Thursday, July 15, 2010

 15-year mortgage rates approach 4 percent

Long-term mortgage rates remain at historic lows, with the average rate on a 15-year mortgage, an increasingly popular choice among buyers and owners refinancing, falling to just 4.07 percent this week.

Freddie Mac’s (OTC: FMCC) weekly rate report says a 30-year fixed rate mortgage was unchanged at 4.57 percent this week, matching last week’s lowest level in the 39 year history of Freddie Mac’s survey. The average rate on a one-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to 3.74 percent, the lowest since at least 1984.

Low rates continue to be a big incentive for buyers, but current owners are also taking advantage, with four out of five mortgage applications over the past month for refinancing an existing mortgage.

Low rates, along with the federal homebuyer tax credit, have helped drive sales in Baltimore. The region saw 2,579 homes sold in June, according to Rockville market research firm Metropolitan Regional Information Systems Inc. That was up from 2,375 in June 2009.

With rates a full percentage point lower than they were a year ago, Freddie Mac calculates a borrower would save about $1,500 per year for every $200,000 in mortgage amount.

Read more: 15-year mortgage rates approach 4 percent - Baltimore Business Journal

Thursday, July 8, 2010, 11:28am EDT  |  Modified: Thursday, July 8, 2010, 11:30am

Baltimore-area among two markets not to see housing prices rise

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Baltimore is one of two major metropolitan markets where home prices have not risen in the last year, according to a report released Thursday.

Between June 2009-June 2010, the average home price in the Baltimore-area dropped by 4.9 percent, according to Truckee, Calif.-based data firm Clear Capital.

The only other market to post a decline over the year was Orlando, Fla., which saw a 3.9 percent drop.

For the quarter ended June 30, home prices in the Baltimore-area dropped 1.8 percent compared with the same period a year ago. The Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, Conn., region was the only other market to post a decline, 2.5 percent.

Nationally, home prices rose 8.8 percent over the year. They also spiked 5.2 percent quarter-over-quarter.

Clear Capital attributes the improved market to an increase in spring sales and the federal housing home buyer tax credits.

“Price trends nationwide have a seen a considerable upswing driven in large part by the flurry of recent sales attributed to the tax credit and springtime buying activity,” Alex Villacorta, senior statistician for Clear Capital, said in a statement. “This month’s national quarterly gains are certainly a positive sign that many markets have responded to the tax credit incentive, but overall markets remain volatile as evidenced by the six month price change keeping mostly flat.”

Read more: Baltimore-area among two markets not to see housing prices rise - Baltimore Business Journal

 From Roxanne: So Sellers please work with your Realtor on the best pricing strategy, if you are too high you will be chasing the market and the house will expire after six months. The market is what it is, if you want to sell then it is not a good time to “test” the market. If you need to sell and have an urgency the house will sell but work with your Realtor on pricing and staging. “It’s a price war in a beauty contest”.

Buyers, interest rates are still low and a great time to buy. A great time to buy investment properties too.

 If you would like to know what your home is worth in today’s market or want a FREE list of available homes for sale in the Baltimore-Metro area, please visit our website at www.theopenmindedteam.com!

On July 11, 2010 at 13:00 PM, you are invited to an Open House at 1020 S Curley Street in Baltimore. If you are looking for a Town-Home property in this area, don’t miss this rare opportunity to visit this magnificent property. For a preview of this Town-Home property, check out my site at theopenmindedteam.topproducerwebsite.com. Please do not hesitate to Contact Me if you have any questions or wish to schedule a private showing.

On July 11, 2010 at 13:00 PM, you are invited to an Open House at 256 Robert Street in Baltimore. If you are looking for a Resale - condo-townhouse property in this area, don’t miss this rare opportunity to visit this magnificent property. For a preview of this Resale - condo-townhouse property, check out my site at theopenmindedteam.topproducerwebsite.com. Please do not hesitate to Contact Me if you have any questions or wish to schedule a private showing.

On July 11, 2010 at 13:00 PM, you are invited to an Open House at 232 Duncan Street S in Baltimore. If you are looking for a Resale - condo-townhouse property in this area, don’t miss this rare opportunity to visit this magnificent property. For a preview of this Resale - condo-townhouse property, check out my site at theopenmindedteam.topproducerwebsite.com. Please do not hesitate to Contact Me if you have any questions or wish to schedule a private showing.

Click on this link, This Month in Real Estate by Keller Williams Realty International.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BNEGbUhJA8

It’s a great video, go through the timeline of what to expect during the short sale process though it’s slightly different for every file. Why a short sale is better than a foreclosure. And foreclosures were down in April by 2%, down since 2006, sellers are realizing short sales are better than foreclosures. It is easier to walk away from the property but why not take the extra time to stay in the house and get the property sold, there are so many benefits. Visit our website at http://www.theopenmindedteam.com/forclsvsshortsale.asp for more information on short sales and foreclosures.

 Our team are Certified Distressed Property Experts, we work and live in Canton, Baltimore City, Maryland. However, we will go wherever there is a homeowner in distress, we want to help them get through the short sale process as painfree as possible.

For general information, visit our website at www.theopenmindedteam.com.

https://www.luxuryhomemarketing.com/market_report/ILHM_National_2010_06_20_1224252860_9009.pdf

 On a National level, luxury homes are selling. In the luxury market in Baltimore, Maryland, the average sales price is almost $945,000 with average days on market 211 days. Not too bad. Click on the link above for more detailed information.

 For a FREE list of luxury homes or distressed luxury properties, go to www.upscaleluxuryhomes.com, and receive the report in minutes with no obligation.

OPEN HOUSE- SUNDAY June 27, 2010 from 1:00pm to 3:00pm

http://www.theopenmindedteam.com/2733chesley.asp

You are invited to an Open House at 2733 Chesley Avenue in Baltimore. For a preview of this Resale - single family property, check out my site at http://www.theopenmindedteam.com/2733chesley.asp. Please do not hesitate to Contact Me if you have any questions or wish to schedule a private showing.

Most expensive homes for sale in America

Posted: 14 Jun 2010 12:40 PM PDT

Every year in their Ultimate Homes issue our friends at Unique Homes Magazine compile a list of the most-expensive homes for sale in America. 

The Ultimate issue will be hitting the newsstands and our mailboxes soon, and it looks like the editors at Unique Homes have some interesting observations about the market, gleaned from their work on this year’s edition…

From Roxanne: Even luxury properties are still selling but at lower prices. There even selling without being on the market, just from word of mouth. Even lower end properties it’s important to network with everyone including other agents sharing what properties you have for sale because you never know where that buyer will come from. For a list of luxury properties for sale go to www.upscaleluxuryhomes.com, for a list of distressed luxury homes, go to www.distressedluxuryhouses.com.

June 10, 2010

Sprinklers for ‘gut rehabs’?

The legislation that would require fire sprinklers in new and renovated homes in Baltimore is undergoing some renovation of its own.

City Councilwoman Mary Pat Clarke said after a Tuesday committee hearing that she’s looking to change the threshold so sprinklers aren’t required unless the rehab in question is a “gut” project. “Really a major rehab — removal of interior walls, etc.,” she said.

Under the original proposal, the sprinkler mandate kicked in for any renovation affecting at least 30 percent of the gross floor area or adding 30 percent more space. But there was a hue and cry against adding thousands of dollars to the cost of fairly minor projects such as — say — reflooring.

Baltimore’s housing agency, which opposed the bill as originally written, estimates the expense of installing a system in an existing home at $13,000 to $15,000. 

Clarke, who introduced the bill, said the Judiciary and Legislative Investigations committee is scheduled to vote on an altered version on Monday at 1:30 p.m.

“What we’re doing now is trying to find a definition we can adapt as an amendment,” she said. “A 30 percent threshold, even a 50 percent threshold, did not meet with approval and developers were very much opposed. We would like to go to the gut rehab standard … so that we can begin to assess how that goes and what the costs really are, so sometime down the line, we could expand. But we need to have some working experience first.”Clarke says she’s hoping the sprinkler requirement will prevent fire deaths, an idea the Fire Department supports.

But Alan Chantker, president of the Mid-Atlantic Real Estate Investors Association, said even a higher threshold for sprinklers would mean fewer rehabs in a city with a lot of deteriorating homes in need of help.

“It’s going to add a substantial cost,” he said. “When you’re talking about houses that might only sell for $60 to $120 [thousand], that cost might be enough to tip you from profit to no profit.”

You had a lot to say about the original proposal. What do you think of this idea?

Posted by Jamie Smith Hopkins at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (9)