Posts from — September 2009

Congratulations to Coldwell Banker sales associate Jessica Riffle with Coldwell Banker Sea Coast in Wilmington, North Carolina, who was selected to serve as a guest blogger for the Today Show!

Jessica saw Tuesday’s Today Show segment where real estate contributor Barbara Corcoran suggested that it would take a “miracle” for new homebuyers to take advantage of the $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit as there was essentially no time left. Jessica saw this and wanted the world to know that’s simply not true.

Jessica expressed her opinions to the Today Show and the producers invited her to be a guest video blogger. Jessica then submitted her video response and posted on Coldwell Banker On Location You Tube channel, outlining why there is indeed still enough time.   Click here to see the video.

To see the same video on the Today Show page, click here.

A discussion on Jessica’s Today Show blog has also appeared on our Coldwell Banker Facebook page, as several people are weighing in on the subject.

Jessica deserves kudos for taking advantage of Coldwell Banker On Location to make her points known.  To date the channel has had nearly 450,000 viewed videos and Coldwell Banker professionals have posted more than 5000 videos. 

Great job, Jessica!

Bloomberg reported this morning that home prices in 20 US cities have climbed in July by the most in almost four years.  The S&P/Case-Shiller home-price index rose 1.2%  in July from the prior month, the biggest gain since October 2005. 

“The worst has passed,” said Mark Vitner, a senior economist at Wells Fargo Securities LLC in Charlotte, North Carolina. “We expect prices to bottom out around the middle of next year and then look for modest price appreciation for the next several years. There is still a tremendous oversupply of homes in most major markets.”

The price average for homes in the US rose by 0.3% in July from June according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency.  Five of nine regions in the US saw price increases, with a 1.6% gain for the Pacific Region. 

“Mortgage rates have come back down, and demand for homes remains high,” Brian Bethune, the chief financial economist of IHS Global Insight, told Bloomberg News. “There are a lot of positives in housing right now.”

As Many as 40% of all home buyers this year will be eligible for the $8000 tax credit.

The stimulus plan is scheduled to end in November, and it is projected to cost the federal government $15 billion.  This is two times the amount that was estimated when the bill was passed in February.

Many people are beginning to wonder if the housing market will continue to stablize without the tax credit.  Experts estimate that the tax credit helped aid several hundred thousand home sales.

The real estate industry, including the powerful 1.1 million-member National Association of Realtors, wants Congress to extend the credit at least through next summer. The group hopes to expand the program to $15,000 and to allow all buyers, not just those who have been out of the market for at least three years, to qualify.

The price tag on that plan: $50 billion to $100 billion.

The total number of housing starts rose 1.5 percent to the highest number in nine months.  This number matches economists projections.   

Building permits have also seen an increase of 2.7% and economists are predicting this number to grow more before it decreases again.

J.D. POWER AND ASSOCIATES RANKS COLDWELL BANKER HIGHEST IN HOME SELLER SATISFACTION

PARSIPPANY, N.J. – Sept. 17, 2009 – Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC ranked highest among real estate companies in satisfying home sellers according to the recently released J.D. Power and Associates 2009 Home Buyer/Seller StudySM.

“This recognition is a testament to the brand’s legacy as an industry leader, our commitment to innovation and, above all, our powerful network,” said Jim Gillespie, president and CEO of Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. “With unsurpassed local knowledge, expertise and work ethic, we at Coldwell Banker have always felt that our network of professionals is the greatest in the industry, and we’re pleased J.D. Power and Associates recognized it.”

The independently administered study measured customer satisfaction of homebuyers and sellers among the largest national real estate firms.  The study incorporates more than 3,100 evaluations from 2,801 respondents who bought or sold a home between April 2008 and June 2009. The survey was fielded between April and June 2009.

J.D. Power and Associates examined four factors in the home-selling experience including:   agent; marketing; office; and package of additional services. Among home sellers, Coldwell Banker Real Estate ranked highest with a score of 815 and performed particularly well in all four factors.

Coldwell Banker Real Estate also ranked particularly high in the home-buyer segment. The brand ranked second with a score of 801 on a 1,000-point scale, performing particularly well in the office factor.

Complete results for the study can be found here.

About Coldwell Banker®
Since 1906, the Coldwell Banker® organization has been a premier full-service real estate provider. In 2008, Franchise Times magazine’s prestigious Top 200 issue ranked the Coldwell Banker system No. 1 in real estate for the ninth straight year and 12th among franchisors in all industries. The Coldwell Banker System has approximately 3,500 residential real estate offices and approximately 100,000 sales associates in 47 countries and territories. The Coldwell Banker System is a leader in the industry in residential and commercial real estate, and in niche markets such as resort, new home and luxury property through its Coldwell Banker Previews International® division. It is a pioneer in consumer services with its Coldwell Banker Concierge® Service Program and award-winning Web site, www.coldwellbanker.com. Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC is a subsidiary of Realogy Corporation, a global provider of real estate and relocation services. Coldwell Banker® is a registered trademark licensed to Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. Each office is independently owned and operated.

  The current recession that has tormented the U.S. and the world since December 2007 is “very likely over at this point,” Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke recently said.

During questioning however, Bernanke stated that we can expect an sluggish economy well into 2010.  “From a technical perspective the recession is very likely over,” Bernanke said, cautioning that unemployment is likely to remain high.  “It’s still going to feel like a very weak economy for some time, as many people will still find that their job security and employment status is not what they wish it was.”  

Bernanke points out that there are still “head winds” that will slow growth, like an impaired credit system, households still trying to dig out from personal debt and ongoing adjustments in many sectors of the economy, such as construction and autos. The government will also have to refine a great deal of its stimulus plan to avoid inflation. Higher inflation will lead to a slower recovery and increased unemployment. 

When looking at the long-term, Bernanke said that a critical part in the global expansion of credit is unlikely to recover anytime soon due to damage that was caused. “My forecast would be that the shadow banking system — securitization markets — will come back, will be a substantial part of the U.S. credit system.  But they will certainly, at least in the medium term, be simpler, smaller, less opaque, subject to more oversight by regulators,”

These are positive words from the Fed cheif, but it seems we will have to be patient to see a full recovery of our badly damaged economy.

Distressed sales made up 29% of all residential properties sold in the Outer Banks in the month of July.  Distressed properties include short sales and bank owned homes.  Bank owned homes made up 20% of all sold residential homes for July. 

Distressed properties tend to push real estate values down.  An increase in distressed property sales can be viewed from a positive light because the sales demonstrate that buyers are coming back into the market, and as the distressed properties are cleared out prices can stabilize and eventually grow.

There is no doubt the overall real estate market is in a precarious situation.  The U.S. and global economies are in questionable positions, and housing is a major piece of the economy.  On the bright side, the bad news seems to be slowing down and “green shoots” seem to be appearing in a variety of areas of housing.

On a local level, the Outer Banks housing market is seeing some improvements in fundamentals.  Sales agreements from April through July were about level with sales agreements from the same period last year.  However, OBX sales agreements for August are showing some increase.   August 2008 had 131 sales agreements, and August 2009 had about 140. 

Not a giant increase, but definitely trending in a positive direction.  If the economy can remain ”bullish” through the fall, OBX could see significant improvements.

Freddie Mac has recently released the results of the Primary Mortgage Survey that shows the 30-year fixed mortgage average at 5.14%.  At this time last year, the 30 year fixed mortgage averaged 6.4%.  The 15-year mortgage average for this week averaged 4.58%, and last year the 15-year was at 5.93%.  Five year adjustable rate mortgage averaged 4.67%, which has also been steadily decreasing.

“Long-term mortgage rates were barely changed this week, remaining historically low, which is helping to sustain a high level of affordability in the home-purchase market,” said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist.  

Low rates contributed to existing home sales rising for the fourth consecutive month to an annual pace of 5.24 million in July, the most since August 2007, according to the National Association of Realtors®.  Similarly, new home sales rose for the fourth month in a row to 0.4 million, the strongest pace since September 2008, the Commerce Department reported.  The sales gain helped to reduce the number of new unsold houses on the market to the lowest amount since March 1993.  In addition, house prices in June rose nationally for the second consecutive month, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s purchase-only house price index.