Existing-Home Sales Decline in Economic Uncertainty
(reprinted from my newsletter)Existing-home sales weakened against a backdrop of an eroding economy, according to the National Association of Realtors®.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, expected a decline. “The quickly deteriorating conditions in the job market, stock market, and consumer confidence in October and November have knocked down home sales to another level. We hope the home sales impact from the stock market crash turns out to be short-lived, as was the case in 1987 and 2001,” he said.

According to Freddie Mac, the national average commitment rate for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage fell to 6.09 percent in November from 6.20 percent in October; the rate was 6.21 percent in November 2007. Last week, Freddie Mac reported the 30-year rate fell to 5.19 percent – the lowest on record since the series began in 1971.

Despite an overall softening in sales, there has been a solid trend of rising activity in California, Nevada, Arizona and Florida markets. “Sales are rising only in areas with large numbers of distressed properties as bargain hunters take advantage of discounted home prices,” Yun said.

NAR President Charles McMillan, a broker with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Dallas-Fort Worth, said it’s crucial to enact sufficient housing stimulus to spark an economic recovery. “We need more than low interest rates to encourage enough buyers to enter the market and meaningfully draw down inventory, which would stabilize home prices – that, in turn, would help the economy to recover,” he said.

The national median existing-home price for all housing types was $181,300 in November, down 13.2 percent from November 2007 when the median was $208,800. There remains a significant downward distortion in the current price from a large number of distress sales at discounted prices; the median is where half of the homes sold for more and half sold for less.

Source: The National Association of Realtors®

How Will We Market Your Property ?

This is a password protected page, Please contact us for further details if you are thinking of selling your property and would like more information on this topic.

Click here to use LoHud’s great search tool.  If it is a very recent sale you won’t see it, but bookmark the page and come back every week or so.  Or just call me and I’ll tell you quickly.

30 Year Fixed at a 37 Year Low.

Yes Virginia, there “is” a Santa Claus.  Well that’s how I felt yesterday when I saw that mortgage interest rates had adjusted downward again.  Below is a reprint from the Freddie Mac Site, but I saw that Provident Bank yesterday had a 30 year conforming rate of 4.875 (with 1 point).  I had an email from a colleague where they saw a mortgage broker at 4.75 with no points.  So . . . let the games begin!

Compilation of Weekly Survey Releases for 2008

There are other positive signs in the marketplace as well.  Remember the huge bailout plan to purchase troubled mortgages?  Well part of that plan is being shelved.  Lawrence Yun, NAR Chief Economist writes (Source GHVmls economic and market watch report/Oct) that “Instead the money will be used to support securitization for consumer financing.”  Yun adds that the goal is to get capital to lenders so that they can start issuing loans to consumers and companies.  Yun shares that LIBOR rates (the key rate measurement of liquidity flow in the financial system) have begun to thaw.  But those stubborn residential mortgage rates carry a high spread above Treasury rates, commercial mortgage loans are non-existent and the banks are still not lending to small businesses.

The notwithstanding the above information, the most important thing I want to communicate is YES THERE ARE LOANS OUT THERE ! If you have good credit, (read my post on FICO Scores here)a stable job and some $ to put down, you can get mortgage money.   Property values have digressed to levels not seen in years.  Improved affordability has led to improved home sales.  The huge inventory is being worked off.  As I’ve told you for months now, a shrinking inventory is another sign that the real estate market is stabilizing.  Yun goes on to warn though that while these signs are encouraging, more must be done.

NAR, the National Association of Realtors has proposed that the government buy-down mortgage interest rates to ensure fixed low rates for home buyers.  NAR has also presented a plan to Congress that would eliminate the repayment feature of that $7500.00 first-time home buyer tax credit.  NAR has proposed that this credit be offered to all buyers and that higher FHA and conventional loan limits be made permanent.  This should greatly aid in the housing recovery.

We all know that consumer confidence is at an all time low, but we also know from history that the journey to wealth accumulation begins with owning ones own home.

Pricing & Perception is everything!

Sellers: Asking Prices! Pricing is always important in any market, but in this difficult climate, the most important rule is to price your property accurately. This can often be a challenge because what happens locally may not compare what is being presented within the national media. Careful consideration must be given to market trends, late statistics on recent sales (within 60-90 days), available credit and the local employment picture.

Agents: It is absolutely essential, and I believe our duty, to accurately price properties for sale from the get-go. With the bulging inventory there is no time to lose. Care must be taken to properly analyze all data. A thorough market analysis should take hours, not minutes. The agent must know all competing properties and assure the seller that theirs is the competition, not the other way around. Market updates should be done on a WEEKLY, not monthly basis. Lately, I look virtually every day, and at the very least every 3 days to be certain my listing is properly positioned. If it is not, we will lose. Read the rest of this entry »

Should you decorate your home while attempting to sell it this Holiday Season?

Well that can be a very tricky question. I will try to make it as simple as possible for you. The answer is basically the same as any other time of the year. The answer, quite frankly, depends on what type of decoration you choose. I would say that the rule is: “Less is More”. The other thing to be realistic about is to consider what is the “quality” of the decorations you possess. Are they outdated? Or do they still sparkle and bring a special feel and excitement to the room?

If you are skilled in home decor and TRULY have some lovely things to set about go ahead and decorate. The problem is that one’s man’s treasure is another man’s junk. What may be appealing to us, may turn someone else away and may not showcase your home in its best light. If things become too “cluttery” you’ll find that the prospects are looking at your nicknacks and not your home. Also when there is too much clutter it tends to make the house feel smaller. A tree that is taking up valuable square footage in the living room may just be that one thing that makes the buyer “feel” the house is too small.

What do professional home stagers advise? Maureen Henry of Rockland Home Staging comments “I usually tell clients to decorate late, the week before the Holiday and take the decorations down immediately after.”

The bottom line is this: The way you live in a house and the way you sell a house are two very different things. To be on the safe side, I would keep decor to a minimum. It is not every year that you will be selling your home. In these days of bulging inventory, I feel you must do every single thing possible to showcase and stage your home properly. If you absolutely must decorate for Christmas, call in a staging expert for a unbiased second opinion. I found a great forum on this topic over at Southern Living.

Happy Holidays Everyone.

Angela Chan

December 3, 2008 - still unsold (Yes I’m vindicated)

(Tow of my listings, similar to this one, which were properly priced sold within 30 days)

December 3, 2008 - still unsold
November 3, 2008 - still unsold
October 3, 2008 - still unsold
September 3, 2008 - still unsold
August 2, 2008 -still unsold
July 2, 2008 - still unsold
June 20, 2008 - still unsold

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Below is a update of my recent article on the importance of properly pricing your Rockland County NY property for sale. At this writing (8.2.08) the sellers have now reduced their property by $90,000 and the property is STILL sitting there, and we are now in August, one of the slowest market times of the year, plus after that fast approaching the fall market leading up to the winter months (another slower time). The agent who listed that property so high did a grave disservice to the seller. This is one of my biggest pet peeves about our industry. Agents who knowingly take an overpriced listing just to have inventory. It’s so wrong.

I’m not saying I wouldn’t take a listing and test market it for a couple of weeks at a particular price point, but my job is to DAILY monitor the market to see how my client’s properly is positioned and advise them accordingly. If we don’t see 2-3 showings each week for the 1st 2 weeks, and certainly if no offers are on the table, the price is usually the culprit. Read the rest of this entry »

November 4, 2008 - Market Update

Click on the Image to the left for the full view of the most recent market activity in Rockland County.

My Friends at AVON have featured Suze Orman speaking to the thousands of AVON reps who are concerned about the economy.  Why would I feature a webinar from AVON?  Listen carefully to this webinar.  Included in the webinar, about 9-10 minutes (or 3/4 of the way) into the video,  is one of the best and easiest to understand explanations of the short sale I have ever heard.  Suze Also Instructs her listeners how to properly handle credit and explains about FICO Scores.

Suze Orman talks about short sales

Suze Orman on Short Sales

If you’d like a way to earn $300 - $500.00 extra income per
month in a very non stressful and fun way, check out the AVON Opportunity.

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It’s amazing how AVON has evolved over the years.
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WATCH A VIDEO ABOUT THE AVON OPPORTUNITY

Please see the article posted on Nov. 28th for the update on this situation:

I stand my ground. I can not tolerate lying realtors. They hurt the industry, the sellers and ultimately themselves when they lose the listings after months of work with no compensation.

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Original post below:

December 3, 2008 - Still unsold
November 3, 2008 - Still unsold
October 3, 2008 - Still unsold
September 3, 2008 - The listing is still unsold
August 2, 2008 -still unsold
July 2, 2008 - still unsold
June 20, 2008 - still unsold

___________________________________________________

Below is a update of my recent article on the importance of properly pricing your Rockland County NY property for sale. At this writing (8.2.08) the sellers have now reduced their property by $90,000 and the property is STILL sitting there, and we are now in August, one of the slowest market times of the year, plus after that fast approaching the fall market leading up to the winter months (another slower time). The agent who listed that property so high did a grave disservice to the seller. This is one of my biggest pet peeves about our industry. Agents who knowingly take an overpriced listing just to have inventory. It’s so wrong. Read the rest of this entry »