Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Spring Market Looks VERY Promising


by The KCM Crew on March 28, 2012

The Spring market is upon us. Professionals across the country are reporting that buyer activity is very strong. Purchasers are beginning to realize that this is one of the greatest times in American real estate to buy a home. There are basically four reasons for this:
  1. They realize that it is the COST of the home that matters most, not the PRICE.
  2. They realize that it is actually LESS EXPENSIVE to own than to rent in 98% of the country.
  3. They realize that SHORT SALES are a real bargain.
  4. EVERYONE is now saying it is time to buy.
The market is turning for the better. It may be time for you and your family to jump in.


Joe Naccarato, Broker, Realtor
Top Performer Award Recipient 
Allen Tate Realtors
Tel. 704.953.0183
Do you know someone buying or selling anywhere? I can help them! Please give them my phone number!
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Tuesday, March 27, 2012

More Affordable To Buy in 98% of Major Metros


by The KCM Crew on March 27, 2012

Last week, Trulia released their Winter 2012 Rent vs. Buy Index. In the index, they report that:
“After years of home price declines and tightening rental markets, home ownership is now more affordable than renting in all but two of the 100 largest metros – even in expensive real estate markets such as New York, Los Angeles and Boston.”
The two metros where renting was more affordable were Honolulu and San Francisco. However, Trulia explains that, even in these markets, buying a home:
“…might make sense for people who plan to stay in their next home for at least five years and can benefit from the mortgage-interest tax deduction.”
This rent/buy ratio favors buying more so then at almost any time in history. In a recent article, Forbes Magazine quotes Jed Kolko, Trulia’s chief economist:
“Certainly prices have continued to fall nationally, but rents have been rising so this would be the lowest price-to-rent ratio that we’ve seen.”

Bottom Line

It might be time to talk to a local real estate professional about the possibility that buying a home makes sense for you and family.


Joe Naccarato, Broker, Realtor
Top Performer Award Recipient 
Allen Tate Realtors
Tel. 704.953.0183
Do you know someone buying or selling anywhere? I can help them! Please give them my phone number!

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Monday, March 26, 2012

Ready to Rebound

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Joe Naccarato, Broker, Realtor
Top Performer Award Recipient 
Allen Tate Realtors
Tel. 704.953.0183
Do you know someone buying or selling anywhere? I can help them! Please give them my phone number!



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Saturday, March 24, 2012

Spring Has Sprung


by Dean Hartman on March 22, 2012

Here comes Spring, historically the time of year when buyers awake from the winter slumber of the holidays and snowfall, and go on their pilgrimage to look for new housing. Houses look better in Spring with green grass, blooming trees, and flowers.
Plus, buyers who find a home in the next 60 days can close after the school year ends and enjoy the summer months in their new backyards. It’s almost a rite of passage; baseball teams go to spring training, buyers go look at homes, and the birds fly back north.
But this Spring is different than those of recent memory…
  • Because of the warm weather we experienced here in the Northeast for most of this past winter buyers have been out for months – making offers and buying homes.
  • Many sellers have finally come to understand that they need to have a compelling price on their home to attract buyers. The days of listing your home and negotiating down are over because there are homes on the market already priced correctly, and those are the homes that buyers are going to. The overpriced inventory doesn’t even get their chance to negotiate down.
  • Rates have ticked up as economic news (like unemployment numbers) has improved. That, coupled with rising mortgage insurance premiums and guarantee fees, seems to have given some sense of urgency to buyers.
  • The looming shadow inventory, which most certainly will keep downward pressure on home prices (when added to easier short sale approvals), has tended to encourage home sellers to be more realistic in their expectations.
  • The abundance of information available to consumers has further increased their need for sound advice from top-notch real estate and mortgage professionals. The cream is certainly rising to the top in those professions.
Low interest rates, a tremendous selection to choose from, and the seasonality of it all makes for an exciting next 60-90 days. My advice to anyone looking to buy or sell is that waiting to be aggressive could be a fatal mistake if you hope to find the best deal. From my experience, the best deals come when more people are competing for them…and that time is NOW!


Joe Naccarato, Broker, Realtor
Top Performer Award Recipient 
Allen Tate Realtors
Tel. 704.953.0183
Do you know someone buying or selling anywhere? I can help them! Please give them my phone number!

 


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Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Rents Rising as Rental Availability Shrinks


by The KCM Crew on March 21, 2012

Because of the challenges in the current economy, many families have either decided to rent or been forced to rent. How has this impacted rental options and the cost of the available options?
HousingWire recently quoted Paul Dales, senior economist with Capital Economics:
“As a consequence of Americans being less willing and less able to buy a home, the number of households in rented accommodation is set to rise by at least 850,000 a year over the next few years.”
The price of anything is determined by supply and demand. As demand increases, the price of an item will increase unless there is an equal increase in supply. The article mentioned above said:
“Dales said in his research that rental vacancy rates will fall again in the future, pushing prices up. The median rent is already up to $712 per month—well above the average monthly mortgage cost of $647, Dales reported.
He estimates vacancies in the home-rental market will push average rental rates up as much as 5% by early 2013.”
How many markets will be impacted? A new rent index offered by Zillow:
“…showed year-over-year gains for 69.2 percent of metropolitan areas covered.”

Bottom Line

Rents are increasing and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. In many parts of the country, buying a home might make more sense as you can lock in your housing expense for the next thirty years.


Joe Naccarato, Broker, Realtor
Top Performer Award Recipient 
Allen Tate Realtors
Tel. 704.953.0183
Do you know someone buying or selling anywhere? I can help them! Please give them my phone number!

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Friday, March 16, 2012

Is the Housing Market Actually Recovering?


by The KCM Crew on March 13, 2012

Everyone wants to know if the housing market is truly showing signs of a recovery. There are conflicting headlines every day. One day, we hear sales are up. The next day it is reported that prices are down. Is the real estate market coming back? The answer is ‘yes’ and ‘no’.
There are two aspects that must be evaluated: house sales and house prices. They will not recover at the same time. Sales are already increasing rather nicely while prices will still soften in many markets through 2012.

Home Sales

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) issues a Pending Home Sales Report each month. We can see by the graph below that sales have been increasing nicely over the last twelve months. Real estate professionals across the country are reporting that activity has increased compared to last year. The sales side of the recovery is starting to show great promise.

Home Prices

Many price indices have shown that national home prices are continuing to stumble. Even with demand increasing, we must look at where the supply of housing stock stands. Though ‘visible’ inventory (homes currently on the market) is shrinking, there is still a large overhang of ‘shadow’ inventory (foreclosures about to come to market as a result of the National Mortgage Settlement). This increase in inventory will outpace the increase in demand and thereby cause prices to continue to soften in many parts of the country.

Bottom Line

Housing is coming back. However, sales will come back before prices. We will not see prices appreciate until we work through the oversupply of homes on the market.


Joe Naccarato, Broker, Realtor
Top Performer Award Recipient 
Allen Tate Realtors
Tel. 704.953.0183
Do you know someone buying or selling anywhere? I can help them! Please give them my phone number!

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March Madness for Real Estate and Mortgages


by Dean Hartman on March 15, 2012

It’s the time of year when the so-called experts tell you how to fill out your brackets for college basketball. The frenzy has been coined March Madness. Well, in the mortgage industry, we are seeing a frenzy of headlines, offers of so-called expert advice, and an unusually high level of buzz around real estate and mortgages. Here are some of the things I keep hearing…
  • “The bank bailout settlement is going to allow all the shadow inventory to come to market at lower prices, which is going to drive home prices even lower.” Likely true. How much and how fast prices fall will be determined by the speed at which lenders proceed with the foreclosures.
  • “The bank bailout settlement means people will get large principal reductions in their loans, if they are underwater.” Some will, most won’t. In its settlement, Bank of America will exclude loans owned by FannieMae/FreddieMac. This agreement will probably be mirrored by others, and therefore, won’t help a good portion of the population.
  • “The government has finally helped the homeowner who is underwater yet still maintained a good payment history.” Semi-true. If you have an FHA loan closed prior to June 2009, you are able to do a streamline IF rates make sense in June (too soon to tell). If you closed after June 2009, no such luck. On the conventional front, HARP 2.0 may offer some help to those who have had their loan held by FannieMae/FreddieMac as long as there was no private mortgage insurance. Not exactly all inclusive – but applaudable.
  • “You need to put 20% down to get a mortgage these days.” I hear this crazy notion from people far too often. Besides the FHA insuring loans with as little as 3.5% down (on loans up to $729,250 in high cost areas), people often forget that veterans can still finance 100% of the purchase price, and that Private Mortgage Insurance Companies are still insuring loans with 5-10% down.
  • “Costs associated with loans are going up.” Most definitely. The hike in the guarantee fees has already caused a 3/8 – 1/2 increase in conventional loans and will raise FHA loans by 10 basis points in April. The FHA is also changing its premium structure to increase the cost of the mortgage—regardless of where rates themselves are headed.
  • “Rates will stay low through 2014.” While every indication from Ben Bernacke & friends is consistent in their rhetoric that rates will stay low, we have already seen some significant swings in rates based on market conditions (unemployment numbers, problems in Greece, and so on). Rates will likely stay low, but getting the best rate will still require staying on top of everything.
Amongst the whirlwind of sound bites and headlines, there is some good news about real estate and mortgages. Never as rosy as it may sound, there is relief and opportunity for many  if you can sort through the hyperbole and consult with a true professional to make sure you have all the facts.


Joe Naccarato, Broker, Realtor
Top Performer Award Recipient 
Allen Tate Realtors
Tel. 704.953.0183
Do you know someone buying or selling anywhere? I can help them! Please give them my phone number!
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Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Real Estate Commissions: You Get What You Pay For


by The KCM Crew on March 7, 2012

Does it make sense to pay a full commission to your real estate agent in today’s market? Sellers, buyers and even agents are debating what should be charged to assist a consumer in completing a real estate transaction. Forget what the actual amount of the commission is. The bigger question is whether you should pay a ‘full fee’ when hiring a real estate expert to guide you through the complexities of today’s rapidly changing housing environment.
If a full fee was the rule in 2006 when completing a deal was so much simpler, why would you now consider cutting the fee of your agent in today’s tumultuous market? You are depending on this person to help you reach your goals in a sale or purchase. In 2006, buyers were willing to pay almost anything to a seller just to get into a home. Banking entities seemed to be willing to mortgage any property for any buyer. The process was rather simple.
Today, a person looking to buy or sell should be willing to pay a full fee for two reasons:

You need an expert guide if you are traveling a dangerous path

The field of real estate is loaded with land mines. You need a true expert to guide you through the dangerous pitfalls that currently exist. Finding a buyer willing to pay fair market value for your home at a time that there are mass inventories of foreclosures and short sales will take a true real estate professional. Finding reasonable financing can also be tricky in today’s lending environment.
Experts in any profession do not discount their fees; especially when the job is becoming much more difficult.

You need a skilled negotiator

In today’s market, hiring a talented negotiator could save you thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of dollars. Each step of the way – from the original offer, to the possible re-negotiation of that offer after a home inspection, to the possible cancellation of the deal based on a troubled appraisal – you need someone who can keep the deal together until it closes.
When an agent is negotiating their commission with you, they are negotiating their own salary – the salary that keeps a roof over their family’s head; the salary that puts food on their family’s table. If they are quick to take less when negotiating for themselves and their families, what makes you think they will not act the same way when negotiating for you and your family? If they were Clark Kent when negotiating with you, they will not turn into Superman when negotiating with the buyer or seller in your deal.

Bottom Line

We believe that famous sayings become famous because they are true. You get what you pay for. Just like a good accountant or a good attorney, a good agent will save you money…not cost you money.


Joe Naccarato, Broker, Realtor
Top Performer Award Recipient 
Allen Tate Realtors
Tel. 704.953.0183
Do you know someone buying or selling anywhere? I can help them! Please give them my phone number!
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