Repeat buyers accounted for 63 percent of the home buying market in the last year according to the most recent Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers. Take a look at the profile of home buyers and sellers on this site.
http://economistsoutlook.blogs.realtor.org/2012/01/26/age-distribution-of-repeat-buyers/
Recent statistics gathered by Stagedhomes.com shows that 94 percent of homes staged by an Accredited Staging Professional sold in 29 days or less, compared to an average of 145 days for homes that were not staged.
http://styledstagedsold.blogs.realtor.org/2012/01/24/statistics-prove-home-staging-works/
Foreclosure filings and repossessions fell to their lowest level since 2007 last year.
Total filings were down 33% for the year to 2.7 million, according to RealtyTrac, the online marketer of foreclosed properties. Read this article for more details:
http://money.cnn.com/2012/01/12/real_estate/foreclosures/index.htm
Take a look at these recent positive reports: Sales of existing homes rose 12% year-over-year; home building spiked nearly 21% compared with 12 months ago; and mortgage rates hit record lows.
http://money.cnn.com/2011/12/23/real_estate/new_home_sales/index.htm?iid=HP_LN
Here is an interesting article. Out of all of the candidates, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney owns the most real estate, including a townhouse in Boston and a beachfront home in La Jolla, California. Take a look at this link to read more.
http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2012/real_estate/1201/gallery.candidate-homes/
Tuesday, January 31, 2012 | 2 comments
The video on this site points out some important questions to ask when buying a home – some of which may reduce your costs! Don’t forget to calculate insurance into your housing budget.
http://www2.iii.org/video/buying-a-home.html#.TueZn15GYsw.gmail
“Zillow says my house is worth….” is one of the most frequent comments I hear when it comes to real estate. This Wall Street Journal article gives a solid analysis of where Zillow and similar sites are both strong and weak.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204554204577026131448329006.html?
We wanted to share this article that mentions 6 good reasons to buy a home now. They may not all apply to your current situation, so take a look at the details in this Kiplinger article.
1. Prices have nearly hit bottom.
2. Houses are affordable again.
3. Mortgage rates won’t go any lower.
4. It’s a buyer’s market.
5. You may find a distressed property.
6. Homeownership is still attractive.
http://www.kiplinger.com/magazine/archives/six-reasons-to-buy-a-home-now.html
As pointed out in this article, the American dream isn’t dead. The desire to own a home coupled with affordability are excellent reasons to purchase real estate.
http://agbeat.com/real-estate-news-events/top-reasons-cited-for-purchasing-real-estate-new-report/
A home buyer purchasing a typical American home at the prevailing average mortgage rate today would have a mortgage payment that is not much different from what a home buyer would have faced 30 years ago.
In 1981, home prices were much lower but mortgage rates were reaching 18 percent. Thanks to record low mortgage rates, the monthly payment obligations have been greatly reduced.
