Karen Reeber's Real Estate Blog | Farmington Hills MI | First Time Home Buyers, Short Sales, Housing Market, Relocation, Foreclosures, Homes for Sale
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From 3/22/2009- 3/28/2009. 29 listed homes went under contract and/or sold in Farmington Hills last week from $21,500 to $325,000, 21 of which were bank owned or otherwise distressed sales.
37 new listings came on the market last week from $68,000 to $524,900, 16 of which are bank owned homes or otherwise distressed properties.
And, for the rental market, 3 homes recorded as being rented over the last week by an agent. Overall, 4 more homes were added to the rental market by an agent.
Mortgage bond prices fell last week applying upward pressure on mortgage interest rates. The bond market got a shock from a surprise increase in new home sales, stronger than expected durable goods orders, and some stock strength.
There were also concerns about the US dollar in general and dollar denominated securities as China expressed interest in substituting the yuan to dollar peg in exchange for a new international currency. Fortunately the Fed continued to come to the rescue buying mortgage backed securities in an effort to keep interest rates relatively steady and low. For the week, interest rates on government and conventional loans rose by about 1/8 to 1/4 of a discount point.
From 3/15/2009- 3/21/2009. 20 listed homes went under contract and/or sold in Farmington Hills last week from $28,230 to $294,900, 15 of which were bank owned or otherwise distressed sales.
54 new listings came on the market last week from $19,900 to $700,000, 18 of which are bank owned homes or otherwise distressed properties.
And, for the rental market, 3 homes recorded as being rented over the last week by an agent. Overall, 6 more homes were added to the rental market by an agent.
This has been a subject that I have spoken about before but it might just bear some repeating. It is Spring time and some homeowners do feel that urge to move on to a new home, larger home, smaller home or condo; but, they just do not want to take the beating on price as they know they will in this market.
So again the question poses itself, why not rent out your property instead of selling? Some owners have not thought about this option at all, some have thought about it and don’t want to do it. It still might be the best option to get you moving without taking the big hit now.
We all have to hope and even believe that this economy will not last forever; and, that our housing prices in Michigan will again start rising instead of declining. If this is going to happen, then selling your home a few years from now might be a much better choice than selling it at the present time. To bridge the gap, you rent your house out to someone who needs a place to live but cannot afford to buy right now or just is not in the position to buy right now. That could just be the win- win situation needed for both parties. Granted there can be some disastrous tenants; but, there can also be the great tenants who will take better care of your property than even you do.
The other side of this coin is being able to go ahead and purchase another property without selling the one you are in now. Speak with your bank, credit union or mortgage broker to find out if you qualify to purchase another home without selling the one you are in now. Chances are you will have to qualify for both mortgages; and, of course, it helps to have the money needed for your new down payment as you won’t have it from the sale of your home at this time.
When things pick up economically and our housing prices start heading in the opposite direction from where they are heading today, you will still have this asset that you can continue to rent out or sell. You actually might discover that you enjoy being a landlord and also the tax advantages that usually go along with it.
From 3/8/2009- 3/14/2009. 95 listed homes went under contract and/or sold in Farmington Hills last week from $19,900 to $749,900, 60 of which were bank owned or otherwise distressed sales.
32 new listings came on the market last week from $25,000 to $525,000, 14 of which are bank owned homes or otherwise distressed properties.
And, for the rental market, 15 homes recorded as being rented over the last week by an agent. Overall, 5 more homes were added to the rental market by an agent. I say ‘by an agent’ as we all know there are multiple means within which to rent a home. I can only access the ones where an agent is involved using the multi-list.
This is a concept that came into being many years ago; however, it is being used quite frequently in the Farmington Hills real estate transactions. There are some sellers today who still are quite unfamiliar with this concept. As it is widely used today by many of the buyers out there, it might help some sellers to understand what this entails so they can aid in the sale of their Farmington Hills home.
Whether the Farmington Hills sellers today are offering concessions up front or not, many buyers are still trying to get some or all of their closing costs paid by them. The buyers today may have good jobs and the down payment required to buy their new home; but, lack the extra funds needed to pay the costs of getting their mortgage. If sellers are able to help with this aspect of the sale, this could be the difference between selling their Farmington Hills home or not being able to sell.
The purchase price of the house can be adjusted to include the seller concessions making the net to the seller an amount that is acceptable. I know that most sellers today just want to stop the bleeding; but, those in a position that have to sell, do have some options to help make this happen even in the Farmington Hills market today.
On top of the seller concessions, there are also bonuses that sellers can offer agents and/or buyers to try and make their properties more attractive to the buyers that are available in Farmington Hills today. I am not talking about just cash bonuses. We have lots of ideas for our sellers should you be interested or needing to sell your house in the Farmington Hills real estate market.
Homeowners interested in refinancing their loans under the Financial Stability Plan received some additional guidance this past week. The program is designed to help homeowners whose loans are owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, and are current on their payments, and where the loan amount is no more than 105% of the appraised value of the home.
Financial Stability for Homeowners provides guidance on how to determine if a particular loan is owned or guaranteed by Fannie or Freddie and whether the homeowner may qualify under this program. Additional details of the program are expected over coming months, but this great news for homeowners, “under water.”
From 3/1/2009- 3/7/2009. 9 listed homes sold in Farmington Hills last week from $26,500 to $260,000, 5 of which were bank owned or otherwise distressed sales.
59 new listings came on the market last week from $17,800 to $3,899,900, 15 of which are bank owned homes or otherwise distressed properties.
And, for the rental market, 4 homes recorded as being rented over the last week by an agent. Overall, 9 more homes were added to the rental market by an agent. I say ‘by an agent’ as we all know there are multiple means within which to rent a home. I can only access the ones where an agent is involved using the multi-list.
We all had to set our clocks an hour ahead this past weekend. Hopefully, this will catapult us into some better weather along with the longer daylight hours here in Farmington Hills. I think all of us have had enough of this past Michigan winter! Farmington Hills homeowners should take an inventory outside their homes to see just how rough the winter has been on their paint, siding, walkways, patios, decks, landscaping, etc. Also, with all of the windy weather that we have had in Farmington Hills, you should check the roof on your home to see if any shingles are missing. A good clue is when you find them laying around your yard. Getting to some of these home repairs early on might actually save on a future higher cost because of more deterioration on your Farmington Hills homes.
Once you get started it actually might get you motivated to do even more around your Farmington Hills home. This is a good time to start your fertilizing so you have that nice lawn which can be the envy of every Farmington Hills neighborhood.
Avg. Sales Price: $180,101
Avg. Days on Market: 128 *From final list
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