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It is our pleasure to inform you that Smith Macdonald Group of Coldwell Banker Carlson Real Estate has released its 2011 Year End Report, our survey of residential real estate sales in Stowe, Lamoille County and Waterbury. This report compares data based on deals that closed by the end of 2011 (January 1 through December 31) with those closed in the prior quarter and in 2010.
The momentum generated by the Stowe area real estate market last year has continued in 2011. Market-wide, sales transactions increased 23% versus a year ago. While inventory has decreased by 15% in 2011 compared to 2010.
As always, we continue to follow closely this area’s sales activity and trends in residential and land real estate, and would welcome the opportunity to answer any questions you may have about the report or the market generally.
Request your copy of the 2011 Year End Smith Macdonald Report.
The FHA (Federal Housing Association) will continue to allow buyers to purchase distressed homes owned by the bank or HUD using FHA-insured financing. Interesting article, see below.
FHA Waives Anti-Flipping Rule Through Year-End to Speed REO Sales.
Vermont Unemployment Rates
Jobs have been in the forefront of everyone’s mind since the economic downturn. The lack of jobs and poor housing markets seem to go hand in hand. Many areas that were hit hard by one or both still have a long way to go to recover. Those areas that had stable or slight dips in one or both have been able to recover more quickly to a stabler market.
Vermont’s jobless rate took a dip in November, the third straight month of declines, to 5.3 percent compared to the 8.6 percent nationally. The Morristown-Stowe area rate was 5.7 percent, which is much lower than the 6.8 percent from November 2010.
To read more about jobless rates and the election click here:
HouseLogic Poll Finds Voters Driven by Jobs, Housing in 2012 Election
To read the article in the Stowe Reporter dealing with jobless rates click here:
State Jobless Rate Takes a Dip
Interesting article relating to commercial properties in 2012. The U.S. ranks top investment pick according to the 20th annual survey of Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate (AFIRE) members.
While this only deals with large cities the same factors that make them appealing to investors also come into play on a smaller scale for local commercial properties. Commercial properties often take longer to sell and can remain vacant, but with a growing economy and lower jobless numbers (see up coming blog on Jan 5th regarding lower jobless numbers) they become attractive quickly. The Stowe area has many commercial options and several have started to attract new businesses to the area.
To read the full article click below:
The harsh winters in Vermont make taking care of winter weather damage very important. If you are selling in the winter it’s smart to look over your house and identify areas that might be potential problems. If you are a buyer beware that buying in the winter poses home inspection issues that may not be visible during the summer months.
Learn more about dealing with winter weather damage, click below.
Dealing with winter weather damage | Real Estate Articles | Coldwell Banker.
According to the National Association of Realtors pending homes sales have reached a 19 month high, the highest since April 2010. This is a good sign because it shows that this high has been reached without the assistance of the Home Buyer Tax credit. As with the rest of the economy we hope to see this high sustained and an indication of a move towards more positive economic ground.
To read more click here:
Pending Home Sales Rise Again in November, Highest in a Year-and-a-Half.
As we head towards the end of 2011 and gear up for 2012 one of the major questions is what is going to happen with housing. While we wish we had a crystal ball and could say with certainty, we don’t. So we look at many different sources of information and form opinions from those and try to find our way from there.
December’s issue of Money Magazine offers a positive outlook on the 2012 housing market. The main point being that most of the country will start to see stabilizing in their local housing markets. What they point out and we agree on is don’t expect prices to start to jump just because the market is on more stable ground. This is very true in the Stowe area.
Another item of note is pay attention to interest rates if you own a home or are considering buying a home. You can save yourself more money now on a monthly basis with the lower rates and purchase more home than you will be able to do if rates move up, even if home prices drop slightly.
To read the article in full click here.
Realty Times wrote a good article about home ownership. If you have the ability to purchase a home you would be hard pressed to find a better time than now. Prices are affordable and interests rates are historically lower than ever. Read more about five great things about home ownership.
Negotiating is something that must happen between a buyer and seller in order for a transaction to take place, understanding each parties starting point is paramount in reaching an agreement. Every market is local and local knowledge is what the majority of the negotiating decisions should be based on by both parties.
In today’s market the buyers often have the upper hand in making demands from the seller. It’s important for the seller to understand this and to approach every offer with an open mind, no matter how low. Seller’s don’t have to accept offers, but by closing themselves off from certain offers they may be missing a good opportunity to come to an agreement that is acceptable to them and the other party.
Whether you are a buyer or seller having an expert as your team member to help guide you through the process is important and can be deal saving.
To read more on negotiating with home buyers, click below.
