The potato state–a leader in the real estate recovery

Home prices throughout the United States increased 3.8% in the twelve months ending in July, which includes a steep increase in the pricing of Fort Lauderdale mansions for sale.  The 12 month increase was the largest in 6 years—further evidence of the housing markets recovery.

Home prices also increased 1.3% from June to July—the 5^th increase in both monthly and yearly price indexes.  The Standard & Poor’s/Case Shiller index and the federal government housing agency also reported annual increases. The same was indicated by ManhattanMiami index.

The states with the most substantial price increases over the last 12 months were Arizona, Idaho, Utah, South Dakota and Colorado.  The state of Idaho posed a 10% gain in real estate pricing since July of 2011.

Unfortunately, however, not all states are seeing real estate prices increase. This informative post has a few reasons to point out,  for example, in Delaware home prices dipped 4.8% w/in the last 12 months.  Alabama saw prices decrease 4.6% during that same time period.

Although the recovery has been slow, evidence shows that the real estate market is bouncing back, much like the real estate in Jacksonville, FL.  Sales of previously occupied and new construction have increased.  Builders are becoming confident in the market and starting new projects.  Mortgage rates, as you most likely know, are at historic lows.

On the flip side, prices are rising due to the supply of available homes for sale being limited.

Most think that the housing recovery is in the beginning phases since prices remain 27% lower then prices during the peak of 2006.

The recent improvements in the real estate market have been widespread with only 23 of the 100 large cities tracked showing a year-over-year decline in real estate pricing.

End of Summer Checklist for Home Owners

As we near the end of the summer season, it’s a great time to think ahead about home maintenance projects that should be completed prior to the colder weather hitting.  While the weather is warm & comfortable and prior to September and October, it is important to conduct a “walk-around” of your home in order to make a punch list of problematic areas. Some things will immediately stick out, like damaged windows for example. You’ll have to hire residential window replacement services to take care of this for you while the weather is comfortable. As you can surely imagine, having to deal with damaged windows filtering cold air in during the winter would be quite the issue. These services are also bound to be busier during the season as well, so look for a good window replacement service and hire their services as soon as possible to you to avoid having to wait for days.

Some areas of concerns should be able to be repaired by a non-professional while alternate repairs may need assistance from an “expert” such as a roof replacement.

End of summer projects include:

1)       Outdoor painting.  If unable to paint the entire exterior of a home, it is suggested that touch up painting is performed on the rough areas of the siding.  As Brushwork Painters in Lancaster claim,  if there is peeling paint then it will be important to scrape, sand, primer and re-paint the areas of concern. Painting companies can help you with painting the outside of your house too.

2)      Outdoor caulking & sealing.  It is vital for your energy bills during the winter to ensure that all of the windows are checked for leaks or cracks, and replaced with help of Window Doors MArt if required (find us online).  Leaks or cracks will obviously mean higher heating bills due to the loss of heat from your home. Check your roof in case of any damage; contact a roofing services company for roof repair if necessary.

3)      Concrete & Asphalt patching.  If having an asphalt driveway then it is wise to repair any asphalt cracks or holes with an asphalt patching material.  It is wise to seal asphalt every other year.  If having a concrete driveway or sidewalk then cracks or holes can be repaired with an epoxy material. If you are not sure when to update your epoxy coating, contact specialists from Adhesives Lab.

4)      Patio & Deck Maintenance.  Rotted planks should be replaced, stained or painted as needed.  Debris should be cleared. Decks should be inspected to see if any deck repair is needed.  In regard to paver or brick patios, missing bricks or pavers should be replaced, level off areas that tree roots may have pushed the pavers or bricks “up” and re-grout any areas of the patio which may have been degraded. It is also important to check the roof as you might need to call C&D Staten Island Roofing service for repair work.

5)      Landscaping. Keep exterior landscaping attractive. Spend some time choosing a form liner pattern, weeds should be pulled, dropped fruit from fruit trees and nuts removed to deter wildlife and trees and bushes trimmed away from the home.

6)      HVAC check. Now’s a great time to make sure your hvac is working properly. Hire an air conditioning services contractor so that they can inspect your unit. If it is not working in great shape as before, then you should consider having a repair or a new residential air conditioning installation. As you can imagine, once the winter starts to set in, it will be harder and harder to find someone that can take care of any air conditioning repair or heating replacement you might need. A lot of people won’t check, turn it on when they need it, and notice it’s out. Get ahead of the curve and do a quick check to make sure it’s working come winter or better yet, schedule for some regular maintenance and other hvac services. Most importantly, make sure that your ac and heating contractor has the proper Heater Parts so that you will be assured that your heater will work for a long time.

Home Values Increase for the First Time in 5 Years!

Home values are at the bottom and finally bouncing back, according to a recent industry report.

In the United States, values of homes increase .2% to a median price of $149,300 during the 2^nd quarter of 2012.  This is the 1^st annual increase since 2007 according to Zillow.com.  Home pricing was also up 2.1% from the first quarter.

Although the month of June marked the 4^th month in a row of home value increases, home pricing is still down nearly 24% since the first of 2007.

It is clear that the home values have hit bottom in the majority of the Nation.  Despite the lower than expected job growth, the housing recovery is doing very well.

Most “experts” were predicting a housing recovery late in 2012 so the new statistics coming in are better than expected news.

Also, the S & P/Case-Shiller home price index (an alternate source of information) also reported that prices of homes in 20 major markets increased 1.3% in April—the 1^st monthly increase in 180 days.

Foreclosures remain the largest risk to the housing market recovery and the pace of foreclosure processing is expected to gain steam.  Most experts feel that the housing market will continue to recover yet at relatively marginal rate over the next year.

Home price increases will also cause some current homeowners which have been waiting for values to increase to place their homes on the market.  The additional inventory may cool the home price increase trend for some time.

Positive News for the Housing Market

There have been mixed signals within the local housing market . . . information providing “hope” mixed with a sudden mixture of bad news.  Although there is no true sign that a real recovery has taken hold, new statistical data points to a positive outlook.

HOME PRICES AND SALES INCREASING:

Sales have increased year to date over 8%.  The average national sales price the past 30 days was just under $190,000—up 7K from a month earlier.

THE “SHADOW INVENTORY” IS SHRINKING:

Shadow inventory refers to homes which are distressed (borrowers are very delinquent or already in the foreclosure process or the banks have already foreclosed on the property and it’s stuck in “legal limbo”) yet have not been listed for sale. Nearly 1.5 million properties are currently within the shadow inventory which equals a 4 month supply of homes.  However, the shadow inventory equaled a 6 month supply 1 year ago.  Obviously, the less shadow inventory the better for pricing due to there being less distressed homes coming to the market.

FORECLOSURES HAVE INCREASED:

As you are most likely aware, the robo-signing scandal cut back on the processing of foreclosures which created a backlog of distressed homes.  Back in March, the major banking entities reached a settlement which has allowed banks to restart their foreclosure assembly line.  The increase in foreclosures obviously hurts those losing their homes yet helps the housing market’s recovery in the long run since it allows banks to weed through the backlog of distressed property.

MORE EQUITY IN HOMES:

Homeowners have made the largest jump in home equity in more than sixty years. Nearly ½ of the borrowers who have refinanced paid down some of their debt and reduced their current loan balance.  Some are also refinancing into shorter-term loans which typically have larger monthly payments yet provide the ability to pay down principle balances much more quickly.  In fact, National mortgage debt is down 7% since 2007.  Unfortunately, home prices are down 23% over the same period, though.

Unless something comes about which places a dent in the broad economy, the housing outlook should become even better.