September 10, 2012

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


IT’S “THANK YOU” TIME

Over the past 40 years of selling real estate in the Colorado Springs area, we have been fortunate enough to establish a large network of clients and friends. As a matter of fact, most of our sales are sent to us by this loyal group. As a result, we haven’t had to use traditional advertising very heavily. We appreciate the wonderful support that our network has given us. ....We couldn’t have done it without you !!!

However, as we celebrate our 40 years of history in the Colorado Springs area, we felt it was time to formally thank our many friends for their support and to get acquainted with newcomers to our area by taking out ads in both The Colorado Springs Business Journal and the Gazette. We hope you enjoy them.

We invite our readers to CLICK HERE to see our ad which appeared on Friday, Sept. 7 in the CSBJ. Our Gazette ad will appear within the next few weeks. (Please ...no comments about how I look older!!)

Thanks, everybody for your referrals and your support.

Harry

WHAT’S HAPPENING TO OUR LOCAL HOME PRICES ??

The outlook for our local real estate market is terrific. The latest statistics issued by the Pikes Peak Association of Realtors shows that our single-family home sales in August were 898. That’s up 7.9% over August 2011. In fact, our local home sales have increased in 12 of the last 14 months.

Our sales prices have also shown a healthy increase over August, 2011. Our average sales price of $235,711 is 6.5% over August, 2011 and our median sales price of $210,500 is 10.2% over August, 2011. To put this into perspective, keep in mind that the national increase in home prices over August, 2011 is only 3.8%. As usual, the Colorado Springs real estate market is the envy of the nation.

Can this healthy growth continue? It certainly can and will, especially considering that our inventory of homes for sale is decreasing. Our present inventory of 3863 is 13.8% lower than last year.

Not to keep repeating myself, but NOW IS THE TIME TO BUY !!!
If you would like to see a complete overview of our local real estate market, CLICK HERE for the complete monthly PPAR report.

 

MEDIAN DAYS ON MARKET SHRINKS TO 69
Inman news, Wednesday, September 5, 2012.

The National Association of Realtors announced today that the median days on the market for listed homes had shrunk to 69 days. In announcing this new metric of 69 median days on market. This indicates a dwindling inventory. In fact, NAR statistics show median days on market is down 29.6 percent from a year ago, from 98 days in July 2011 to 69 days in July 2012. This is good news for Sellers, but, for Buyers, it indicated that home prices will continue to rise and bidding wars for homes might be on the horizon.

From 1987 through 2011, time on market was typically 6.9 weeks, NAR said. During that time, NAR's data on existing-home sales showed the supply of inventory averaging seven months, indicating slightly less demand from sellers than in a balanced market.
In periods where for-sale inventory amounted to a six-month supply of homes, median selling time was just over six weeks.

When inventories dipped to an average of 4.3 months during the boom years of 2004 and 2005, median selling time dropped to four weeks. Time on market peaked at 10 weeks in 2009 when there was a 10-month supply of homes for sale.

Factoring out short sales -- which typically take three months or longer to sell -- the median time on market for traditional sellers currently "appears to be in the balanced range of six to seven weeks," said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yen.

Housing inventory and time on market correlates with rising and falling prices. If housing construction doesn't pick up to normal within two years, Yun said a shortage of listings could lead to "above average" price appreciation.

 

The bottom line for our readers: Better buy now !!! Tomorrow will cost you more!!!

 

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, 800 677-MOVE (6683).

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. …

 

FANNIE, FREDDIE TO HIKE LOAN FEES
Daily real estate News | Tuesday, September 04, 2012

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced that mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will increase — by an average of 10 basis points — the fees they charge lenders to guarantee loans.

The fee increases are expected to be passed along to borrowers, possibly with higher interest rates, Bloomberg reports. However, banking trade groups say any increases should be minimal and shouldn’t hurt mortgage lending.

For example, a rise of 10 basis points could potentially cost a borrower with a $200,000 mortgage about $4,000 over the term of a 30-year loan, Bloomberg reports.

“It’s obviously going to have a small impact on pricing, but given that mortgage rates are the lowest they’ve ever been, we think it’s probably the right time to do it,” Joseph Pigg, vice president at the American Bankers Association, told Bloomberg.

The purpose behind the fee increase was to increase the financial stability of the two mortgage giants as well as start decreasing their stake in the mortgage market, says Edward J. DeMarco, FHFA acting director.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac own or guarantee about 60 percent of all mortgages in the U.S.

 

JOKE OF THE WEEK

A tourist wanders into a back-alley antique shop somewhere in Washington DC. Picking through the objects on display he discovers a detailed, life-sized bronze sculpture of a rat. The sculpture is so interesting and unique that he picks it up and asks the shop owner what it costs. "Twelve dollars for the rat, sir," says the shop owner, "and a thousand dollars more for the story behind it." "You can keep the story, old man," he replies, "but I'll take the rat."

The transaction complete, the tourist leaves the store with the bronze rat under his arm. As he crosses the street in front of the store, two live rats emerge from a sewer drain and fall into step behind him. Nervously looking over his shoulder, he begins to walk faster, but every time he passes another sewer drain, more rats come out and follow him. By the time he's walked two blocks, at least a hundred rats are at his heels, and people begin to point and shout. He walks even faster, and soon breaks into a trot as multitudes of rats swarm from sewers, basements, vacant lots, and abandoned cars.

Rats by the thousands are at his heels, and as he sees the waterfront at the bottom of the hill, he panics and starts to run full tilt. No matter how fast he runs, the rats keep up, squealing hideously, now not just thousands but millions, so that by the time he comes rushing up to the water's edge a trail of rats twelve city blocks long is behind him.

Making a mighty leap, he jumps up onto a light post, grasping it with one arm while he hurls the bronze rat into the Potomac Tidal Basin with the other, as far as he can heave it. Pulling his legs up and clinging to the light post, he watches in amazement as the seething tide of rats surges over the breakwater into the Basin, where they drown.

Shaken and mumbling, he makes his way back to the antique shop."So, you've come back for the rest of the story," says the owner. "No," says the tourist, "I was wondering if you have a bronze congressman. "