Monday, December 23, 2013

Tapering Begins!

Tapering Begins!

The Fed announced they would be pulling back some of their stimulus package which has helped the housing market by keeping long term mortgage rates at historic lows for the last few years. This should come as no surprise as I have been warning of this likelihood over the last several months.

KCM even went against the belief of the vast majority of economists who thought the Fed would wait until next year. Bill McBride of Calculated Risk:
“Although the consensus is the Fed will wait until 2014 to start to taper asset purchases, December is still possible.”
We also gave our members the following grouping of slides to help them explain the ramifications of the Fed’s decision during meetings with buyers and sellers.
Tapering

What it Means to the Consumer

In an article in MarketWatch today, Lawrence Yun, the Chief Economist at NAR, explained that sellers looking to move-up (to a better school district or larger home) “need to realize that it could be more challenging a year from now.” Yun stated the average 30-year mortgage rate currently hovers at 4.3%, but that could rise to 5% or 5.5% next year.

What it Does NOT Mean to the Housing Market

Some reports will now claim that housing prices will have to drop as interest rates begin to rise. There is no historical evidence of this. Below is a chart showing the last four instances of mortgage rates rising dramatically and what happened to home values at the time.
12-23 Rates and Prices

Bottom Line

If you are either a first time buyer or a move-up buyer, you should make the move earlier in 2014 instead of later as mortgage rates will probably increase as the year goes on.

Saturday, December 21, 2013

Fit to Sell Video: Answers to Your Staging Questions

Fit to Sell Video: Answers to Your Staging Questions

Fri, December 13, 2013
Staging your home for sale is a good way to help it stand out in the crowd. In this latest RE/MAX "Fit to Sell" video, you'll find answers to the most common questions about preparing a home for visits from potential homebuyers.

Looking for more tips on selling a home? Watch all the videos in the "Fit to Sell" series.

RE/MAX CEO Margaret Kelly on CNBC Squawk Box

RE/MAX Fit To Sell - Deal Makers for Home Buyers

My Lightbulb Moment: Home's more than Walls and Plaster

Mon, December 16, 2013
By Deborah Kearns, RE/MAX Senior Editor, Corporate Communications
After a month of negotiations, last-minute closing hurdles, a roof replacement in the dead of winter and other adventures, we finally closed the sale on our old home – and our new one – all in time for the holidays.

At the closing table for our old home, we sat across from a family of first-time homebuyers who were clearly excited to make new memories in a new home. We exchanged friendly banter. We told them about that pesky humidifier control switch in the basement and shared insights about the neighborhood. All the while, though, my thoughts were on our new dream home.

When our lender handed us a stack of notecards with a picture of our new home on the front, with its beautiful brick exterior and the plentiful, cheery windows, I felt a sense of pride mixed with anxiety. We really did it!

Almost two weeks after getting our new keys, boxes are still pleading with us to unpack them, and smiling faces stare at me from photo frames that need to be put on display. Our to-do list is longer than we expected, but we’re slowly making our way through it and checking off items. 
In the moment I was unpacking the gleaming crystal stemware and trinkets that will go into my late mother’s china cabinet, I became overwhelmed as I thought back to my childhood. My mom was a single mother of two who worked two, sometimes three, jobs to provide the roof over our heads, the food on the table and as normal an upbringing as possible after my father passed away.

She poured a lot of time and effort into making our home comfortable. I never understood her obsession with perfecting the house; after all, it was just walls and plaster, right? But as I stood in my new formal dining room and handled those precious memories encased in bubble wrap that are now mine to treasure, it dawned on me that the home my mother created was a labor of love. And because she did that, it was a safe place. A place where I felt I belonged.

I look around my new home and I don’t think about furniture or the electronics or the square footage. I look around and see memories waiting to be created.

I realize now what I failed to appreciate when I was younger: Home is the place where a family plants its roots and grows before life takes us all in different directions. Because no matter where you go or what you do in life, memories and feelings of your home stay with you forever.

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Median Sales Price Rises 23 Percent in November


Median Sales Price Rises 23 Percent in November

November was largely another encouraging month for residential real estate. Our attention has shifted from multiyear high prices and sales volumes to seller activity, inventory levels and building permits. And let's not forget the calendar effect. As families gather together, fewer house hunters are scheduling showings and writing offers. Watch for month-to-month activity to moderate while year-over-year comparisons remain strong.

New Listings increased 13.3 percent to 9,003. Pending Sales were up 13.6 percent to 6,944. Inventory levels shrank 6.5 percent to 39,285 units.

Prices got a lift. The Median Sales Price increased 23.3 percent to $143,000. Days on Market was down 18.3 percent to 76 days. Absorption rates improved as Months Supply of Inventory was down 8.5 percent to 5.4 months.

Recent economic and jobs data have surprised to the upside by exceeding expectations. This likely keeps the new Federal Reserve leadership on track for March 2014 tapering. Non-farm payrolls grew by 204,000 jobs in October, outperforming Wall Street expectations. In another bullish sign, August payrolls were revised upward to a 238,000 job gain – positive momentum that should support housing recovery. Just in time for the holidays.


See what your home value is!

Senior Housing - HUD

Senior Housing - HUD

Come one and all and share the Christmas experience on so many levels.

Come one and all and share the Christmas experience on so many levels.


On Friday night December 20, 2013, members from the Interact Club and Beta Club will be holding the Christmas Experience movie night at the soccer field off Kingsbay Road from 6:00 to 8:00.  The movie showing will be “Elf”.  There will be no charge for admission, but people attending will be asked to donate to the Red Cross relief fund for the Philippines.  There will be teachers present to chaperon.  Come One and All the whole family is invited to this wonderful Christmas Experience. 



Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Sustainability Of Current Price Increases

Sustainability Of Current Price Increases

Current prices in Georgia maybe under valued but do you know what is the sustainability of your new location according to the November Fitch Ratings?


Good News for the Economy = Bad News for Rates

Good News for the Economy = Bad News for Rates



The economy is improving. As an example, the latest employment report showed that the unemployment rate hit a five-year low. We must realize that, as the economic news gets better, the government will consider whether or not to continue the programs they put in place to stimulate the economy. One such program is the Fed’s purchasing of assets which has led to historically low long-term mortgage rates.
Analysts at Capital Economics noted in a recent HousingWire article:
"The 203,000 increase in November's non-farm payrolls, along with the drop in the unemployment rate to a five-year low of 7.0%, gives the Fed all the evidence it needs to begin tapering its asset purchases at the next FOMC meeting later this month."
Whether such ‘tapering’ occurs this month or early next year is questionable. The fact that mortgage rates will spike when it does occur is more a guarantee.
Here are the thoughts of a few Fed presidents regarding whether it is in fact time to cut back on this stimulus program:
“To the extent that key labor market indicators continue to show cumulative improvement, the likelihood of tapering asset purchases will continue to rise. The Committee’s 2012 criterion of substantial improvement in labor markets gets easier and easier to satisfy on a cumulative basis as labor markets continue to heal…Based on labor market data alone, the probability of a reduction in the pace of asset purchases has increased.”
“In my view, we at the Fed should begin tapering back our bond purchases at the earliest opportunity…I consider this strategy desirable on its own merit: I would feel more comfortable were we to remove ourselves as soon as possible from interfering with the normal price-setting functioning of financial markets.”
“I expect discussion about the possibility of reducing the pace of asset purchases. The key issue, in my view, is the extent to which the benefits of further monetary stimulus are likely to outweigh the costs.”
If you are thinking about purchasing a home, buying before the tapering will probably mean a lower mortgage interest rate than if you waited. Visit my website or call me at 912-552-3436 www.247realtyservice.com

Monday, December 16, 2013

In Real Estate, A Picture Is Worth $1,000 or More

In Real Estate, A Picture Is Worth $1,000 or More

Attention desperate home sellers. Don’t want to lower the price on your house? Consider better photos. Realtor s' that list properties using photographs taken by the higher-end SLR cameras favored by photographers and photography enthusiasts, tend to do better than those that use photos from cheaper point-and-shoot cameras, according to a new analysis done by Redfin Corp., a Seattle-based brokerage.
Not surprisingly, listings with better photos command higher asking prices: If you believe your home is worth the investment of good photography, you’ll probably ask more money for it. The surprising part is that the tactic works. At the closing table, listings with nicer photos gain anywhere between $934 and $116,076–as measured by the difference between asking and final price–over listings using photos from point-and-click cameras.
SLR or single-lens-reflex cameras give users more control over what they capture and tend to produce high-quality images. They cost more than point-and-shoot cameras, but considering the data may be worth the investment for your listing broker.
Redfin only looked at listings in Boston and Long Island, where there was enough metadata incorporated into photos to do a complete analysis.
The data also showed that listings with nicer photos get more online attention. And yet, for all this, only 15% of listings incorporate higher-end photography. This is even true at the high-end. Redfin found that more than half of $1 million-plus listings were shot with low-end cameras.
One exception: The low end of the market. Listings priced below $300,000 were less likely to sell with nicer photos, possibly reflecting unrealistic expectations on the sellers behalf. At the low-end, price cuts would seem to be more important than photography.
www.247realtyservice.com

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Harvard: 5 Financial Reasons to Buy a Home

Harvard: 5 Financial Reasons to Buy a Home

Here in St Marys Georgia this truth is realized daily by many Navy personel as well as many families transferring her for jobs locally or in Jacksonville, Florida.  We have the best local public school system within a 100 mile radiuous and growing economy do to smart government and community partnerships.
Our students have the best oppertunities available to them no matter what their interest. From sports to theater to DECA. From ROTC to Marching Band, the list goes on.  Students that want to excellerate graduation or start college early, all this is made possible through our school system.

We have a low tax rate and property insurance rates.  We have special tax incentives for Senoir citizens and businesses.

Now is the time to buy in St Marys Georgia
Www.247realtyservice.com

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Current inventory levels of homes for sale in St Marys Georgia

This is the current inventory levels of homes for sale in St Marys Georgia.

Be sure to scroll down and view the graphs on current statistics on inventory levels and Sales trends in St Marys Georgia..






14,027 Houses Sell Every Day in the U.S.!!

14,027 Houses Sell Every Day in the U.S.!!

St Marys Georgia is now exception to this statistic. We have homes selling every day and when you do find the home of your dreams you need to be fast to act. So many buyers miss out on the opportunity because they think their home will be available in the next few days.

[Official Video] Little Drummer Boy



This will get you into the Christmas spirit.

Camden County: Changes And Challenges - Georgia Trend

Camden County: Changes And Challenges - Georgia Trend

Read this great article and see why now is the time to buy your new home in St Marys, GA