Time to Buy That Lake Norman Area Home!

Experts are predicting that interest rates will begin to rise in March of 2010. Why?

The first concern is that our government is having trouble selling Treasury’s. This lack of demand will probably force the government to raise the rate of return to attract buyers for our debt. When these costs increase, buyers experience them as an increase in the interest rates. When rates go up, the number of buyers who can afford your home decreases.

According to Mainstreet.com

Next, because the private sector has shied away from buying mortgage-backed securities, the FED provides support to mortgage lending and housing markets and to improve overall conditions in private credit markets, the Federal Reserve will purchase a total of $1.25 trillion of agency mortgage-backed securities and about $175 billion of agency debt.

In order to promote a smooth transition in markets, the Committee will gradually slow the pace of its purchases of both agency debt and agency mortgage-backed securities and anticipates that these transactions will be executed by the end of the first quarter of 2010.

If the Fed follows through on its promise to close the program down in March 2010, and lean on the private sector to pick up the slack, that could well leave a huge hole in the mortgage-backed securities marketplace. If the economy doesn’t cooperate, and sends private investors into the mortgage marketplace to plug the gap (a good bet right now), then look for interest rates to rise.

The Fed may not do deadlines, but it’s not above firing a warning shot to the American consumer. If you want to buy a home, do it in the next three or four months. After all, the difference in monthly mortgage payments of 5% or 6% can be measured in tens of thousands of dollars over the life of the loan.

Information taken from an article at Mainstreet.com

With all the inventory in the Lake Norman Area, there is a clear indication your buying power might be at its height now.  You should really take the time to see all the beautiful homes for sale in our area.  From the practical to the luxurious, we have amazing homes to offer at Lake Norman.

What if you have an offer to purchase your Lake Norman or Charlotte, NC area home? What if you really have to sell but the offer is not enough to cover all of your expenses?

Here is some great advice how to handle this Lake Norman transaction.

If you have a preapproved buyer who can definitely close the transaction, it would be very smart to take the offer, even if it’s less than what you need to pay off the loans and closing costs. There is a tremendous amount of commentary from the experts about a new wave of foreclosure properties entering the market in 2010. There could be well over a million properties. A flood of new inventory would have the effect of lowering prices even further.

The other concern is that our government is having trouble selling Treasurys. This lack of demand will probably force the government to raise the rate of return to attract buyers for our debt. When these costs increase, buyers experience them as an increase in the interest rates. When rates go up, the number of buyers who can afford your home decreases.

Thus, you could be facing the double whammy of more foreclosure properties competing with your property, plus a reduced buyer pool if interest rates increase.

If you have money in the bank and enough to purchase another property, a short sale where the lender takes a reduction in their payoff amount is probably not a viable option for you in terms of bridging this gap.  Besides, a very small percentage of short sales actually make it to closing and ultimately end up in foreclosure.

The good news!  When you go to buy your next Lake Norman area home:

An increase in inventory means that you may be able to get a much better home at a lesser price. Even if interest rates increase, however, many people will lower their price to move their property.

Great news for our Lake Norman Customers!  Even more exposure and opportunity to buy or sell your home!

November,11 2009,  Real Living will formally announce that Real Living Network Services, the franchisor subsidiary of Real Living, Inc. is merging with GMAC Real Estate, fulfilling our mission to grow Real Living and increase investment in the people, tools and technology that will assure our success well into the future.

GMAC Real Estate is one of America’s leading residential real estate franchises, and combined with the Real Living Network, we will have over 600 office locations, 10,000 plus agents and more than $20 billion in annual home sales. Together we will become a bigger, bolder company, offering a strong appealing, consumer-focused brand, with a suite of industry leading tools and technology that will power us forward in the years ahead.

The new organization was created after Brookfield Residential Property Services, the owner of GMAC Real Estate, acquired Real Living Network Services, and merged the two companies under the Real Living brand name. As we move forward, the Real Living agent-centric and consumer focused philosophy will continue to drive our decision-making and investment strategies.

We am pleased to let you know that Real Livings, Harley Rouda Jr. will lead the new organization as President. Kaira Sturdivant Rouda, will continue to oversee the brand and provide the marketing leadership she has shown in the past.

As we make the transition, Real Living will focus on excellence in five key areas: technology, sales, marketing, training and business planning. These are areas that we will invest in to make our combined organization into one of the most sought after brands in the business. Our primary goal will continue to be to help our agents, offices and franchisees grow their business.

Contact your Lake Norman Real Living office at 704 746 3937

Here’s a look at the state of interest rates on five common consumer banking products and the latest rates from Bankrate.com’s weekly national survey of large banks and thrifts conducted Nov. 10, 2009.

Mortgages
Rate: 5.19 percent (30-year fixed) Average Points: 0.38

Thirty-year fixed-rate mortgages plunged to their lowest levels since spring while the jumbo rate fell to a multiyear low.

The average 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage slid 16 basis points, to 5.19 percent. A basis point is one-hundredth of a percentage point. Rates are now at their lowest point since mid-April. The all-time record low in the 24-year-old Bankrate survey is 5.13 percent, which occurred April 1.

Meanwhile, this week’s average 15-year fixed-rate — a popular option for refinancing — fell 11 basis points, to 4.61 percent.

The average jumbo, 30-year fixed plunged 26 basis points, to 6.24 percent. The jumbo is now at its lowest level since October 2005.

Adjustable-rate mortgages were split this week. The one-year adjustable-rate mortgage jumped 10 basis points, to 5.37 percent. Meanwhile, the popular 5/1 ARM dipped 6 basis points, to 4.58 percent.

Information courtesy of Bill Kearney with Suntrust Bank.

Congress has extended the first time home buyer tax credit. Please review the First Time Home Buyer Frequently Asked Questions .

This is great news for those thinking of buying and selling a home in 2010.

On November 4, 2009 the FED reiterated its intent on keeping interest rates low, another good sign for home buyers and sellers. However, other financial experts believe that the FED will have to raise interest rates to stave off inflation. For those thinking of selling, this is one area to keep a close look. We will also be watching this closely for you.

Lenders are going to continue to tighten up its underwriting and foreclosures are predicted to continue at a high rate in 2010 because of unemployment.

Some 2009 Statistics for the Lake Norman MLS area:

1. The average days on the market in 2009 for homes that sold are 158 Days.

2. 880 homes had their listings expire in 2009.

3. There are 1305 homes currently listed for sale with average days on the market of 144.

4. 1181 homeowners withdrew their homes from being listed with an average days on the market of 189 days.

What does this mean to you?

1. Choose an agent that will work with you on all facets of the sale. From commissions to staging.

2. Make sure your home shows like a model. Competition is fierce.

3. Realistically price your home and choose an agent that stands by his analysis.

4. Choose an agent that is technology savvy. Blogging is critical in today’s market!

5. If selling be prepared for the long haul, homes are not moving as quickly as we are used to.

6. If buying, be patient and try not get emotionally attached to one home. Negotiations depend on it.

7. Do not take any offer personally. Low offers are the norm in today’s market.

NAR Frequently Asked Questions Homebuyer Tax Credit Changes

Here are some of the most frequently asked questions on the changes to the Homebuyer Tax Credit.
Question: Existing homeowner credit: Must the new house cost more than the old house?
Answer: No. Thus, for example, individuals who move from a high cost area to a lower cost area who meet all eligibility requirements will qualify for the $6500 credit.

Question: I am an existing homeowner. On October 25, 2009, I signed a contract to purchase a new home. I have lived in my current home for more than 5 consecutive years and am within the new income limits. I will go to settlement on November 20. If  President Obama has signed the bill by the time I go to settlement, will I qualify for the new $6500 tax credit?
Answer: Yes. The existing homeowner credit goes into effect for purchases after the date of enactment (when the bill is signed). There is no reference to the date of contract for the new credit. The provision looks solely to the date of purchase, which is generally the date of settlement.

Question: I am a firsttime homebuyer but was not within the prior income limits at the time I entered into my contract to purchase on October 30, 2009. I will be covered, however, by the new income limits. If the new rules have been signed into law by the time I go to settlement, will I be eligible for a credit?
Answer: Yes. The new income limitations go into effect as soon as the President has signed the bill. The income limit and other eligibility rules will look to your status as of the date of purchase, which is the settlement date. So if the new rules have been signed when you go to settlement, you should be eligible for the credit (or a portion of the credit if you’re within the phaseout range).

Question: I am an eligible existing homeowner. I have a fair amount of equity in my home. I have found a home with a nonnegotiable price of $825,000. Will I be able to use any of the $6500 tax credit?
Answer: No. The $800,000 cap on the cost of the purchased home is firm at $800,000. Any amount above $800,000 makes the home ineligible for any portion of the credit. The $800,000 is an absolute ceiling.

Question: I owned my home for 10 years, but sold it two years ago year and have been renting since. If I purchase a home, will I be eligible for the $6500 tax credit if I meet all the other eligibility tests?
Answer: Yes. Because you lived in the home for more than 5 consecutive years of the previous 8, you will qualify for the $6500 credit. For example, Say John and his wife bought a home in 2000 and lived there until 2008 when he got a divorce. Whether John has been renting or bought in the interim, he WOULD INDEED be eligible for the credit because he owned a home and occupied it as his principal residence for 5 consecutive years out of the last 8 years. The keyword here is “consecutive.” As long as he lived in that house for 5 years straight what he did since 3 years doesn’t impact eligibility.

Question: I am an eligible firsttime homebuyer. I entered into a contract to purchase on November 1, 2009. Do I have to go to closing before December 1? How does the  extension date affect me?
Answer: You do not have to close before December 1. Once the legislation has been signed, it will be as if the Nov 30 date had never existed. Therefore, so long as the contract settles before April 30 (or July 1, worst case), the purchaser will be eligible for the credit.

The first time home buyer tax credit extension and expansion is ALMOST done!

 Lawmakers in the Senate moved closer to signing the bill by voting 85-2; this would extend the home buyer tax credit until April 2010 rather than November 30th, 2009.

The new plan will extend the current $8000 tax credit for new home buyers through April 30th and will also offer a $6500 tax credit for move up buyers who have been in their current residence for over five years.

Read the entire article here!

It is still a great market to buy a Lake Norman area home.  If you are thinking about it, please do not wait.  Experts are also saying that interest rates will begin to rise in 2010.  You don’t want to lose the benefits of the tax  credit by paying a much higher interest rate!

Contact you Lake Norman Agent to get a list of homes that fit your criteria.

I have recently had questions about the effective date of our NC Offer To Purchase.

Sadly some of the explaining I have had to do was to agents I have done transactions that should have known better.

In a nutshell, here is what you need to know.

The effective date of the contract is the date in which both parties have signed. However, if any changes are made to the contract, the new effective date is the date both parties initial this change. If you or your agent are not also placing a date next to the initialed changes, then you are setting yourself up for potential disputes.

Lastly, where you or your agent enters a timeframe that something is due and you see TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE, it means the date is not something you can let slip.  Allowing the timeframe to slip by without requesting extensions also means that you are waving any condition that required that time to complete.

For example.

Let say you enter on the contract in the section “Buyers right to terminate” (in the portion of the contract defining loan conditions), 30 days from effective date…  If the buyer does not have loan committment within 30 days and the agent or buyer has not requested, in writing, an extension, the buyer is said to have waved the condition.  Probably NOT GOOD.  Also, be aware that in this case, if changes were made to the contract a new effective date would be in force.

Hope this helps all my current and prospective Lake Norman area clients.

How To Price Your Lake Norman Home

A home will sell for two reasons: price and exposure. In the real estate market for the 21st century, exposure has taken a new turn with the advancement of many Internet technologies for real estate. Be it as it may, the real estate industry’s new exposure tools will not help a home sell if the home is not priced correctly. When considering putting your home up for sale, it is very important to first analyze your real estate market on a subdivision level, not a metro-area level, to derive the features and amenities that are driving the value in your neighborhood. You must then establish a pricing strategy in accordance with your financial and timing needs.

Identifying Selling Needs
No two real estate transactions in today’s world are identical. As a homeowner, only you can derive your needs with selling your home. We will call this your “win” in your real estate transaction. Be careful; the years of owning your home can cause a strong emotional attachment and can cloud logical thinking. This is absolutely normal, and fortunately, there are professionals available across the nation to help bring a logical, non-emotional approach to selling your home. These professionals are known as real estate agents, and each can be a vital tool in making sure you get the most amount of money for your home in the least amount of time, and with a minimum level of stress.

You will want to focus on your timing needs first. Do you want to sell your home in 30, 60, or 90 days? Are you looking to have a contract by that date, or to be closed and moving into your next home? Always remember that in typical real estate transactions, buyers will take approximately 30 days to close on a home. This time period involves getting inspections, negotiating repairs, and securing financing with their mortgage professional.  In todays Lake Norman market, the length of time it takes to sell your home has dramatically increased.  Price dictates this a tremendous amount but outside factors like lending requirements are also have a significant impact.

Are you going to need a certain amount of equity after closing on your home? If so, lets understand this number from the very beginning and make sure that this need will be satisfied out of the sale of your home.  Keep in mind that this number has NOTHING to do with price, however it is important in the questions if you sell and how you sell your home.

Understanding Your Local Market
The next step to selling your home is to make sure that you have leverage. Leverage is the key ingredient to winning in a real estate transaction. When selling a home, leverage is achieved by pricing your home at a market price that will attract the most amount of buyers for your area. Homes can be priced one of two ways: negotiation and market. Pricing for negotiation will result in exactly what a seller expects: negotiation on the asking price. Pricing at market will allow your home to be exposed to the widest range of buyers and enable the seller to have a leveraged position in the real estate transaction.

There are three types of market research that one must analyze when pricing a home: sold, expired, and active properties. First, the sold history for your Lake Norman area subdivision for the past 6 months to a year will give great detail on the selling trends in the neighborhood. By analyzing the sold price per square foot of homes with similar features, amenities, and condition, you can easily identify your selling range in relation to price per square foot. Price per square foot allows you to level the playing field and compare apples to apples. 

Note:  Our Lake Norman area MLS is trying to move away from the emphasis on square footage as guide but the reality is that realtors still use it.  Also, with prices changing pretty rapidly we first try to look back only 3 months before looking 6  months to a year. 

A homes square footage is a basic unit of real estate, and all homes will be priced according to the size of the home. At this point, you will want to gain an understanding as to why homes are selling in the per square foot range that they are being sold in. Once this step is complete, we can have a higher level of understanding as to which homes are desirable and getting the most money, and which are the exact opposite.

After you have made conclusions as to why homes are selling in the range that they do, you can then test these conclusions on homes that did not sell, or expired properties. This is done to make sure that the conclusions derived during the analysis of sold properties are accurate and applicable to your real estate transaction. Remember: Not all real estate transactions are typical and your conclusions may not be able to explain exactly why a home did not sell. You can usually assume that if your conclusions can logically explain why 3-5 homes have not sold in the past 6 months, then your conclusions are accurate enough to be considered factual.

Find Your Homes Selling Range
Now that we have an understanding as to why homes are selling in the range that they are, we can then look at the features and amenities of your home and identify the price per square foot range that will be most suitable for your home’s asking price.

It is important to be realistic and logical in this step of the pricing process. If your home is 1500 square feet, look at what other homes within 200 square feet are selling for per square foot. You will also want to take into consideration the other main features that buyers are interested in: bedrooms, bathrooms, year built, and unit stories. After you have pinpointed homes that are similar to yours, see the maximum and minimum price per square foot that they are selling for to give your home a possible selling range. Don’t be surprised if this is a large price range. We are simply identifying the range at which similar homes are selling for. We will then take your needs to determine what part of this selling range your home should be priced in.

Price According To Needs while Analyzing Competition
Do you remember earlier when we identified your win in your transaction? These rules for selling your home, usually timing and required equity, will help you determine the most appropriate price entry point for your price per square foot selling range and if you are even in a position to sell.

For further assistance with selling your Lake Norman home, contact your Lake Norman agent at 704 451 7051.

Lake Norman;Calif. Resale Prices Rise For 7th Month, So What!

From Inman News: The California statewide median resale home price rose for the seventh straight month in September, while the pace of single-family sales of previously owned homes was up 0.6 percent from the prior month and up 2.1 percent compared to the same month last year, the California Association of Realtors reported Monday 10/26.

I can tell you why so what!   If you follow trends in real estate, fashion and lifestyle many things start in California and migrate East.  You may recall the fall-out from the real estate market had it first big BUST in California.  Seeing that market make an upward trend is yet another indication that we are on a rebound.   While it is still going to take quite some time to get back to what we at Lake Norman feel are normal levels, at least we are now getting positive news.

Below are the statistics for October sold homes in 2008.

Sold – 55 Properties Found
	Square Feet	Bedrooms	Full Baths	Half Baths	List Price	Sale Price	Days On Market
Min	824	2	1	0	$ // 54,900	$ // 40,000	1
Avg	3071	3	2	0	$ // 490,996	$ // 464,026	138
Max	7400	5	6	3	$ // 1,659,000	$ // 1,550,000	931

 

These are the sold home for October 2009.

Sold – 72 Properties Found
	Square Feet	Bedrooms	Full Baths	Half Baths	List Price	Sale Price	Days On Market
Min	1000	3	1	0	$ // 115,000	$ // 104,500	1
Avg	3392	3	2	0	$ // 549,118	$ // 513,997	186
Max	9321	6	6	2	$ // 2,841,597	$ // 2,841,597	973

Notice that the sales figures are up.  Admittedly some of this is due directly to the Tax Credit.  It is a good sign, however for all buyers and seller of Lake Norman Real Estate.   Two other numbers to look at.  In 2009 the Days on the Market average is higher by almost 50 days.  Actually this is not so surprising in this market.  Also notice that the average sales price is also higher.  We hope that this is a trend showing that Lenders are actually lending money, albeit painfully!