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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Karen Reeber
REALTOR®
    Years of Experience: 35+

    ABR®: Accredited Buyer's Representative
    CRP: Certified Relocation Professional
    CRS: Certified Residential Specialist
    RE/MAX Lifetime Achievement

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Farmington Hills Homes for Sale

Home Sales On The Upswing!

Friday, June 19th, 2009

HOME SALES DO SEEM TO BE ON THE UPSWING for Farmington and several other areas in our neck of the woods. How could they not be with these prices! I never thought that home prices would be this good again, First time buyers are able to get into homes that they only dreamed of before; and, to top it off, they receive up to an $8000 tax credit on their 2009 tax returns. Even if you are not a first time buyer; but, have just not owned a home for the past 3 years, you could be eligible for this tax credit.

The properties that are priced right for this market are selling; and, some of them even are getting mulitple offers. Maybe it is just because summer is near; but, there are definitely more people out looking for their new home then there have been in many months. Even if this only lasts a couple of months, it has to help in getting some of the pent up home inventory off of the market.

Faith in home ownership is still alive and well, it just takes a bit more effort. It takes a bit more effort with the financing, a bit more effort in searching out the good properties and a bit more effort in getting to the closing table. It might also take a bit more effort in searching out a good agent that can help you handle all of the obstacles of today’s market. Don’t hesitate to call us if you are in need of such an agent.

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Posted in Home Sales | No Comments »

Open Houses

Tuesday, May 5th, 2009

We are talking about open houses.  Many sellers think that an open house is a must when they have their property listed.  In fact, some sellers feel that this should be done on a weekly basis to give them a heads up in procuring a buyer.  Actually, in this current market, there are numerous reasons for not doing an open house.

First of all, if your agent is agreeable and wants to hold your house open for public viewing for a few hours typically on a weekend afternoon, he/she can certainly do so with your permission.  Some agents like to hold open houses because it helps them meet more buyers, who they try to convert into clients.  They don’t necessarily have to buy the house that is being held open, the agent can sell them something else.

However, there are some caveats that I think all sellers should be aware of in this day and age. Unfortunately, not all people out looking at properties are serious buyers or even probable buyers.  Some people are out to see what a property might have to offer (in the way of goods to steal) so they can come back and break in at a later time when no one is home.  Also, there are some unscrupulous individuals who will do harm to agents that they can get alone in a property, whether just at a showing or at an open house. It just might not be worth the risk to hold a sellers house open in today’s market.

There are so many other ways to market property today, especially if the agent has a great presence on the internet, via a good website, office listings, etc.   Serious buyers today often start their property search on the internet (well over 90%).  Good agents will have many, many pictures of their listings along with slide shows/virtual tours, etc.  Before most buyers go into a property today, they have viewed it on the internet and pretty much know what that property looks like on the inside.  It is more like a second showing for these buyers.  The only time they are really surprised is if the pictures make the property look much better than it actually looks in person (something our team photographer is good at).

The internet almost makes open houses a thing of the past as a sellers property is actually open 24/7 when they list with an agent that has a terrific web presence (like we do).

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Your Buyer Agent Representative Is Not Lying!

Tuesday, April 14th, 2009

If you are seeking a home in the bank owned market, HUD home, and/or foreclosed home make sure you are using a Buyer’s Agent. You will find that many of these homes receive multiple offers on them before the bank chooses a new owner. A good agent can certainly help you navigate through all the bank homes and pick out the better deals.

Because most of the good bank owned deals attract multiple buyers they usually also attract multiple offers. You’ll want to be sure to be prepared with your finances prior to looking at any bank owned homes. These homes are mostly priced well and sell often within days. Once you see a great home make sure you don’t delay in submitting an offer. If you wait, you’ll most likely end up bidding against one or more other potential buyer’s and inevitably have to raise your price if you want the home.

If there are no other bids then yours at the time of submission you may still want to offer full or above list price so the bank doesn’t delay in accepting your bid. If you come in with an offer lower than list price, even by $1000, it opens the door to the bank for deliberation and seeking higher approval within the banking system. During that time, several other offers may be submitted and then all parties are issued the ‘Highest & Best” warning. This means that the bank will look at all offers and consider them at the same time. There is no room for counter offers or playing around. You can up your bid at this time only and hope, if you want the house, that your offer is the highest.

One of our clients bid $40,000 over asking (after losing out on 3 other homes to Highest & Best) in order to ‘win’ the house he had to have for his family. There were 11 other bids on the same home in one weekend and his offer was the best only by $1000! Of course, he got a house that was still a fantastic investment so he didn’t mind paying more then it was listed for.

So, when your agent tells you there are multiple offers or that the home won’t last long, make sure to listen. I’ve heard buyers say that they thought their agent was lying to try to get them to write an offer by creating a false sense of urgency. Well, that would be unethical. Be sure you have a good Buyer’s agent working for you so that doesn’t happen. If you want the house, assume this to be true. You’ll have a better chance of ‘winning’ the house by putting your best price forward!

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Mortgage Rates Have Held Fairly Steady For Several Weeks

Monday, April 13th, 2009

After falling to levels near historical lows, mortgage rates have held fairly steady for several weeks. Weak economic growth around the world and large Fed purchases of mortgage-backed securities (MBS) have helped keep mortgage rates low.

The trigger for the recent decline in mortgage rates was the announcement following the March 18 Fed meeting that the Fed would increase its purchases of MBS from $500 billion to $1.25 trillion by the end of the year. Since then, the Fed has increased its pace of MBS purchases to about $30 billion per week, which represents over half of all agency MBS issued during an average week. The increased demand associated with the Fed purchases reduced the MBS yield required by investors. Since mortgage rates are determined largely by MBS yields, they followed MBS yields lower.

The Fed’s plan was that lower mortgage rates will spur an increase in refinances and home purchases, and the early signs are encouraging. Mortgage activity has increased dramatically over recent weeks. According to the Housing and Urban Development Department (HUD), refinancing activity is up 88% and purchase activity is up about 20%. The long-term effects of the MBS purchase program remains to be seen, but the short-term benefit has certainly been substantial for the housing market.

The most significant economic data next week will be the monthly inflation reports. The Producer Price Index (PPI) focuses on the increase in prices of “intermediate” goods used by companies to produce finished products and will come out on Tuesday. The Consumer Price Index (CPI), the most closely watched monthly inflation report, will come out on Wednesday. CPI looks at the price change for those finished goods which are sold to consumers. In addition, Retail Sales on Tuesday and Industrial Production on Wednesday will provide important indications of economic activity. Retail Sales account for about 70% of economic activity. Housing Starts an d Consumer Sentiment will round out a busy week.

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Posted in Mortgage Rates | No Comments »

Mortgage Rates Changing

Tuesday, April 7th, 2009

Despite a second straight week of large Fed purchases of mortgage-backed securities (MBS) and weaker than expected economic data, mortgage rates were unable to move any lower, ending nearly unchanged from last Friday. With mortgage rates at historically low levels and with the industry facing capacity constraints, significant further improvement may be difficult to achieve. In addition, while current economic conditions remain weak, some investors now believe that the economy and the stock market have already bottomed, which could lead to higher inflation and higher rates down the road.

While forecasts vary for the second half of the year, there is no disagreement that the job market is currently performing poorly. Friday’s Employment report revealed that the economy lost slightly more jobs than expected in March, and the Unemployment Rate jumped from 8.1% to 8.5%. The labor market is typically a lagging indicator of the strength of the economy, meaning that it may take longer to turn around than other sectors of economic activity.

Following last week’s rise in New and Existing Home Sales, this week’s news from the housing sector was also positive. February Pending Home Sales, a leading indicator for the housing market, rose 2% from January, suggesting that future New and Existing Home Sales reports may show gains as well. Also, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), home affordability reached a new record high. With low mortgage rates, affordable homes, and a first-time home buyer tax credit, conditions in the housing market are favorable for an increase in activity.

The Economic Calendar will be light next week. The FOMC minutes from the March 18 Fed meeting will be released on Wednesday. These detailed notes on the discussion at the meeting often reveal additional insight into the Fed’s actions. Import Prices and the Trade Balance will come out on Thursday. Treasury auctions will take place on Wednesday and Thursday.

Posted in Mortgage Rates | No Comments »

[Homes]: To Sell or Not To Sell

Tuesday, February 17th, 2009

Most home owners know that this is NOT the time to sell their homes in Farmington Hills. However, they may also feel that they are being held hostage from moving forward with the rest of their lives.  Perhaps you need a larger home or a smaller one.  Regardless of the reason, you just might not want to be stuck unable to sell for the next “how many months?”.

Obviously, if you are going to be purchasing another home in Farmington Hills than you can recoup the loss that you will take on selling yours today; however, if you are not purchasing, than it is a loss that you will not be able to make up through real estate.

There are some things that you can do to help you ride out whatever time it takes for Farmington Hills market to turn around and enjoy your home more. These are also some of the same things that you may have to do to sell your Farmington Hills home; and, doing them now will get you a step ahead when you are ready to list and sell.

A clean home always looks better, shows better and feels better.  Giving your home a good cleaning and repairing/repainting those scuffed up walls and woodwork should help you enjoy your spaces.

De-cluttering is a definite must for resale; but, it also promotes a great feeling when you have more room in your home than you did before. I once de-cluttered my Farmington Hills home before I was going to put it up for sale; and, I decided that I didn’t have to move after all!  I really had more space than I thought.

Just painting a color on one wall to showcase a room can make a big difference in that rooms appearance; or, perhaps the whole room could use a lift with a new coat of paint.

Updating your kitchens and bathrooms will never be a waste of time or money as long as it is done tastefully.  Just adding or changing the knobs on your kitchen cabinets can make for a very different look.  Maybe replacing a light fixture or faucet can bring a desired new look into those either of those rooms.

These are just some simple and rather inexpensive ways to revamp your Farmington Hills home and give it a pick me up until it is time for you to sell and move on to something different.  Your Farmington Hills home will also be more enjoyable to you while you wait until the time is right.

Posted in Homes for Sale | No Comments »

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  • Avg. Sales Price: $180,101

  • Avg. Days on Market: 128 *From final list

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