September 4, 2012

HARRY’S WEEKLY UPDATE

A CURRENT LOOK AT THE COLORADO SPRINGS RESIDENTIAL real estate MARKET

WHAT’S HAPPENING IN THE SPRINGS ?

Click here to see the latest PPAR Sales and Listing statistics for July (August data will be published this week and will be in next week’s Enewsletter).They show that area home prices are on the rise.  In July, the median price of homes sold climbed to $212,000, a 6.6% increase over the same month last year. Year-over-year prices have now risen for five straight months.

Shrinking Inventory, rising prices, mortgage rates at an all-time low, buyers beginning to have to get into bidding wars for homes …… Isn’t it time for you to jump in and get that new home you have been considering …while “the iron is hot”?

Call at 598-3200, or, 800 677-6683 (MOVE), to discuss your new home.

 

JULY PENDING HOME SALES RISE NATIONWIDE

DSnews.com, RISMedia, Wall Street Journal, Daily real estate News, Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Pending home sales rose in July to the highest level in over two years and remain well above year-ago levels, according to the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR).

The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, rose 2.4 percent to 101.7 in July from 99.3 in June and is 12.4 percent above July 2011 when it was 90.5.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said the index is at the highest level since April 2010, which was shortly before the closing deadline for the home buyer tax credit. “While the month-to-month movement has been uneven, more importantly we now have 15 consecutive months of year-over-year gains in contract activity,” Yun said.

Limited inventory is constraining market activity. “All regions saw monthly increases in home-buying activity except for the West, which is now experiencing an acute inventory shortage,” Yun added.

Existing-home sales are projected to rise 8 to 9 percent in 2012, followed by another 7 to 8 percent gain in 2013. Home prices are expected to increase 10 percent cumulatively over the next two years.

“Falling visible and shadow inventories point toward continuing price gains. Expected gains in housing starts of 25 to 30 percent this year, and nearly 50 percent in 2013, are insufficient to meet the growing housing demand,” Yun said.

Colorado Springs has been ahead of this curve all during 2011 and 2012. We are about 18 months ahead of the rest of the country, according to Fred Crowley, chief economist for the Southern Colorado Economic Forum.

 

AS PRICES RISE, HOMEBUYERS WORRIED THEY'RE LOSING BARGAINING POWER

Daily real estate News | Thursday, August 30, 2012

While home buyers have been holding a lot of bargaining power in the housing market the last few years, more of them say they are now feeling the market shift against them, according to a new survey.

Seven in 10 home buyers say they’ve faced competition on a home for at least one offer, according to a recent survey of 982 buyers in 19 markets conducted by Redfin. Of those surveyed, 46 percent say now is a good time to purchase a home. On the other hand, 32% now say it’s a good time to sell.

"Many buyers who emerged from hibernation this spring eager to take advantage of low rates and near-bottom prices now seem to have become demoralized by the intense competition for a limited selection of homes for sale," Redfin said in a public statement about the survey results.

The survey also found the number of buyers expecting home prices to rise drastically grew — 61% say prices will rise compared to 32 percent during the first quarter.

Give us a call to discuss our local market and let us help you find the best deals available.

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

 

HOUSING MAY BE WHAT DRIVES ECONOMIC RECOVERY 

Daily real estate News | Wednesday, August 29, 2012

As the economy struggles to find footing, many analysts are calling housing a bright spot, particularly during the second quarter.

Home sales for existing-homes over $100,000 have increased compared to one year ago basically in every region of the country, according to National Association of REALTORS® data. Meanwhile, inventory levels have dropped nearly 26 percent over the past year. Also, reports show home prices are stabilizing and even increasing in some markets.

“The housing market is clearly superior this year compared with the past four years,” says Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. “The latest increase in home contract signings marks 13 consecutive months of year-over-year gains.”

Columnist Kevin Mahn for Forbes writes that “an improving housing market is critical for consumer confidence, and the economic recovery overall, as home equity still accounts for over 16 percent of household net worth” (according to Federal Reserve data as of the end of the second quarter of 2010).

 

SURVEY: HOUSING IS STILL A BIG PART OF THE AMERICAN DREAM

Daily real estate News | Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Americans are getting more optimistic about their financial future, and they believe housing still plays an important part in that, according to a poll of 1,000 to 2,000 people conducted by FTI Strategic Communications.

Sixty-two percent of Americans say they expect the economy to improve within the next year. What’s more, 73 percent of those surveyed say home ownership is part of achieving the American Dream.

According to the survey, Americans believe they increasingly hold their financial fate, with 60 percent saying that they can be comfortable financially by working hard and being savvy with their investing.

What’s more, 44 percent say they believe they’ve had more opportunities than their parents.

 

AMERICANS: HOME OWNERSHIP STILL A GREAT INVESTMENT

Daily real estate News | Friday, June 03, 2011

Seventy-five percent of Americans say that “owning a home is the best long-term investment they can make” and is worth the risk of ups and downs in the housing market,” according to a new survey of 2,000 bipartisan voters by the National Association of Home Builders.

The survey found Americans to be optimistic about home ownership. Eighty-one percent of those who own their homes outright, 76 percent with mortgages, 67 percent of renters, and 65 percent who have underwater mortgages cited home ownership as the “best long-term investment.”

When survey respondents were asked whether they’d recommend buying a home to a friend or family member just starting out, 80 percent of Americans said “yes.” Even home owners currently underwater — those who owe more on their mortgage than their home is currently worth — overwhelmingly (78 percent) said they would recommend home ownership to family or friends starting out.

More buyers are coming up through the pipeline too. The survey found that 73 percent of those surveyed who do not own a home said their goal is eventually to buy one.

The NAHB survey also found:

▪ 58 percent of Americans oppose eliminating the mortgage-interest deduction and 63 percent oppose lowering it. What’s more, 57 percent of those surveyed say they are less likely to support a candidate for Congress who wanted to eliminate the mortgage-interest deduction.
▪ Respondents were split on about requiring a 20 percent down payment to purchase a home: 49 percent were in favor and 49 percent opposed it. However, mortgage holders and renters aged 18 to 54 were more opposed to it: 58 percent of younger mortgage holders and 59 percent of younger renters opposed adding a 20 percent down payment requirement.

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 40 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.

Just click on the icon at the top of this email to listen to my latest podcast.

 

JOKE OF THE WEEK

Here are a few of the most famous observations about elections:

If the World Series runs until election day, the networks will run the first one-half inning and project the winner. ~Lindsey Nelson

It's not the voting that counts; it's the counting. ~Tom Stoppard, Jumpers

Politicians and diapers should be changed frequently and all for the same reason. ~José Maria de Eça de Queiroz, translated from Portuguese

How come we choose from just two people to run for president and 50 for Miss America? ~Author Unknown

If we got one-tenth of what was promised to us in these acceptance speeches there wouldn't be any inducement to go to heaven. ~Will Rogers

If God wanted us to vote, he would have given us candidates. ~Jay Leno

The problem with political jokes is they get elected. ~Henry Cate, VII

Politics is the gentle art of getting votes from the poor and campaign funds from the rich, by promising to protect each from the other. ~Oscar Ameringer

If con is the opposite of pro, is Congress the opposite of progress? ~Author Unknown

George Washington is the only president who didn't blame the previous administration for his troubles. ~Author Unknown

Every two years the American politics industry fills the airwaves with the most virulent, wall-to-wall character assassination of nearly every politician in the country - and then declares itself puzzled that America has lost trust in its politicians. ~Charles Krauthammer

I offer my opponents a bargain: if they will stop telling lies about us, I will stop telling the truth about them. ~Adlai Stevenson, campaign speech, 1952

During a campaign the air is full of speeches - and vice versa. ~Author Unknown

If voting changed anything, they'd make it illegal. ~Emma Goldman

A man that would expect to train lobsters to fly in a year is called a lunatic and is confined to an institution; but a man that thinks men can be improved by an election is called a reformer and is allowed to remain at large. ~Finley Peter Dunne, Mr. Dooley's Philosophy, 1900

The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter. ~Winston Churchill

Ohio claims they are due a president as they haven't had one since Taft. Look at the United States, they have not had one since Lincoln. ~Will Rogers