Well now we have our newly extended, and expanded I might add, home buyer tax credit.  Let me add another idea into the mix.  What if you as a home buyer could have Job Loss Protection on the home you purchase?  Let’s say that after you have moved into your new home you had the peace of mind to know that the home you purchased had unemployment coverage for 2 years after your closing date so that in the event you lost your job your mortgage was paid for up to six (6) months and up to $1,800 per month?

This actually exists.  That’s right, it is something called the Mortgage Protection Program and is only offered through homes purchased through certified agents with Prudential Georgia Realty.  If you are in the market to buy a new home in the coming months, why not make sure that at no cost to you, that you have in this economy all the peace of mind that one can possible have.  Look for the Prudential Georgia sign around Athens.  You are about to see quite a few of them!

If you are about to sell your home ask yourself how much of an edge you would have against the still current 10-12 months of housing inventory you will be competing against to be with the only company offering Job Loss Protection to potential buyers in our marketplace?

For exclusions and full details or to find out how this concept can enhance your ability to sell your Greater Athens area home, please email me or comment to this post.  You may also go to AthensGaHomesForSale.com for more information.

http://www.GetJobLossProtection.com (this is an overview of our job loss program)

If your property is currently listed with a real estate broker, please disregard this post.  It is not our intent to solicit the offerings of other brokers.  We cooperate with them fully.

According to the National Association of REALTORS®, 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 phase-out 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  first­ time  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.

Reprinted with Permission from the National Association of REALTORS®

http://www.AthensGaHomesForSale.com

Congress passed a measure this week extending the $8,000 home buyer tax credit to April 30, 2010.  More people are now eligible to take advantage of the tax credit, which includes a $6,500 tax credit for buyers who are current home owners and have lived in their home for five of the past eight years. 
Income limits for eligible home buyers were almost doubled to $125,000 for single buyers and $225,000 for couples, which is an increase from $75,000 for individuals and $150,000 for couples.

Qualifying homes are capped at a price of $800,000. 
Sen. Johnny Isakson, a Georgia Republican and a former member of NAR, was key in extending the credit, as well as pushing it through initially.

Specific Qualifications are as Follows;

• First-time home buyers who purchase homes between November 7, 2009 and April 30, 2010.
• Current home owners purchasing a home between November 7, 2009 and April 30, 2010, who have used the home being sold or vacated as a principal residence for five consecutive years within the last eight.

To qualify as a “first-time home buyer” the purchaser or his/her spouse may not have owned a residence during the three years prior to the purchase.

The Extended Home Buyer Tax Credit may be applied to primary residences, including: single-family homes, condos, townhomes, and co-ops.

Under the Extended Home Buyer Tax Credit, as long as a written binding contract to purchase is in effect on April 30, 2010, the purchaser will have until July 1, 2010 to close.

How do you apply for the Credit on your Tax Return?

Once you’ve decided to purchase a home and take advantage of the Extended Home Buyer Tax Credit. Here’s what you have to do to get your benefit:

Close on your home purchase between November 7, 2009 and April 30, 2010, or have a binding written contract by April 30, 2010 and close by July 1, 2010.

Decide whether to:

• apply the credit to your 2009 tax return, filed on or before April 15, 2010;
• file an amended 2009 return; or,
• apply the credit on your 2010 return, filed on or before April 15, 2011.

Attach documentation of purchase to your return.

Buyers purchasing homes on or before December 31, 2009 may claim the credit on their 2009 tax returns.

Buyers purchasing in 2010 will have the option to:

• Claim the credit on their 2009 return, even if the purchase is completed after December 31, 2009;
• File an amended return for 2009 if their purchase is completed after April 15, 2010; or,
• Claim the credit on their 2010 tax returns.

Source of Information NAR

http://www.AthensGaHomesForSale.com

Where do 3 in 10 Real Estate Shoppers go on the Web?  According to Hitwise.com, data through 10/31/09, they go to places such as REALTOR.com (7.54 percent), Yahoo Real Estate (4.93 percent),  Zillow (2.87 percent), MSN Real Estate (2.27 percent), and Trulia (2.07 percent).

In comparison the big boys in the real estate brokerage market such as the Coldwell Banker’s and C21’s only garner about .8 percent of traffic on the Web related to real estate searches even after all the expensive advertising they do.  If your home is listed with C21 or Coldwell Banker and you are paying more than 5 percent in commission, their advertising budget might be the reason why.

http://www.AthensGaHomesForSale.com

This is good news for a change.  After a drop in the number of homes in Athens, GA from twelve months ending June 1, 2008, through twelve months ending September 1, 2009 we have now seen in a rolling twelve months for two consecutive periods that the number of homes sold in Athens have increased.

It has been my belief that looking at rolling twelve month periods or cycles is more effective in terms of analyzing sales trends than simply looking at them from month to month.  June 1, 2008 for the preceding year we saw 1382 homes sold in Athens.  From this period on for 16 consecutive 12-month cycles we saw nothing but a decrease in each period in homes sold with no relief, until now!

The other thing of interest is that days on market on the average have shrunk slightly and the median sales price has maintained itself after dropping just below $140,000 for twelve months ending September 1, 2009.

We are still a long, long way to go to get back to our peak in terms of the number of homes sold in a year, but what is of keen interest to me is that while in the last year we have averaged 65.8 home sales per month, in the last six months we have seen this take off to an astounding 83.8 homes sales monthly.  Granted, this is during peak sales season and the past six months you would expect an increase in average sales over a ‘dumbed’ down year which includes the later part of fall and winter months which are historically slower, but at this pace the 6-month absorption rate is now below 10 months at 9.5 months of housing supply!  We have not seen single digit inventory levels in Athens in a good while!

Only time will tell, but for now the sales figures appear to be about the most encouraging they have been in a long time.

If you want to keep up with local market trends in Athens, including real time market conditions, please check out Market Snapshots.  View an example Snapshot before you register.  It is that easy to keep up with today’s local market and the technology will impress you!

From year over year we see differences in our housing market.  There are many different areas of analysis to look at such as months supply of inventory, days on market, new listings, and pending sales to name a few.  What trends do we see on this last day of October 2009.

What we see from this is that year to date Pending Sales by month show that we are way behind (380 in 2009 vs. 459 in 2008), but after a dismal showing in May, June through September shows a slight increase in monthly pending home sales.  That is good news.

Important to note is that as we go into November, December, and January we have historically some of the lightest inventory levels during this time of year.  If you are thinking about selling your home now might be a good time while many are pulling their homes off the market due to missing a sale during “summer” selling season to put your home on the market for sale to take advantage of lower seasonal levels of inventory on the market for sale.

For weekly real time Athens market conditions please take a look at http://www.AthensGaHomesForSale.com.

From the Senate Banking Committee Chair we are now hearing that Senate Democrats have agreed to extend the first-time home buyer tax credit set to expire on December 1, 2009. The latest variation extends the tax credit to homes “under contract,” but not closed by April 30, 2010.

Purchasers would have 60 days to close the sale from this date. The credit will also be expanded to include “step-up buyers” who have lived in their current home for at least five years.  For repeat buyers this tax credit would be slightly less with a $6,500 cap.

For your Market Snapshot of the Athens area please check out http://www.AthensGaHomesForSale.com.

By Selma Lewis, Research Economist

• In the report, “Walking the Walk: How Walkability Raises Housing Values in U.S. Cities” by Joseph Cortright, the authors analyzed data from 94,000 real estate transactions in 15 major markets provided by ZipRealty and found that in 13 of the 15 markets, higher levels of walkability were directly linked to higher home values.
• In the typical metropolitan areas studied, the home price premium commanded for neighborhoods with above average Walk Scores compared to those with average Walk Scores ranged from about $4,000 to $34,000, depending on the metro area.
• By the Walk Score measure, walkability is a direct function of how many destinations are located within a short distance (generally between one-quarter mile and one mile of a home). The study found that in the typical metropolitan area, a one-point increase in Walk Score was associated with an increase in value ranging from $700 to $3,000 depending on the market. The gains were larger in denser, urban areas like Chicago and San Francisco and smaller in less dense markets like Tucson and Fresno.
• Walkability is defined by the Walk Score algorithm which works by calculating the closest amenities – restaurants, coffee shops, schools, parks, stores, libraries, etc. – to any U.S. address. The algorithm then assigns a “Walk Score” from 0-100, with 100 being the most walkable and 0 being totally car-dependent. Walk Scores of 70+ indicate neighborhoods where it’s possible to get by without a car.
• Walk Score Median refers to the median of the metropolitan area. 75th percentile refers to the walk score that 75 percent of all households in the metropolitan area fall below and that 25 percent of all houses exceed and is considered the “above average” Walk Score. Estimated gain refers to the home value gain from living in areas where 75 percent of houses have above average scores.
• In response to the study, local policymakers of the city of El Paso, which was not included in the study, said the results show that the push to use smart-growth principles in all neighborhood development makes sense. The idea is also that the new development adds value to the municipalities’ tax base.
• Those not enthusiastic about the idea often argue that the building type required is not always feasible in a city like El Paso, where densities are much lower than those of up to 27,500 people per square mile in New York City. El Paso’s population density is 2,500 per square mile. Still, more could be done even in lower density areas to secure walkable communities. Providing appropriate infrastructure to pedestrians, such as sidewalks on major streets, could be a step forward.
• Source: “Walking the Walk: How Walkability Raises Housing Values in U.S. Cities” by Joseph Cortright

Copyright National Association of REALTORS®, Reprinted with permission.

For a look at your local Walk Score try www.walkscore.com.  Athens, GA “WalkScore” is below!

97

http://www.AthensGaHomesForSale.com

By Sophia Stuart, Research Economist

• Affordability measures typically use the prevailing 30-year fixed mortgage interest rate and assume a 10 percent downpayment to translate home prices into monthly payments.
• Under these assumptions, real monthly payments on a median priced house in 2008 were 20 percent below the 2006 peak.
• As a share of median owner income, monthly payments fell five percentage points to 20.1 percent. With interest rates still sliding, affordability improved even more in the first quarter of 2009.

Copyright National Association of REALTORS®, Reprinted with permission.

http://www.AthensGaHomesForSale.com

Okay, okay I know that the HGTV shows all show Realtor open houses.  I get email from my associates all the time where a mock “Street of Dreams” is constructed and a floating meal between listings is done.  ”Realtors come and eat, drink, and possibly get a gift card to Target” is their plea!  Do they work though?

One of the gals in our office does about the best Open Houses in town.  She gets 20-30 people to show up to these things, both Realtors and “other” people or non-Realtors alike. I hate to call them “buyers” because you never know if these non-Realtors are buyers or nosey neighbors who are after some freed food and drink and sit on your sofa as they gawk at your stuff.

The point I want to make however is that in our marketplace Open Houses don’t lead to “more sales” as compared to “not” doing an Open House.  I have set up for my Listings a Virtual/Video/Slideshow (that will knock your socks off by the way) Open House that causes no wear and tear on the carpet, no wine stains, and you can keep your Target gift card and use it on your kids at Christmas! These have staying power that don’t exist with a weekend Open House at a home for sale because thanks to Google and the Net, they are online “FOREVER” forever, forever, forever….(like the echo effect?)

That’s right.  Forever.  The link starts out on the first Google search results page and stays there.  Now instead of getting 20-30 Realtors and neighbors coming by for a drink and a party on one given Sunday afternoon, I had at last count on a Virtual Open House at 185 Horseshoe Circle in Cedar Creek, roughly 197 hits or views!  Wow!  

Thinking outside the box!  That is what it takes to sell real estate today.  In the end, she has an Open House a weekend and I have that thing called the Net. For the year I have one more closed sale than she has this year. She is a good realtor, but I am trying to be the most TECH based Broker and a Resource for Athens GA real estate!  Now to throw one more question out there that cannot be answered, how many of her sales are a direct result of Open Houses versus some other source?  I asked her.  She said that she has only had one sale directly tied to a specific Open House.  I attribute all of mine to the Net!

My soap box within my industry is that we need to think ahead and think of where the market is taking us.  Old, traditional, tired ways of thinking regarding how to market a home may be traditional, tired, Old, and they cost too much money in areas that most people are not paying attention.

Think progressively and sell your home!  Call or email me!

http://www.AthensGaHomesForSale.com

Okay, I can’t speak loudly enough, that if you want a deal and have been looking for homes for sale in Athens, GA, this one would be it.  Of all the houses for sale in Athens, GA this 4 bedroom with 3 full baths is located in a mature West Athens neighborhood where the Seller just wants to move on with their lives, and no, in a day of distressed sales, this isn’t one.  This is just a nice home in a nice neighborhood that is waiting for the right buyer to come along.

Contact me if you are interested and I can give you the details.  Any reasonable request in an offer will be looked at and considered including but not limited to allowances for upgrades.  You save money today on a new(er) home that is clean, fresh, and waiting for You!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vz5hEQ4GlhA

http://www.AthensGaHomesForSale.com

Sales surged in September. Existing home sales (single-family plus condos and coops) increased 9.4 percent in September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.57 million units from a 5.09 million unit pace in August (revised down from 5.10 reported earlier. Compared to the same month one year ago, existing home sales were higher by 9.2 percent.

Inventories at the end of September decreased by 7.5 percent and there were 3.63 million home available for sale. Based on the current sales pace it would take 7.8 months to exhaust the inventory. The months’ supply of inventory at the current sales pace fell to 7.8 months – the lowest level in two and a half years (or more precisely since March 2007). I would say a consistent months’ supply of less than 7 months would be needed for consistent price stabilization. We’re almost there, but not quite.

The dent in inventory is helping lessen the severity of price declines. The national median existing home price in September was $174,900, which is a decline of 8.5 percent from one year ago. Though a decline from one year ago, it is the lowest percentage magnitude in over a year.

Regionally, home sales rose in all four major regions. From August to September seasonally adjusted sales changes were as follow:

In the Northeast, existing home sales increased 4.4 percent
In the Midwest, sales increased 9.6 percent
In the South, sales increased 9.0 percent
In the West, sales increased 13.0 percent

Prices were lower in all four regions. From one-year ago, prices were lower by 7.0 percent in the Northeast, 1.0 percent in the Midwest, 7.6 percent in the South and 15.1 percent in the West. Broadly speaking home values have fallen by 25% to 30% from the peak depending upon which price data is looked at. The Midwest region really did not encounter any housing bubble, yet prices have fallen there as well. But we are now seeing much less pressure for price to fall in the Midwest.

There is very little difference in the condo sales trend compared to the single-family home sales. Condo sales increased 9.7 percent while single family home sales rose 9.4 percent. But there is a continuing difference between the two property groups in terms of inventory, with condo inventory at 11.0 months supply while single-family inventory is steadily getting trimmed to a now-7.8 months’ supply. No surprise then that the condo prices have experienced a larger price decline. Condo prices declined 11.7 percent while single family home price were lower by 8.1 percent. Please be mindful that the condo sales only make up about 15 percent of all sales.

Sales continue to be dominated in the lower priced homes. Sales of homes priced under $100,000 increased 22.5 percent. For homes priced at $100,000 to $250,000, sales rose 6.0%. Sales are down from one year ago for those homes priced above $750,000. In September, 70% of transacted homes were priced under $250,000.

By metro level, sales were strong in Miami, Houston, and New Orleans – with the latter two seeing a large year-over-year change because of depressed sales one year ago when a major Hurricane hit the region. Among the large metropolitan regions, sales were down from one-year ago in Atlanta, Indianapolis, Pittsburg, and San Antonio.

The annual survey of home buyers (not REALTORS®), suggests that the first-time buyer accounts for 45 percent of all buyers. The number of distressed sales, those that are short sales or foreclosed sales, made up 29 percent of all sales in September. It accounted for 45 to 50 percent of all sales late last year and in the early months of this year.

The home buyer tax credit stimulus measure is having its intended impact of lifting sales, lowering inventory, and lessening the price decline pressures. Sales in the past 3 months are at a 5.3 million unit pace versus the 4.6 million unit pace in the 3 months prior to the stimulus package. The jump in sales of roughly 15 percent from pre-to-post stimulus is occurring despite 4 million job losses over the same time period. And there are still a sizable number of people who are in a position to respond to tax incentives.

Are there financially qualified renters who are ready to enter the market? NAR estimates that roughly 5 million additional renters exist today versus in 2000 (before the housing market went through a boom) who have the necessary income today to buy a median-priced home. So there is plenty of pent-up demand that could be released into the market.

The housing market is very close to reaching the point of a self-sustaining recovery. When home values show consistent stabilization or even a slight increase, then the buyer fear-factor will no longer be at play. We are ever so close to reaching that self-propelling housing market recovery. But without an extension in the home buyer tax credit the housing market could face a double-dip recession.

We have to be mindful that the tax credit is not only about people in the market. Despite spectacular gains in the stock market, principally from the financial sector recovery, most of the 75 million home-owning families have more wealth tied to their homes. Home values could soon turn consistently positive and help the broad base of middle-class families, but we are not there yet. We’re getting early indications of price stabilization, but we need a steady supply of qualified buyers to meaningfully bring inventories down and return us to a period of normal, steady price growth and to fully remove consumer fears, which would then revive the broader economy. Without a firm foundation for middle-class wealth recovery, the post-recession economic growth likely will be one of the weakest in U.S. history

If home values do not stabilize, expect re-default rates to soar on recently modified mortgages and the first-time foreclosures to ramp up again. Getting trapped in the vicious cycle of lower prices fueling foreclosures and further pressuring lower prices and all the accompanying economic damage is a possibility as well. Why then take the chance when the home buyer tax credit extension and expansion will help firm up the foundation for a sustainable recovery.

Finally, let’s be clear. When money is dangled in their faces, bad players will look to cheat the system. Knowing this, it is very troubling that there are no tight government safeguards in place to prevent abuse. All fraud needs to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. We cannot have a good, working program be slammed by few rotten individuals. Quickly eliminate the bad and keep the good because the vast number of legitimate middle-class home buyers is responding to the tax incentives and in the process helping the broader economy to recover.
Copyright National Association of REALTORS®, Reprinted with permission

http://www.AthensGaHomesForSale.com

Still looking for that reason to view the cup half full?  Me too.  Although I do see some sales scattered about, I have found that you have to look closely at price points, zip codes, and other to determine how the market is really doing.

Report Date: Oct 23, 2009

Generally a balanced real estate market has about a five to six months’ supply of homes on the market at any given time, and one might expect that these homes stay on the market for about 90 days before going under contract for sale. More than six months of supply can indicate a buyer’s market and a lesser supply can indicate a seller’s market.  Buyers, you are in a far better negotiating position when your market’s inventory levels are high. As I always encourage my faithful blog readers, please don’t pay attention to the national averages. Take a hyper-local approach and look to your local market’s unsold inventory on the market for sale.

As the above chart shows, there are price segments within a two (2) mile radius of Timothy Road that are below the overall Athens inventory level of about 13 months, and are getting clos(er) to being in a balanced market.  From $125k-$150k we see only 7.7 months of housing supply, which is encouraging.  No doubt a result of those wonderful First Time Home Buyers.  The $250k-$275k range at 8.4 months is also very “bullish” by recent standards.   In these price ranges if you are looking in the area of Timothy Road in Athens you need to know that Sellers are going to be a little harder to negotiate with than at $300k-$350k for example where the months’ supply of inventory is at a whopping 18 months.

If you would like to know where the section of town you are looking to buy or sell is based upon months’ supply of inventory please comment to this post or email me at hankbailey@kw.com.  I would be happy to look it up for you!  Also, try Market Snapshots to get a detailed view of your local market.  Market Snapshots are very impressive, if I do say so myself!

You remember how it was when you were a kid and there seemed a lot of truth behind the comment “slow as Christmas?”  As I get older it seems like the weeks just keep flying by and all of a sudden we are about at that “most wonderful time of the year” again!  On December 3 at 7:00 p.m. in Downtown Athens is the ACC’s Christmas Parade!

If you want to be “in” the parade and not on the sidelines, you must make your entry between “now” and November 13th!

The parade begins on the corner of Dougherty and Pulaski and ends in front of City Hall for the lighting of the tree. For more info, you may call ACC Leisure Services at (706) 613-3589.

Parade Route thanks to the ACC:

http://www.AthensGaHomesForSale.com

According to Georgia MLS, October 20, 2009 we find the current housing supply within a 10 mile perimeter around Athens, GA;

Property Type: Single Family Residences

Property Type: Condos/Townhomes

Report Date: Oct 20, 2009

Property Type: Duplexes

The market is still overly bloated with inventory.    While it appears that SFR (single family residential) is now floating in and around the 12 month range of housing supply, from multi-family to condos/townhomes we have a glut of roughly two (2) years.

With this said, the absorption rate (i.e. the rate of the market to absorb existing housing supply) can decrease rapidly if and when sales pick up. This is a backward looking indicator meaning that we are looking at “past sales” to help us figure out how much housing supply is left on the market. As we go through fall and winter you would expect to see some seasonal slowdown before Spring 2010.  Considering 4-6 months of housing supply is deemed a “balanced market” between buyers and sellers, I think it is safe to say that we are still firmly in a buyer’s market.  Remember however if you are a buyer that you still need to consider the location of town and price range of home in determining how much inventory and therefore how much motivation might exist in the seller, whose property you desire, at any given time.

For example, in Lane Creek Plantation we find in the last six months an inventory level of 27 months of supply while in Cedar Creek on the east side of Athens we see a 12 month level of housing supply.  One neighborhood is in the $350k-$600k range while the other below $200k. One neighborhood is a haven for high LTV (loan to value) loans and first time home buyers while the other is stymied by jumbo loan products that don’t exist or do not have as favorable loan terms as well as “step up” home buyers that have been absent this year for the most part.

For more complete weekly conditions in the Athens market please try Athens Market Snapshots.  You can view an example before registering to receive a Market Snapshot at www.AthensHomeTrends.com.