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Vital Information For
First-Time Buyers
The first-time homebuyer Federal tax credit for $8000, record-low interest rates, and nationwide median home prices dropping to the lowest point in five years, makes this an enticing time to consider buying a home. By the way, that tax incentive isn't truly just for first-time buyers -- it's defined as those not having owned a home in the last three years. Research and knowing your options are critical. Check with your tax accountant for more details. It’s increasingly likely that Congress will extend and expand the popular home buyer tax credit, which will expire at the end of this month.
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According to an article in August in the Raleigh News & Observer, 10.8 percent of buyers are motivated to buy due to Federal and state tax incentives. So far only 1.14 million buyers have filed
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Relieving the Stress of Packing
Packing can be stressful time for every member of the family. To ensure that your move goes as smoothly as possible, try the following tips!
Pack a "Red Box"
Since one in five American families moves every year, that means 22 million families may be searching for their TV remote controls!
One of the pitfalls of packing for a move is you can't always anticipate what you'll need when you arrive at your new home, and movers typically list only the obvious such as dishes, glasses, bedding, etc. The miscellaneous items you need in the first few hours invariably wind up on the bottom of a random box.
To start, you may want to create your own "red box" as some moving companies ("Removers") do in Great Britain. This is the last box loaded and the first one off the truck. The one universal item in the red box is the tea kettle (perhaps this would be the coffee maker in the U.S.). This is also the place
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Making Your Home Age Appropriate Creates Appeal
All of us have something in common with our homes. Sure, style, design, and location are at the top of the list, but how about age? As we age, buyers, especially the baby boomer generation, are looking to transform their homes into a place that they can stay in for as long as possible or they're hoping to find one that's already equipped for them to age-in-place.
So how old your home and you are, are reason to give some thought to if your home needs age-appropriate adaptation in order for you to be most comfortable. And, in doing so, you may actually make your home more valuable to a wider audience of buyers, should you ever sell it.
According to the National Homebuilders Association, making a home suitable for the golden years is economicaly sound. The baby boomer generation (77 million people) makes up 28 percent of the U.S. population. Assisted living for this generation can cost more than $60-thousand per year, not counting moving expenses.
That's pretty pricey. So, if you've taken some steps to make your home an age-in-place sanctuary, then make sure you highlight those renovations if you ever
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Orange County Housing Report:
This month’s article wants to give home buyers and sellers a snapshot of the activity in the market place and to announce my affiliation with the organization Churchblessings.com.
As a new subscriber, and the only approved Orange County representative, I would like to welcome those parishioners who are seeking real estate help and advice. I am a full time real estate broker with over 20 years of experience focusing primarily on the Orange County market . For the next few months, as a welcoming promotion, I am prepared to offer assistance on your closing costs when you enter into escrow. Contact me for the specifics.
Incredibly, the continuous drop in the Orange County inventory has left many buyers scratching their collective heads, “Why aren’t there more homes and why is there so much competition to buy?” Orange County housing is off to a normal, cyclical Autumn market start with drops in the inventory and demand. Yet, the active listing inventory has dropped, unabated since March of this year, an uncharacteristic trend that has everybody questioning what exactly is going on. First, homeowners are steering away from placing their homes on the market unless they absolutely have to. They understand now more than ever that they are competing with distressed sellers and that prices have come down off of their overinflated highs. Second, there is definite truth to the fact that there is a shadow inventory of homes that have not been foreclosed upon and if allowed to work their way through the normal foreclosure process, more homes would be placed on the market. Yet, any increase would be rapidly sopped up by the current pent up demand from buyers who have been unsuccessful in purchasing after writing several offers. Third, with values coming down 35% or more from their peak, buyers, investors, speculators and first time homeowners are jumping into the market to purchase homes priced below $750,000. And, finally, with the help of the Federal Reserve, interest rates have reached historical lows that we may not see again in our lifetime. Put all of this together and we have experienced a gigantic drop in the active inventory. Currently, the active listing inventory has dropped below 8,000 for the first time since the beginning of January 2006, and now sits at 7,917. That’s a 2% drop in just two weeks. We started the year with an inventory of 11,842 and have dropped 33% since. Last year the inventory was at 12,940, 5,023 additional homes.
As a buyer, how should I approach this market? First, get to know the price range and areas that you are interested in. The difference between the lower and upper ranges is as vast as the Grand Canyon. In the lower ranges, expect a ton of competition and the strong chance that you may not obtain the home that you are initially interested in. The better the down payment, the better the terms, the higher the offering price, the stronger the chance of success in purchasing. Distressed properties in higher ranges obtain more activity as well because their motivation is typically really high. So, buyers looking for distressed properties, in general, should just expect competition and the need to write strong offers to purchase. Since the sales to list price ratio for all of Orange County is 98%, bringing in a low-ball offer 10% below the asking price is just a waste of everybody’s time, including yours. Remember, homes are priced according to the most recent comparable sales and pending activity, already a reflection of values that have dropped dramatically from the heydays of a few years back.
Local Market Conditions
Daily News and Advice
Read about the events shaping the Real Estate market today, find current interest rates, or browse the extensive library of advice and how-to articles written by some of the top experts in Real Estate. Updated each weekday.
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