Thursday, September 27, 2012
Had a "really?!?!" moment last week...
Okay, so I had a closing last week on a really nice home near the James River. We were scheduled to close on Friday; we had our final walk through on Thursday evening to make sure everything was okay with the home and my clients were able to move in. Everything was perfect and my buyers closed Friday. They left to go to the house with their two kids to see their new home and found the previous owner and his contractor, wrench in hand, taking the built in, $3,000 water purifier system out of the wall in the garage. My poor buyer was caught in the middle of a tough situation but stepped up and said they could not take it. The previous owner wanted to clarify this with his wife and Realtor before he left the house, so he waited around for an hour before he received word that he could take apart the system since it was attached to the house. It was an awkward hour to say the least. I can't believe he thought he could take out a plumbing system like that!
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Big Media Buy for Coldwell Banker
Coldwell Banker Real Estate is about to launch a new advertising campaign that
accentuates the emotional reasons to own a home. The
$15 million effort begins on Monday, March 12th!
Check out one of the commercials... VIDEO
accentuates the emotional reasons to own a home. The
$15 million effort begins on Monday, March 12th!
Check out one of the commercials... VIDEO
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Surge in Housing Index
Heard home builders' shares were up today after new data showed U.S. homebuilder sentiment unexpectedly jumped in January to its highest level in 4.5 YEARS! The PHLX Housing index climbed 3.2%! Bring on 2012! I like what I'm seeing already.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Pending Home Sales Jump in October!
Walter Molony 202-383-1177 wmolony@realtors.org
Pending Home Sales Jump in October
Washington, DC, November 30, 2011
Pending home sales rose strongly in October and remain above year-ago levels, according to the National Association of Realtors®.
The Pending Home Sales Index,* a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, surged 10.4 percent to 93.3 in October from 84.5 in September and is 9.2 percent above October 2010 when it stood at 85.5. The data reflects contracts but not closings.
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said improved contract activity is a hopeful sign. “Home sales have been plodding along at a sub-par level while interest rates are hovering at record lows and there is a pent-up demand from buyers who normally would have entered the market in recent years. We hope this is indicates more buyers are taking advantage of the excellent affordability conditions,” he said.
“Many consumers are recognizing that home buyers in the past two years have had one of the lowest default rates in history. Moreover, continued inventory declines are another healthy sign for the housing market,” Yun added.
The PHSI in the Northeast surged 17.7 percent to 71.3 in October and is 3.4 percent above October 2010. In the Midwest the index jumped 24.1 percent to 88.7 in October and remains 13.2 percent above a year ago. Pending home sales in the South rose 8.6 percent in October to an index of 99.5 and are 9.7 percent higher than October 2010. In the West the index slipped 0.3 percent to 105.5 in October but is 8.1 percent above a year ago.
For more on this go HERE
Pending Home Sales Jump in October
Washington, DC, November 30, 2011
Pending home sales rose strongly in October and remain above year-ago levels, according to the National Association of Realtors®.
The Pending Home Sales Index,* a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, surged 10.4 percent to 93.3 in October from 84.5 in September and is 9.2 percent above October 2010 when it stood at 85.5. The data reflects contracts but not closings.
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said improved contract activity is a hopeful sign. “Home sales have been plodding along at a sub-par level while interest rates are hovering at record lows and there is a pent-up demand from buyers who normally would have entered the market in recent years. We hope this is indicates more buyers are taking advantage of the excellent affordability conditions,” he said.
“Many consumers are recognizing that home buyers in the past two years have had one of the lowest default rates in history. Moreover, continued inventory declines are another healthy sign for the housing market,” Yun added.
The PHSI in the Northeast surged 17.7 percent to 71.3 in October and is 3.4 percent above October 2010. In the Midwest the index jumped 24.1 percent to 88.7 in October and remains 13.2 percent above a year ago. Pending home sales in the South rose 8.6 percent in October to an index of 99.5 and are 9.7 percent higher than October 2010. In the West the index slipped 0.3 percent to 105.5 in October but is 8.1 percent above a year ago.
For more on this go HERE
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Monday, August 15, 2011
Are Appraisals Holding Us Back?
Here's an interesting WSJ article that talks about how appraisals are affecting the sales of homes across the country because the appraisals will come back at a lower price point than the agreed upon purchase price between a buyer and a seller.
http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB10001424053111904006104576500170808091148-lMyQjAxMTAxMDEwMzExNDMyWj.html?mod=wsj_share_email
Unfortunately, the appraisers have to stick to strict guidelines given to them by the banks for whom they are doing the appraisal for. They may not have many comparable sales to choose from to support the purchase price and have to make do. Some of these comparable sales may have been foreclosures or short sales; this has really been a big issue nationwide. A foreclosure price may be much less than market value and it brings down the neighborhood's values.
The bottom line is that we all have to deal with appraisals if a buyer is getting a loan from a bank so the best thing to do is have the listing agent meet the appraiser at the property, provide comparable sales and tell the appraiser everything that is positive about the home and property to make sure the home appraises at the purchase price or higher.
http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB10001424053111904006104576500170808091148-lMyQjAxMTAxMDEwMzExNDMyWj.html?mod=wsj_share_email
Unfortunately, the appraisers have to stick to strict guidelines given to them by the banks for whom they are doing the appraisal for. They may not have many comparable sales to choose from to support the purchase price and have to make do. Some of these comparable sales may have been foreclosures or short sales; this has really been a big issue nationwide. A foreclosure price may be much less than market value and it brings down the neighborhood's values.
The bottom line is that we all have to deal with appraisals if a buyer is getting a loan from a bank so the best thing to do is have the listing agent meet the appraiser at the property, provide comparable sales and tell the appraiser everything that is positive about the home and property to make sure the home appraises at the purchase price or higher.
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