Fannie Mae Reports Optimism in Home Buying

You may have noticed more “for sale” signs around your neighborhood of late and that is a sign of change – of positive change – according to Fannie Mae! The housing market is showing definite signs of improvement which is good news, regardless of whether you are a buyer or seller.

The Fannie Mae Economic & Strategic Research Group reports a “modest growth” trend through the rest of 2012.  Despite an uncertain job market and lowered consumer spending in the first quarter, the group is still forecasting a 2% increase in the gross domestic product growth projection, which is excellent for real estate and for you, if you are interested in buying or selling a home!

Fannie Mae’s Chief Economist Doug Duncan reported that, “Despite signs of deteriorating momentum for economic activity, housing continues to be a bright spot as news from the housing market has been relatively upbeat, presenting a rare upside boost to the economy.” The report went on to state that home sales have increased 9% in the last year and that single family homes are selling for 20% more than they did in 2011.

Combining those statistics with the National Housing Survey released last month, which showed greater confidence in homeowners about the real estate market, means that a turn-around is in progress. In fact, those polled showed a 6 percentage point increase in their desire to buy, an all-time high as compared to normal poll statistics gathered over the last two years.  Visit Fannie Mae online to access the survey results and see other recent reports on the housing market.  Or call me to learn more about how I can help you with your individual home needs.

Your Home & the Start of School

School supplies are showing up on the shelves of stores everywhere reminding everyone that the final days of summer are edging closer.

With that in mind, it’s a good idea to evaluate your home to make sure you are organized and prepared for the approaching business that may soon impact your days. Even if you do not have children in school, shortened daylight hours and changing traffic patterns can affect your neighborhood and home life, giving you a reason to pause and consider changes you may want to incorporate now.

Home Improvement Projects

With extended daylight hours, now is the time to evaluate your home and complete any DIY projects you’ve been contemplating. Summer time schedules are a bit more open, typically, allowing you more freedom to work on your project AND recruit friends who may be available to help, too. Finishing projects up now will create more peace in your home throughout the rest of the year, including those busy first weeks of fall and keep you smiling through the holidays.

Conquering Home Calendars & Paper Chaos

With sales on school and office supplies, now is the time to make headway on your paper projects. Whether you need a new wall calendar or a dry erase board, or are looking for that special desktop accent to spark creativity in your home office, you can save time and money by shopping now while inventory is high and sale pricing is available. Perhaps with the additional daylight hours of summer, you can even spend some time scanning and/or discarding the papers piling up on your desk, too!

Regardless of the projects you embark on as you enjoy the lingering days of summer, mental preparedness is one of the keys to a good transition. If you have school-aged children, start coaching them now on sleep and eating patterns to ensure that your family is ready for the transition to a new schedule. But don’t go overboard....  After all, summer is not over yet!

Home Buyers & Sellers – How Quickly Can You Move?

Often when I speak to someone who wants to sell their home, they have an immediate need. The same is true for home buyers. When they are ready, no time is fast enough for finding a home!

How long do you think it should take to sell a home? How long do you feel the buying process should take? Many home buyers and sellers may guess at that number, but did you know that you can actually view it from a statistical standpoint?

When a home is listed for sale, that time begins to be calculated using “Days on Market” or DOM. This factor tracks the time from the home’s first entrance into the MLS until an offer has been made and accepted by the seller. Once an offer has been accepted, the home’s status changes to a pending versus active status.

If a home has been on the market for a longer period of time, sellers may be more willing to negotiate on price, so that number can be very helpful to buyers. It is possible to remove a listing for a variety of reasons and then re-list it as a new listing, so checking the history of a property listing is valuable, too, to make sure the DOM status is accurate.

The DOM figure can be a helpful guideline to home sellers, as well, but only in a very general sense. Property condition, location, interest rates and other market factors can result in increased and decreased DOM statistics, so it’s a tough stat to base your plans on.

If you are curious about a home for sale, or would like to sell your home, please contact me to see how we can decrease your DOM and help with your real estate needs. Let’s determine how quickly YOU can move!