, considered a sage investor and chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. said in an interview with CNBC-TV last month that he would buy up “a couple hundred thousand” single-family homes, given the high yields on rental investments.

Bottom line: You can buy a rental property today for less than it will cost you tomorrow, and the income you derive from that property will increase every year.

Call us at 598-3200, or, 800 677-6683 (MOVE), to discuss how you can take advantage of the current opportunity to add rental income to your investment portfolio.


FRONTIER AIRLINES TO INCREASE DIRECT FLIGHTS FROM COLORADO SPRINGS
The Colorado Springs Business Journal – March 22, 2012

Frontier Airlines has named Colorado Springs as one of their first ‘focus cities” and will start four non-stop flights out of the Colorado Springs airport in May. The target cities for the flights will be Phoenix, Los Angeles, Portland and Seattle.

The new flights will feature the 138-seat Airbus A319 and Frontier will lower ticket prices, so they can fill the planes.

Frontier already has strong bookings on the new flights and has stated they are impressed with the direct bookings and are very excited about the new flights.

The Colorado Springs Economic Development Corps is also very excited about the news and feels they will assist them in their effort to attract new businesses to our city.

These new flights will be more efficient for the business traveler and will make our local ticket prices competitive with Denver airline prices. As other airlines adjust their prices to compete, ticket prices for other local flights should also go down.
This is another piece of good news for our area and demonstrates that our local economy is getting better every day.


MORTGAGE RATES INCH UP ON POSITIVE ECONOMIC DATA
Housingwire: March 15,2012

Freddie Mac announced that mortgage rates rose across the board this past week on positive jobs data and increasing bond yields

The 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage hit 3.92% for the week ending March 15, up from 3.88% the previous week (and down from 4.76% a year ago).

So, “times a’wastin”.. Don’t wait for rates to go down any further. It looks like, as the economy recovers, mortgage rates are starting to go up.


HOME PURCHASES IN FEBRUARY IN THE U.S. CLIMBED TO HIGHEST LEVEL IN TWO YEARS
Bloomberg News, March 18, 2012

Home purchases in the U.S. probably climbed in February to the highest level in almost two years, another sign of stabilization in the real-estate market, economists said reports this week will show.

Combined sales of new and previously owned properties rose to 4.93 million at an annual rate, the strongest since May 2010, from 4.89 million in January, according to the median forecasts in a Bloomberg News survey.

Job and income gains, cheaper homes and the lowest mortgage rates on record have combined to push affordability to an all- time high. With fewer new dwellings on the market, residential construction may be poised to contribute more to economic growth this year.

“The evidence is very clear that housing is beginning to improve,” said Russell Price, a senior economist at Ameriprise Financial Inc. in Detroit. “I do not expect housing to be a drag on GDP this year. It started to be a modest positive contributor last year. Now that it’s actually contributing again, that’s a significant turn of events.”

The National Association of Realtors will release its existing-home sales data on March 21. Purchases increased 0.7 percent to a 21-month high 4.6 million at an annual rate, after a 4.57 million pace in January, according to the Bloomberg survey median.

Sales of new homes in February climbed to a 325,000 annual rate, the fastest since December 2010, from 321,000 the prior month, the survey median showed. The report is due from the Commerce Department on March 23.

The improvement in the labor market has contributed to the recent housing gains. Payrolls rose in February, capping the best six-month increase since 2006, while the jobless rate held at a three-year low, according to Labor Department figures.

Housing Starts

Builders in February broke ground on 700,000 homes at an annual pace, the most in three months, economists said ahead of March 20 figures from the Commerce Department. That same report may show the strongest pace of building permits, a sign of future construction, since March 2010.

“All the economic signs seem to be positive in terms of consumer confidence, interest rates, unemployment levels,” Martin Connor, chief financial officer at Toll Brothers Inc., said March 5 at a investors’ conference in Orlando, Florida.

The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage reached an all-time low of 3.87 percent in February, according to data from Freddie Mac.

A measure of housing affordability a month earlier climbed to 206.1, according to the National Association of Realtors. A value of 100 means that a family with the national median income has enough to qualify for a median-priced property.

WOW !!!! How much good news can we take?

 

SALES AND LISTING STATISTICS

CLICK HERE for the latest Sales and Listing data on the Pikes Peak area from the Pikes Peak Association of Realtors.

And, please remember, I would be honored to serve as your Broker for all of your residential real estate needs. I want to help you, my reader, make the most prudent and accurate Real Estate business decision.

Also if you know of anyone who desires to buy or sell local real estate, or, who is moving in or out of the Pikes Peak region, remember that, with over 39 years of providing relocation and Real Estate services to clients throughout the country, I am uniquely qualified to assist them with the relocation process, including buying and/or selling their homes on both ends of their move. Please allow me to implement my negotiating skills on your behalf. Call us at 598-3200,or, 800 877-MOVE (6683).


JOKE OF THE WEEK

Hollywood Squares:
These great questions and answers are from the days when ' Hollywood Squares' game show responses were spontaneous, Not scripted, as they are now. Peter Marshall was the host asking the questions, of course..

Q.. Paul, what is a good reason for pounding meat?
A. Paul Lynde: Loneliness! (The audience laughed so long and so hard it took up almost 15 minutes of the show!)

Q.. Do female frogs croak?
A. Paul Lynde: If you hold their little heads under water long enough.

Q. If you're going to make a parachute jump, at least how high should you be
A. Charley Weaver: Three days of steady drinking should do it..

Q.True or False, a pea can last as long as 5,000 years...
A. George Gobel: Boy, it sure seems that way sometimes.

Q.You've been having trouble going to sleep. Are you probably a man or a woman?
A.. Don Knotts: That's what's been keeping me awake.

Q. According to Cosmopolitan, if you meet a stranger at a party and you
think that he is attractive, is it okay to come out and ask him if he's married?
A.. Rose Marie: No wait until morning.

Q.Which of your five senses tends to diminish as you get older?
A. Charley Weaver: My sense of decency..

Q.In Hawaiian, does it take more than three words to say 'I Love You'?
A. Vincent Price: No, you can say it with a pineapple and a twenty..

Q.What are 'Do It,' 'I Can Help,' and 'I Can't Get Enough'?
A. George Gobel: I don't know, but it's coming from the next apartment.

Q.As you grow older, do you tend to gesture more or less
with your hands while talking?
A.Rose Marie: You ask me one more growing old question Peter,
and I'll give you a gesture you'll never forget.

Q..Paul, why do Hell's Angels wear leather?
A. Paul Lynde: Because chiffon wrinkles .

Q..Charley, you've just decided to grow strawberries.
Are you going to get any during the first year?
A.. Charley Weaver: Of course not, I'm too busy growing strawberries.

Q.In bowling, what's a perfect score?
A. Rose Marie: Ralph, the pin boy.

Q. It is considered in bad taste to discuss two subjects at nudist camps... One is politics,
what is the other?
A. Paul Lynde: Tape measures..

Q.During a tornado, are you safer in the bedroom or in the closet?
A. Rose Marie: Unfortunately Peter, I'm always safe in the bedroom.

Q.Can boys join the Camp Fire Girls?
A.. Marty Allen: Only after lights out.

Q.When you pat a dog on its head he will wag his tail.
What will a goose do?
A. Paul Lynde: Make him bark?

Q.If you were pregnant for two years, what would you give birth to?
A. Paul Lynde: Whatever it is, it would never be afraid of the dark..

Q.According to Ann Landers, is there anything wrong with getting into
the habit of kissing a lot of people?
A. Charley Weaver: It got me out of the Navy!

Q. Back in the old days, when Great Grandpa put horseradish on his head,
what was he trying to do?
A. George Gobel: Get it in his mouth.

Q.Who stays pregnant for a longer period of time, your wife or your elephant?
A. Paul Lynde: Who told you about my elephant?

Q. When a couple have a baby, who is responsible for its sex?
A... Charley Weaver: I'll lend him the car, the rest is up to him

Q.Jackie Gleason recently revealed that he firmly believes in them and has
actually seen them on at least two occasions What are they?
A. Charley Weaver: His feet.

Q.According to Ann Landers, what are two things you should never do in bed?
A. Paul Lynde: Point and laugh

WE DON'T STOP LAUGHING BECAUSE WE GROW OLD,
WE GROW OLD BECAUSE WE STOP LAUGHING