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It is a good idea to walk your property after heavy rains especially if you just moved in and are getting to know your house. If you have lived in your house for years ~ it is still a good practice to get into. Most leaks can be quickly and afford-ably repaired; it's those that you don't know about that can cause a problem over time.
ATTIC - Take a few minutes and look around in the attic to see if you see any water stains. Pay attention to areas where vents cut through the roof and around the chimney.
HOUSE - look in rooms/closets and places you might not always go into. Windows and doorways are another place to check.
CRAWL SPACES & BASEMENTS - Look in your crawl space & basements to see if you have any areas that have water in them. If you have water in your crawl space/basements - you will want to get it out as soon as you can. Sump pumps are affordable and easy to use solution.
EXTERIOR PERIMETER - Walk around your house after a rain. If you have had problems or suspect there might be a problem with water entering the crawl space/basement - you might be able to identify the problem. Water often shows up one place but enters from another spot. If you are having drainage problems or water pooling in your yard - you can often see the path the water is traveling right a rain - or if you are brave enough - walk the yard while it is raining and watch where the water is flowing.
Interest rates popped down to 4.75% yesterday for 30 year fixed conforming loans! WOW! Great time to buy - lower purchase prices - low interest rates! AND if you are a first time buyer or haven't owned primary house in past 3 years - you may be eligible for $8,000 tax credit if you close by 11.30.09!
Email me with questions and for more information!
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The National Association of Realtors said today that home sales rose 7.2% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.24 million in July, from a pace of 4.89 million in June. It was the 4th straight monthly increase and the highest level of sales since August 2007. Sales had been expected to rise to annual pace of 5 million, according to surveyed economists. July's increase to 5.24 million was higher than anticipated. "The housing market, with today's strong rise in sales, has decisively turned for the better," said Lawrence Yun, the chief economist for the National Association of Realtors.
National the median sales price is down by 15 percent to $178,400. Sales of foreclosures & distressed properties make up about a third of all transactions in July which is down from half of all transactions from earlier this year. In several markets across the US - buyers are purchasing foreclosed properties at deep discounts.
The tax credit for first time buyers - also seems to have helped sales. In order to qualify for the First-time buyer tax credit - homes must be CLOSED by November 30, 2009. The tax credit is for 10% of the purchase price upt to a maximum of $8,000. And while it is billed for the first time buyers - you may qualify if you haven't owned a primary property for the past 3 years.
The 9.4-month supply of current inventory at the current sales pace is unchanged from June.
At the annual Federal Reserve conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke says the U.S. economy is on the verge of a long-awaited recovery after enduring a brutal recession. Bernanke said that economic activity in both the U.S. and around the world appears to be "leveling out," and "the prospects for a return to growth in the near term appear good."
~sourced AJC.com
An article in the AJC today reports that the median sales price of single family homes in metro Atlanta rose in the 2nd Quarter of 2009. The metro Atlanta median sales price was $121,400 in the 2 nd Q of 2009, up 5 percent from $115,600 for the 1stQ of the year. The current median sales price is 23 percent lower than it was this time last year, $158,300, according to figures released Wednesday by the National Association of Realtors. Click
here for the full AJC article.
When comparing the 2nd Quarter 2009 sales (number sold) to 2nd Quarter 2008 sales - there has been an expected decline in the number of sales. 2ndQ 2008 - total of 10,029 sales vs. 2ndQ 2009 - total of 8,520 sales. But when broken out by sales price there is actually an increase in 2ndQ 2009's numbers in the $200k or less sales price. 2ndQ 2008 total of 4,692 sales vs. 2ndQ 2009 of 5,035 sales. Foreclosures and declining prices attribute to this increase in sales.
Foreclosures have had a tremendous impact on the 2009 market. 2Q 2008 - 19.5% of the sales were foreclosures compared to 2Q 2009 where 31.8% of the sales were foreclosures. (Short sales are not included in these statistics at present as there is not a way to accurately track them.) Certainly many buyers have been taking advantage of the falling prices & the $8000 tax credit to purchase homes. As foreclores, short sales & great buys are purchased and the inventories absorbed - we should begin to see pricing stabilizing and eventually price increases.
The Commerce Department reported that new home sales rose 11 percent in June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 384,000, from an upwardly revised May rate of 346,000. WOW.
It is the fastest increase in more than eight years for new construction home sales.
Indeed home prices are still falling, but the improvement in new construction sales is another sign the national housing market is starting to bounce back. Earlier this month, the government reported that national home resales rose almost 4 percent in June, the third straight monthly increase.
"The worst of the housing recession ... is now behind us," said David Resler, chief economist at Nomura Securities. "We're turning the corner toward increased activity in housing."
The median national sales price of $206,200 was down 12 percent from $234,300 a year earlier and off nearly 6 percent from $219,000 in May. In addition to lower prices, buyers are rushing to take advantage of a federal tax credit that covers 10 percent of the home price or up to $8,000 for first-time buyers. Home sales need to be completed by the end of November for buyers to take advantage. You must
close by November 30, 2009.
June's results were the strongest sales pace since November 2008 and exceeded the forecasts of economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters, who expected a pace of 360,000 units. The last time sales rose so dramatically was in December 2000.
There were 281,000 new homes for sale at the end of June, down more than 4 % from May. At the current sales pace, that represents 8.8 months of supply which is the lowest level since October 2007. Some analysts say that when the inventory falls down around a 6 month supply, builders will feel more comfortable ramping up construction.
Portions of this article were sourced from a July 2009 article by real estate columnist Alan Zeibel & FMLS
In a report released this week by the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development sales of newly built single family homes rose 11% in the month of June. Peter Morici, economics professor at University of Maryland said, "That is really good news. With all the foreclosure activity sending down home prices, for new homes to jump like that is a good indicator that the economy is bottoming out." Excess inventory still exists in some key markets such as California, Arizona, Las Vegas & Florida.
Economic recovery is still a few months away, say economists surveyed by USA Today, but two-thirds of them think existing-home sales have bottomed out. Bill Cheney, chief economist at MFC Global Investment states that both the housing and automotive markets "have the potential to generate some quite large percentage increases."
Overall, economists say unemployment won't peak until the first half of next year and credit markets will remain tight.
~Sorce: USA Today & Realtor Magazine
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The FMLS has finally published the June 2009 numbers! And there is continued good news in the numbers. Across all of FMLS areas (36 total) average closed prices are continuing to head back up. We are seeing lower inventories and the large number of months supply of houses on the market is starting to moderate as inventories continue to decline. If this trend continues we can expect prices to continue to increase.
Below are the monthly charts for 5 in-town areas of the FMLS - just a portion of the 36 total areas in FMLS.
FOR CONDOS/TOWNHOMES:
| Area |
# of Sales |
Total Sales Volume |
Avg Sale Price |
Average Original List Price |
Sales Price to Final List Price |
Average Total Days on the Market |
| 21 |
72 |
$ 21,803,417 |
$ 302,825 |
$ 435,664 |
74.1% |
146.2 |
| 23 |
75 |
$ 14,983,000 |
$ 199,773 |
$ 218,380 |
96.0% |
107.6 |
| 24 |
5 |
$ 868,900 |
$ 173,780 |
$ 188,560 |
96.2% |
49.6 |
| 52 |
46 |
$ 7,643,805 |
$ 166,170 |
$ 186,434 |
94.4% |
120.1 |
| TOTALS |
198 |
$ 45,299,122 |
|
|
|
|
HOUSES:
| Area |
# of Sales |
Total Sales Volume |
Avg Sale Price |
Average Original List Price |
Sales Price to Final List Price |
Average Total Days on the Market |
| 21 |
65 |
$61,106,623 |
$ 940,102 |
$ ,138,312 |
87.8% |
115.5 |
| 23 |
40 |
$19,032,273 |
$ 475,807 |
$ 550,100 |
94.7% |
132.5 |
| 24 |
63 |
$14,952,700 |
$ 237,344 |
$ 262,342 |
96.2% |
91.8 |
| 31 |
119 |
$5,230,423 |
$ 43,953 |
$ 57,414 |
92.8% |
79.6 |
| 32 |
73 |
$8,631,929 |
$ 118,246 |
$ 135,225 |
95.6% |
79.8 |
| 52 |
160 |
$35,186,598 |
$ 219,916 |
$ 247,542 |
93.7% |
90.2 |
| TOTALS |
520 |
$144,140,546 |
|
|
|
|
Click
here for FMLS Area - key codes.
In these in-town markets - the total sales volume for Condos/Town homes was $21,804,580 for May compared to June's sales volume of $45,299,122. Sales volume of single family homes in these 5 areas jumped to $144,140,546 in sales volume compared to May's sales volume of $99,337,550. Here are breakdowns of past months:
May 2009,
April 2009 &
March 2009.
It is a great time to buy!
Today starts a 4 day sales tax holiday! If you are in need of a personal computer or it's time for back to school clothing ($100 per item maximum) or school supplies ($20 per item maximum) - now is the time to buy!
In addition to being able to purchase a laptop or desktop PC - other computing items may be eligible for the tax exempt status - software, docking stations, disks, memory, keyboards, printers, printer cartridges, zip drives, scanners, storage devices, etc.
For details on what is included & excluded click
here.
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Recycling occurs every other week now in the City of Atlanta. If you are having trouble fitting all of your recyclables into the small bins - here is some good news: you can purchase a 95 gallons rolling recycle cart from the City of Atlanta for $70. The advantage to buying the recycle cart from the City is that it meets the specs to fit on their mechanical lift on the trucks. The smaller version (50 gallons) at Home Depot is the same price.
Looking for more information? Click
here to visit the city's website. Instructions on buying the bin are on web site!
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Recycling occurs every other week now in the City of Atlanta. If you are having trouble fitting all of your recyclables into the small bins - here is some good news: you can purchase a 95 gallons rolling recycle cart from the City of Atlanta for $70. The advantage to buying the recycle cart from the City is that it meets the specs to fit on their mechanical lift on the trucks. The smaller version (50 gallons) at Home Depot is the same price.
Looking for more information? Click here to visit the city's website. Instructions on buying the bin are on web site!
