In an article released today, RISMEDIA reports home sales are increasing and the market is stabilizing despit the popular 8,000 Dollar tax credit.

RISMEDIA, February 3, 2010-Pending home sales have leveled from a market swing driven by response to the home buyer tax credit, according to the National Association of Realtors®.

The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in December 2009, increased 1.0% to 96.6 from 95.6 in November, and remains 10.9% above December 2008 when it was 87.1. In November, the monthly index had fallen by 16.4% from surging activity in preceding months.
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said it’s important to recognize how the tax credit is skewing market data. “There are easily understood swings in contract activity as buyers respond to a tax credit that was expiring and was then extended and expanded,” he said. “These swings are masking the underlying trend, which is a broad improvement over year-ago levels. December activity was the fifth highest monthly tally in two years.”

Buyers who have a contract in place to purchase a primary residence by April 30, 2010, have until June 30, 2010, to finalize the transaction to qualify for a tax credit of up to $8,000 for first-time buyers and $6,500 for repeat buyers.

The PHSI in the Northeast rose 2.3% to 76.1 in December and is 14.9% higher than December 2008. In the Midwest, the index increased 5.2% to 86.9 and is 8.7% above a year ago. Pending home sales in the South rose 2.2% to an index of 98.4, and are 5.5% higher than December 2008. In the West, the index fell 3.8% to 119.9 but is 18.6% above a year ago.

Yun projects the extended and expanded tax credit will encourage 2.4 million households to take the credit in 2010. “While new-home sales will remain low due to a lack of construction, existing-home sales are projected to rise to around 5.6 million in 2010,” Yun said. Last year there were 5.16 million existing-home sales.
He added that one of the greatest benefits of rising sales will be firming home prices. “For several months now we’ve been seeing stabilization in all of the home price measures as inventory is pulled down,” Yun said. “As a result, the housing wealth for many middle class families has begun to stabilize.”

In a news story earlier today KLS Chanel 5 reported home prices are on the rise in Salt Lake.

SALT LAKE CITY — Sales of existing homes in Utah surged the last part of 2009, ending a three-year decline in falling home sales.
The Salt Lake Board of Realtors says home sales in December jumped 19 percent compared to the same month in 2008. Overall, sales in 2009 were up 4 percent — more than 9,000 homes were sold in Salt Lake County.
The numbers for single-family homes are even better. More than 2,400 single-family homes were sold in the fourth quarter of 2009, a 36 percent increase compared to 1,785 sales in the same quarter of 2008.
Bill Heiner, president of the Salt Lake Board of Realtors, explained “existing home sales are surging because of more affordable home prices and the federal government’s home buyer tax credit. In addition, there are fewer newer homes being built. Because of that buyers are turning to existing inventory.”
The Board of Realtors says the numbers suggest the bottom of the housing market was in 2008. It forecasts home sales this year could rise 10 percent

Bank owned homes are a great way to get a good deal on a home like this.   We currently have this home listed in our office. We also have more listings up and down the Wasatch Front like this one:

 4 Bed 3Bath 3Car Garage and 5331 sq. ft. in Draper.  At almost 30.00 dollars a sq ft less than the average home in Salt Lake County, it’s an excellent deal.

 If you would like a list of bank owned homes for sale along the Wasatch Front give me a call and I would be happy to send you a list of homes in your area.

Call Lee @ 801-833-8378

For home buyers the currant state of the housing market can yield some grate deals. Buyers can often find deals by looking at short sales and bank owned homes to name two.   But it’s important to remember while considering a purchase the phrase Caveat Emptor or Buyer Beware.

 As of January 1, 2009 the Real Estate Purchase Contract changed making all homes sold “As Is”. This has made Home Inspections critical to making a safe home purchase. Often times a short sale or bank owned home is in a state of disrepair.  The state of disrepair can very to some minor dry wall work and new paint, to major pluming and structural issues. These problems may not be obvious and can cause major problems.

Bank owned properties are especially important to get a home inspection done. Because the bank has never lived in the home they know little to nothing of the true condition of the property.

Many people have an uncle or father who are handy or even have experience in construction, and see it as away to save some money. For about $200 to $400 dollars you can get a Perceptional Home Inspection. Most home inspectors have knowledge that someone outside home inspecting may not have, like common problems with homes in certain areas. Fore example some areas of South Jordan have problems with settling foundations. A good home inspector can save you from buying a huge expensive problem.

Remember whether it’s a distressed property or a non distressed property from a private seller, it is very important to get a home inspection done by a reputable home inspector. If you plan on using a Realtor or not, a Realtor can be a good resource for finding a good home inspector.

The $8000 tax credit is official extended. This means Buyers have until April 30^th to get a house under contract and until June 30th to close the transaction in order to get the $8000. Remember if you have not owned a home in the last three years you qualify as a first time buyer.

The new part of the bill passed as well. This allows people who have owned a home for at least 5 of the past 8 years to get a credit of up to $6,500 selling their currant residence and moving in to a different home. The dates for the $8000 apply for this new credit as well.

Great news whether you are a first time buyer or if you would just like to move. Uncle Sam is going to help you do it. But don’t wait to make your move. It can take months to sell a home and months more to find a new one. The average number of days it took a home to sell in Salt Lake County in October was 74. Add that to the time it will take you to find your next home and get it under contract. As you can see time is of the essence to make sure you get your tax credit.

If you have any questions about the Tax Credit or anything else contact me, I am happy to help.

Things are moving forward with the Senate proposal to extend and expand the $8000 tax credit. The Senate cleared the way for the bill to pass by an 85 to 2 roll call vote according to RSIMEDA. The bill is expected to be on the President’s desk for his signature in the next week.

This new bill will not only extend the existing credit but expand it to people who already own a home and what to purchase a new one. Home owners who have lived in their prior residence for five years and purchase a new one would be eligible for up to a 6,500 tax credit.

I will continue to bring you updates on the new credit as things progress Subscribe to my blogs RSS feed and get automatic updates on the latest news.

According to several news sources the $8000 First Time Buyer Tax Credit may be extended. The Senate recently has reached an agreement on extending and expanding the credit. Some of the changes include an increase in the qualifying income limits to $125,000 for a single tax payer to $250,000 for joint tax payers. If the proposal is passed buyers would have until April 30^th 2010 to have sales agreements and until June 30^th to settle.

Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan are in support of this new agreement and extension.

 ”We welcome efforts taken by Congress to extend the First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit for a limited period. This credit has brought new families into the housing market and contributed to three consecutive months of rising home prices nationwide,”

 That’s good news for first time buyers but just because it maybe extended that is no reason to get lazy about finding a new home. Most transactions take from 30 to 45 days to close and that’s not including the time a buyer needs to find the home they want. Most buyers look for months before they find their new home. My advice is start working with a Realtor now that can help you get everything in order so you can take advantage of all the benefits of buying in today’s market.

This month in “Realtor Salt Lake Magazine” an article was released about what is on the horizon for FHA loans. According to the article January first is when we can expect some big changes. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is planning on tightening credit standards and implementing new rules for appraisals.

    Some are now referring to FHA as the new subprime, this is not the case. It is true though, that because of the collapse of subprime loan organizations many loan originators who once specialized in subprime have now moved to FHA. However, the standards are tighter than the subprime market was, and is getting tighter.

    FHA is experiencing a boom in growth. By the end of 2008 FHA’s share of home purchase and refinance was about 30 percent up from less than 6 percent in 2007.  Law makers have also busted loan limits from $271,050 to $729,750 in March of 2008. This change in the loan limit increased FHA purchase loan guarantees 7.4 percent and refinancing by 8.9. More than 60 percent of this growth has been prime borrowers.

    FHA the new subprime is not a very accurate statement. If you are among the people that are going to use an FHA loan to purchase or refinance don’t wait until things change or you may just find it’s just out of reach.

Summer land CV

This custom home is one of the beautiful bank owned homes that we have listed through our office. This home is located in South Jordan, Utah on .49 of an acer and 4545 square feet total. This home is a great deal; the price per square foot  is about $10.00 a square foot less than the county average.  

This is just one on the list of great bank owned homes that we currently have available. If you would like more information on this home or information on bank owned homes along the Wasatch Front give me a call or send me an email.

In an article released by msnbc on Wednesday Oct 21, it reported that the housing and manufacturing are jump starting the economy into growth and recovery.

“Improvements in housing and manufacturing are driving the early stages of the economic recovery, according to a Federal Reserve survey released Wednesday.

The Fed’s latest snapshot of business conditions nationwide found “many sectors” of the economy either stabilized or logged modest improvements over the last six weeks. The pickups, though, often were from “depressed” levels of activity.

Still, the new report adds to evidence that a recovery has started from the worst recession since the 1930s.

Many analysts believe the economy started to grow again in the third quarter at a pace of at least 3 percent, and is continuing to expand now. The government releases third-quarter results next week. If analysts are right, that would mark a turning point for the economy, which has contracted for a record four straight quarters.

The central bank’s survey findings will figure into discussions when Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and his colleagues meet Nov. 3-4. The Fed is expected to keep interest rates at record low at that time and probably into next year to help foster the recovery.”

I can say from personal experience that I am seeing an improving housing market. In the last few months I have seen an increase in the number of homes that have multiple offers, and buyers are getting in ti bidding wars. This activity is not across the board in all price ranges, but it is happening more frequently.