Tips for Pricing Your Home

good points to consider from Realtor.com

Tips for Pricing Your Home

• Consider comparables. What have other homes in your neighborhood sold for recently? How do they compare to yours in terms of size, upkeep, and amenities?
• Consider competition. How many other houses are for sale in your area? Are you competing against new homes?
• Consider your contingencies. Do you have special concerns that would affect the price you’ll receive? For example, do you want to be able to move in four months?
• Get an appraisal. For a few hundred dollars, a qualified appraiser can give you an estimate of your home’s value. Be sure to ask for a market-value appraisal. To locate appraisers in your area, contact your REALTOR® for some recommendations.
• Ask a lender. Since most buyers will need a mortgage, it’s important that a home’s sale price be in line with a lender’s estimate of its value.
• Be accurate. Studies show that homes priced more than 3 percent over the correct price take longer to sell.
• Know what you’ll take. It’s critical to know what price you’ll accept before beginning a negotiation with a buyer.

10 Tips Every New Home Buyer Should Know

from HGTV

10 Tips Every New Home Buyer Should Know

The biggest investment many of us will make is buying a house, and mistakes can be costly. To help weed through the home-buying jungle, we've gathered the knowledge and strategies every home buyer should know before beginning the hunt.

Your Lifestyle

First, examine your lifestyle. Do you long for bucolic pasturelands? Feel energized by urban cityscapes? Looking forward to a family-friendly suburban lifestyle? It's important to think of the limitations each locale places on your lifestyle and the perks each has to offer before making the commitment to buy. Suburban lifestyles are flexible, offering children the opportunity to play outdoors and enjoy a neighborhood environment; urban areas offer greater social, culture, educational and career opportunities; rural environs offer privacy, room to roam and the ability to pursue hobbies — such as gardening — on a larger scale. In addition to locale, it's important to think about the type of dwelling you're considering. Will you quickly outgrow that handsome city brownstone? Is a country cottage the perfect size? Will purchasing a condo allow you to forgo lawn and home maintenance and enjoy more leisure time?

Costs of Ownership

 

There's more to consider than just a monthly mortgage payment. Will you be able to afford the expenses that come with owning a home? Utilities, property taxes, repairs, homeowners association fees, lawn maintenance (unless you will do the work yourself) can all add up.

If you're moving to a new part of town or a new city, it's important to consider the cost of living for that area. Transportation, school tuition and everyday living expenses can also make home ownership more expensive than it initially appears.

Build or Buy

Having a home custom-built to your specifications can be expensive. But are you ready to take on remodeling and updating an older home to meet your needs? A remodel can often be expensive and in the end, is less satisfying — and finishing a project yourself, without experience, can result in the purchase of costly tools and the loss of your valuable time.   Do your research before signing with a contractor or deciding to revamp an older home.

Location, Location, Location

A bargain is never really a bargain when located in a bad neighborhood. Sometimes lightning will strike and gentrification of certain areas will result in skyrocketing property value — but that's rare. It's better to take a chance on a smaller home — or one in need of repair — in a great area where the value will only rise.

Loan Types

A loan rate can look great in an advertisement, but once bankers have drawn you in to the branch office, what will you really pay? Points, PMI (private mortgage insurance) and closing costs can drive your mortgage cost up. Some programs allow buyers to have smaller down payments — but how long are you required to stay in the home without penalty — and how much more will you pay each month? Be sure to read all the clauses and fine print before getting a mortgage. And don't be afraid to shop around for the best rate.

Buyer's Broker

 

Most real estate agents represent the seller, but a buyer's broker represents your needs and desires and helps you locate the property that's best for you.

While buyer's brokers are difficult to locate in some markets, locating a professional advocate who is required by law to get you the best price and terms can alleviate home shopping stress.

Home Inspection

 

Most states require that a home seller disclose potential problems with the property — but the homeowner may not always know or reveal existing structural problems (despite the legal requirement). The only way to truly know what's going on inside (and over and under) a home's structure is to secure the services of a reputable home inspector. Expect to pay $300 to $600 for the inspection. It seems like a lot of money, but consider the thousands it could save you if the home isn't up to code or has major issues.

Signed Documents

 

Perhaps one of the best ways to protect yourself is to have every part of the sale in writing — and make sure you understand every aspect before making a commitment. Legal jargon and real estate terminology can be confusing and somewhat frustrating, so hone your real estate vocabulary before house hunting, and don't be afraid to ask a lot of questions along the way.

After the Sale

 

First, purchase homeowners insurance. Next, decide if the purchase of a home warranty (if not included as part of the sale) is in your best interest. Finally, make sure your title has been taken care of during the sales process.

Added Taxes

 

Are your property taxes rolled into your monthly mortgage payment? Or will you be responsible for paying them yearly? Don't forget to keep paperwork for your annual federal or state income tax return — you can often deduct the property taxes, points and interest paid on a mortgage. Set up a consultation with a tax accountant to learn more about the restrictions on these types of deductions.

Living On A 100 Year Old Houseboat

From FairCompanies

Heather Wilcoxon grew up visiting the Hollywood sets of her actor parents, but at age 20 she left all that behind to move aboard a boat and for the past 4 decades has made her home on the San Francisco Bay.

“I'm so used to the water, I'm so used to living on a boat in a small space,” explains Wilcoxon. “I don't have huge payments, I’m not stressed out by a job, I make just enough money to pay for my lifestyle, I don't need a lot of money for a big house with 3 cars and 5 bedrooms and big payments, it's not what I'm interested in.”

Wilcoxon bought her current home, a turn-of-the-century vessel in 1986 and she’s been remodeling it ever since. The Delta Queen was once a cook house barge in the Sacramento River Delta, but in the seventies it earned a permanent berth in the San Francisco Bay where a collection of artists and boatworkers built a floating village.

Wilcoxon lives on about $12,000 a year, paying a small monthly fee to the cooperative for berth rights (which includes sewage and laundry). Her electric bills are only about $12 in the summer and $60 during the frosty winter months.

Her minimal expenses allow Wilcoxon to live as an artist. Her work has been shown in the American University Museum (Washington DC) and she’s represented in New York (Brenda Taylor Gallery) and San Francisco (Jack Fischer Gallery), but her most enduring work is her boat home itself.

“Everything I've painted I'm kind of crazy about that. Give me a brush and I’m dangerous”. The 400-square-foot Delta Queen is covered, inside and out, in color. It’s been given a personality by Wilcoxon that would be tough to achieve with a larger space.

“Living on a boat, it's simple. I like that it's simple. You can make whatever space you want yours, that's the magic of it.”

Wilcoxon's home has a built-in bed, closet and storage, her full bathroom (clawfoot tub included) and her enclosed deck with upright piano.

Consumer Confidence in US Hits 4 Year High

good to hear it's going in the right direction...

Newsweek
November 26, 2012

Consumer confidence rose in November to the highest level in more than four years, a sign U.S. household spending will keep growing.

The Conference Board’s confidence index climbed to 73.7, the highest since February 2008, from a revised 73.1 reading the prior month, figures from the New York-based private research group showed today. The median forecast of 75 economists surveyed by Bloomberg projected a reading of 73.

The report showed the share of Americans planning to buy a house rose to a record high, indicating improving property values and a job market recovery are making households more willing to make long-term commitments. Sustained gains in consumer spending, the biggest part of the economy, may help overcome concern over the fiscal cliff of tax increases and government spending cuts slated for early 2013.

“Confidence is holding up well,” said Chris Rupkey, chief financial economist at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd. in New York, who projected the confidence measure would climb to 74. “Spending is going to continue to increase. This bodes well for the fourth quarter.”

Other reports today signaled business investment may rebound and home prices are climbing.

Demand for goods such as machinery and electronics climbed in October by the most in five months, the Commerce Department reported. Bookings for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft, a proxy for future business investment, rose 1.7 percent last month, the most since May.

Home Values

Property values rose in the year ended September by the most since July 2010, according to data from S&P/Case-Shiller. The index of home prices in 20 cities climbed 3 percent from September 2011, after advancing 2 percent in the year to August.

The gain in confidence may have been restrained by a plunge in the Middle Atlantic region, the area covering New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania that was most affected by superstorm Sandy. That area’s index plunged 14.6 points to a three-month low of 54.2. Seven of eight other regions saw confidence increase, the report showed, with the Mountain area being little changed.

Shares fell on concern about the budget negations in Washington. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index dropped 0.4 percent to 1,401.24 at 10:38 a.m. in New York.

Home Sales

Consumers are benefiting as record-low mortgage rates drive a recovery in housing. Sales of previously owned homes unexpectedly climbed in October, and the median price rose 11.1 percent from a year earlier, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Estimates for consumer confidence ranged from 65 to 79.1 in the Bloomberg survey of 75 economists. The measure averaged 53.7 during the recession that ended in June 2009.

The Conference Board’s measure of present conditions was little changed at 56.6 this month from 56.7 in October. The gauge of expectations for the next six months rose to 85.1 from 84.

The share of consumers who said jobs are currently plentiful increased to 11.2 percent, the most since September 2008, from 10.4 percent. Those who said jobs are hard to get were little changed at 38.8 percent.

The percent of respondents expecting more jobs to become available in the next six months increased to 20.3, the highest since February 2011, from 19.7 the previous month.

Home-Buying Plans

The share planning to buy a house within the next six months jumped to 6.9 percent, the most in data going back to 1964. The previous all-time high was 5.5 percent.

Among other measures, the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index climbed in November to a five- year high, while the Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index last week hovered near the strongest point in seven months.

Thanksgiving Day openings and midnight deals at chains from Target Corp. (TGT) to Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) drew shoppers. Spending in stores and online rose 13 percent to $59.1 billion in the four days starting Nov. 22, the National Retail Federation reported. A year ago, sales advanced 16 percent over the holiday weekend.

Gap Inc. (GPS), the biggest U.S. specialty-apparel retailer, saw busy stores on Black Friday as customers responded to offers of $19 sweaters and $5 kids and baby graphic Ts from midnight to noon.

Encouraging Signs

“We’re encouraged by what we’re seeing out there,” Mark Breitbard, president of Gap’s North America division for its namesake brand, said in a telephone interview on Nov. 23.

Fuel prices close to the lowest level since mid-July are offering respite to budget-conscious households. The average cost of a gallon of regular gasoline at the pump has fallen 10 percent in the past two months to reach $3.42 on Nov. 26, according to AAA, the nation’s biggest motoring organization.

Business sentiment has been stagnating as the year-end deadline for automatic fiscal tightening approaches. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said last week that an agreement on ways to reduce long-term federal budget deficits could remove an impediment to growth, while failure to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff would pose a “substantial threat” to the recovery.

US home sales rise 2.1 percent in October

Denver Post

November 10, 2012

WASHINGTON—U.S. sales of previously occupied homes rose solidly in October, helped by improvement in the job market and record-low mortgage rates.
The increase along with a jump in homebuilder confidence this month suggests the housing market continues to recover. The National Association of Realtors said Monday that sales rose 2.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.79 million. That's up from 4.69 million in September, which was revised lower. The sales pace is roughly 11 percent higher than a year ago. But it remains below the more than 5.5 million that economists consider consistent with a healthy market. As the economy slowly recovers, more people have started looking to buy homes or rent apartments. Prices are steadily climbing, while mortgage rates have been low all year. At the same time, rents are rising, making the purchase of a single-family home or condominium more attractive. "Altogether, the report is encouraging," said Michael Gapen, an economist at Barclays Capital. "Our view is that housing is in a recovery phase," he added, though it will be restrained by limited credit and modest job gains. A separate report Monday showed confidence among homebuilders rose this month to its highest level in six and a half years. The increase was driven by strong demand for newly built homes and growing optimism about conditions next year. The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo builder sentiment index increased to 46, up from 41 in October. Readings below 50 suggest negative sentiment about the housing market. The index last reached that level in April 2006. Still, the index has been trending higher since October 2011, when it stood at 17. The Realtors' group said Superstorm Sandy delayed some sales of previously occupied homes in the Northeast. Sales fell 1.7 percent there, the only region to show a decline. Those sales will likely be completed in future months, the group said. The median price for previously occupied homes increased 11.1 percent from a year ago to $178,600, the Realtors' said. A decline in the number of homes available for sale is helping push prices higher. There were only 2.14 million homes available for sale at the end of the month, the lowest supply in 10 years. It would take only 5.4 months to exhaust that supply at the current sales pace. That's the lowest sales-to-inventory ratio since February 2006. Prices are also benefiting from the mix of homes being sold. Sales of homes priced at $500,000 and above have jumped more than 40 percent in the past year. Sales of homes and condominiums that cost less than $100,000 fell 0.6 percent. There have been other positive signals from the housing market. Applications for mortgage loans to buy homes jumped 11 percent in the week ended Nov. 9, compared with a week earlier, the Mortgage Bankers' Association said last week. Purchase applications are up 22 percent in the past year. Foreclosures are slowing. The number of properties that began the foreclosure process in the first 10 months of the year fell 8 percent compared with the same period last year, RealtyTrac said last week. And builders broke ground on new homes and apartments at the fastest pace in more than four years in September. The jump could help boost the economy and hiring. Still, the market has a long way back to full health. Many potential home buyers cannot meet stricter lending standards or produce larger down payments required by banks. That can be a particular problem for first-time homebuyers. They accounted for 31 percent of sales in October, down slightly from September and below the 40 percent that is common in a healthy market. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Thursday that banks' overly tight lending standards may be preventing sales and holding back the U.S. economy.

US new home starts jump to fastest pace in 4 years

Denver Post
11.20.2012

WASHINGTON—U.S. builders started construction last month on the most homes and apartments since July 2008, more evidence that the housing recovery is gaining momentum.
The Commerce Department said Tuesday that builders broke ground on homes in October at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 894,000. That's a 3.6 percent gain from September. Single-family home construction dipped 0.2 percent to an annual rate of 594,000, down from a four-year high in the previous month. Apartment construction, which is more volatile from month to month, rose 10 percent to an annual rate of 285,000. Applications for building permits, a sign of future construction, fell 2.7 percent to 866,000, after jumping 12 percent in September to a four-year high. Still, permit applications to build single-family homes rose to their highest level since July 2008. "The overwhelming trend here is a housing market that has clearly shifted into recovery mode," Robert Kavcic, an economist at BMO Capital Markets, said in a note to clients. Housing starts are 87 percent above the annual rate of 478,000 in April 2009, the recession low. That's still short of the 1.5 million annual rate considered healthy. Superstorm Sandy had minimal impact on the October figures, the government said. It could delay some construction in November. Still, residential construction activity in region should get a boost soon after when builders begin replacing homes destroyed by the storm. The housing market has been making consistent gains this year, helping prop up an economy that's being squeezed by a global slowdown and looming spending cuts and tax increases. Builder confidence rose to its highest level in six and a half years, according to a survey by the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo. Their index of builder sentiment rose to 46 this month, up from 41 in October. It was the highest reading since May 2006, just before the housing bubble burst. Readings below 50 signal negative sentiment about the housing market. The index has been rising since October 2011, when it was 17. It has surged 27 points in the past 12 months, the sharpest annual increase on record. Sales of previously occupied homes rose 2.1 percent to 4.79 million in October, the National Association of Realtors said. Sales are near their highest level in five years, excluding temporary spikes in 2009 and 2010 when a homebuyer tax credit boosted purchases. A key factor fueling the gains is a gradually improving economy, which has increased the number of people looking for homes. At the same time, fewer homes are available for sale. The low supply is helping push up prices. In addition, mortgage rates have hit all-time lows. And rents are rising, making the purchase of a single-family home or condominium more attractive. Though new homes represent less than 20 percent of the housing sales market, they have an outsize impact on the economy. Each home built creates an average of three jobs for a year and generates about $90,000 in tax revenue, according to data from the home builders group.
 

Mortgage delinquency rate drops in Colorado, nation

Denver Post
11.15.2012

Mortgage delinquencies on residential properties in Colorado dropped in the third quarter of the year, keeping the state with one of the lowest rates nationally, a national banking association reported Thursday.
Coupled with a delinquency rate of 5.04 percent, the number of foreclosures started in the quarter fell to 0.57 percent, and the number of loans in foreclosure — 1.66 percent — also dropped.
The delinquency rate had been 5.08 percent at the end of the second quarter, an increase of 0.29 percent.
Conversely, the delinquency rate for subprime adjustable rate mortgages in the state jumped by a half percent to 15.73 percent, and subprime home loans with a fixed rate increased to 14.81 percent, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.
Nationally, the delinquency rate for mortgage loans on residential properties fell to 7.40 percent from 7.58 percent the previous quarter.
Colorado ranked 44th in delinquencies and 42nd in foreclosure starts, MBA reported. Mississippi ranked first in delinquencies at 13.1 percent of all residential mortgages.
The state had ranked 42nd in delinquencies at the end of the second quarter.