Craig Association of Realtors: Good time to sell home
July 25, 2008
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Craig — To the editor:
Summer is finally upon us and while most of us are glad it’s here and we are no longer shoveling snow, some of us are probably ready to see snow again just because of rising temperatures.
Summer is always a good time to sell your home in Craig and this year is no different. Although sales have slowed slightly from last summer and inventory is higher, homes are still selling in Craig. Homes are still affordable in Craig.
An article in the July 9 edition of the local paper was recently brought to the attention of the Craig Association of Realtors in that a developer was quoted as saying that due to his diligent research, he had found that no homes in Craig could be purchased for below $269,000.
We would like all of you to know that this is simply not true. There are currently 131 homes on the market available for purchase that are below $269,000.
The current FHA lending limit for Moffat County is $271,500. All Craig Association of Realtor members work with reputable lenders that offer 10 percent down, 3 percent down, and zero percent down financing (100 percent financing), all available for qualified buyers. Interest rates are still making your home purchase affordable as well. Rates are around 6.5 percent, but check with the lender of your choice to be certain.
What you read or hear on television can make you leery and unsure of the market. Please understand that our local market is very different from the national market. We basically have no rentals available and very few foreclosures. We are very fortunate in Craig to have the market that we have had, do have and will continue to have for the future. We continue to grow and change as a community. New businesses are coming to Craig, existing businesses are expanding and businesses that are for sale are being purchased to remain in Craig.
It’s OK to be cautious and ask questions. As your Realtor, we are here to help you make the best decision you can about the biggest decision you’ll ever make. So sit down with your Realtor of choice, look at houses that fit your budget and make your dream of home ownership a reality today because it is possible, especially in Craig.
Thank you for the confidence you have placed in us and we will continue to work hard for you, whether you are a buyer or a seller.
Craig Association of Realtors
27 July 2008 at 4:55 a.m.
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taxslave (Anonymous) says…
Housing
On Tuesday, Standard & Poor's will release the Case-Shiller home price index for May. For April, home prices across 20 major U.S. cities dropped a record 15.3% over the year.
“The Case-Shiller index will show a further drop in house prices, although markets will also look at whether this is starting to become more of a regional story,” wrote Avery Shenfeld of CIBC World Markets Inc.
For May's annual result, Lehman Brothers is looking for a 16.4% drop in house prices across 20 major U.S. cities. Lehman analysts see the 10-city index falling 17.5%.
“This drop would bring average home prices back to summer of 2004 levels,” Lehman analysts wrote. “In the April report, home prices surprisingly rose on a monthly basis in eight of the 20 metro areas surveyed. However, we attribute most of the rise to seasonal distortions as prices are typically high during the spring selling season.”
Lehman analysts added that downward pressure on home prices is likely continue into 2010 in bubble markets given the “huge” overhang of homes for sale and rising foreclosures.
On Friday, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said it may downgrade the subordinated debt and preferred stock of Fannie Mae (FNM:Fannie Mae
27 July 2008 at 5:12 a.m.
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taxslave (Anonymous) says…
washington (Reuters) - The downward spiral of U.S. housing prices still has a way to go and homes were overvalued by between 8 percent to 20 percent in the first quarter of this year, according to research by an International Monetary Fund economist published on Friday.
In his report “What goes up must come down? House price dynamics in the United States,” IMF economist Vladimir Klyuev used several economic techniques to determine by how much U.S. home prices are overvalued.
Klyuev drew from a government study of single-family home prices to conclude that values were “around 14 percent above equilibrium in the first quarter of 2008, with a plausible range of 8 to 20 percent.”
His research showed that home prices became considerably overvalued from 2001 and while the housing market has started to correct itself, there is still a long way to go.
U.S. policy-makers are now trying to guide the housing market into a soft-landing after a five-year run-up in home values that ended in 2006.
The report also said that it is likely home prices will swing well below their equilibrium level before they start to recover.
Klyuev's research included data gathered by the U.S. Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight which regulates mortgage-finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and collects purchase price data.
Klyuev analyzed the dynamics of home prices and found the inventory-to-sales ratio the most important driver of changes in property values in the short run.
“Starts in foreclosures, which obviously add to inventory, seem to also exert additional downward pressure on prices,” he added