Do you hear your real estate opportunity knocking?

Right now, as the Portland real estate market continues to stabilize, there are unique opportunities for home buyers and home sellers. It you’re trying to time your purchase for the bottom of the market, now is the time. And see below why you might want to time your sale for the bottom of the market too.

FOR BUYERS

• Low mortgage rates–Current low interest rates (around 5%) won’t last. This spring the Fed will wind down its subsidy of home loan rates. Interest rates are expected to rise. Many analysts expect to see 6% and above rates quite soon.
• Lower prices—Median home prices in the Portland Metro area are 14.8% lower than they were 2 years ago.
• $8,000 tax credit–First time home buyers must have a written, accepted sales agreement by 4/30/10 to qualify. Learn more about the tax credit.
• Rehab loans are still available—Check http://hownw.com/ for info on distressed property loans.

FOR SELLERS

• $6,500 tax credit—see if you qualify.
• Capitalize on current demand—currently there are more motivated buyers competing for fewer available properties.
• If your non-short sale home would be good for a first time home buyer, you’re in luck.  First time home buyers who want their $8,000 tax credit (and who wouldn’t?) cannot be assured a short sale purchase will close in time to qualify for the tax credit. They must choose from the available traditional owner sales and foreclosures.  Does that include yours?
• Expect a return to our traditional 3-4% appreciation.
• Most sellers are buyers too—It’s a terrific time to buy up at these “discounted” prices and lock in a low interest rate before the mortgage rates rise. Yes, your current home is worth less, but so is that dream home.

Please call if I can help you or anyone you know profit from our current real estate market.

Opportunity is Knocking

The federal government is giving away money to home buyers.

Do your part. Stimulate the economy. Receive what may be a once in a lifetime income tax credit when you buy your first home or as an existing home owner, buy another home.

If you need more info, please give me a call. I can help.

Here are the details for the Home Buyer Tax Credit of 2009/2010:

Who is eligible?

What are the eligible properties to purchase?

The tax credit is for a primary residence. It may be single family, a condo , townhouse or co-op.

What are the purchase deadlines?

The new residence must be purchased between 11/7/09 and 4/30/10. This means buyers must have a written, binding contract by 4/30/10 and close on that transaction before 7/1/10.

How much is the tax credit?

The credit is based on two factors: home price and buyer income

The price of the new home must be less than $800,000

The buyers’ income must be less than $125,000 for single purchasers and less than $225,000 for married buyers.

Purchasers with income over this level may still be eligible for a partial tax credit.

(NOTE: this is a change in income limits from the 2009 First Time home Buyer Tax Credit  for home purchases from 1/1/09  to 11/6/09.)

Does the credit need to be repaid?

Not if the buyer occupies the home for 3 years or more. If you sell the property before the 3 year period is up, you must repay the full tax credit at the time of sale.

Still have more questions? Check out http://www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com/

The good points:

Portland OR homes for sale inventory

• Prices in October still moved downward. This month’s figures show a lower average sold price (2.3% lower) than September’s figures. Yet the median price was up a bit over September. This may be signs of the market bottoming out.
• Most qualified buyers can obtain an interest rate under 5% today.
• First time home buyer tax credits have been extended to sales accepted before April 30,2010
• Owners of existing homes for 5 + years can also get a tax credit for buying a new home before April30, 2010

The reason to act soon:

• Interest rates may start going up again in the new year as the Fed cuts back its program to buy mortgages on the secondary market. This program has kept mortgage rates artificially low to stimulate the housing market.  Some analysts believe a reduction or cessation of this program could boost mortgage rates to the 5.5% to 6.5% range (compared to the 4.5% avg rate today).
• We can only tell where the bottom of the market is by looking over our shoulder. There is reason to believe home prices are leveling off.

Call me to learn the process to get you into that new home. 503.320.3163.

Back to the market information…

In the entire Portland Metro area:

The 12 month average appreciation rate is: -12.5%
This month’s Average Sales Price is: $283,000
This month’s Median Sales Price is: $245,000

The average days of market time is 135

Questions or comments about the market?

Email me Mailto:Anne@PortlandHomeSource.com

If you’re looking to buy in our “reduced price” home market, these next couple of months are perfect for three reasons.

1.  Those first time home buyers going for the $8000 tax credit are mostly in escrow by now so they can close by the Dec 1 deadline for the credit.

2.  We’re headed into the holidays when many buyers sit out the market until the beginning of the year.

3.  The average home price in Portland is down 10.6% from August 2008 and the median price is down 10.8% (And August 2008 average price was down 3.9% from August 2007)

All of this translates into the perfect buyer’s market. Are you ready to take the plunge?

Here are the housing numbers for August 2009. We have a cautiously improving housing market for the Portland metro area. The market continues to improve over 2008, but the August 2009 numbers are very slightly down from July 2009 statistics. Since we need to look at trends, rather than individual months, this doesn’t bother me.

For example, the average months of inventory (our indicator of a buyer’s or seller’s market) is 7.8 for August 2009. That is significantly down from last August (2008) but up only slightly from July 2009. See the chart at right to follow the trends. Closed sales and pending sales are both up from the previous August, but down slightly from July 2009.

In the entire Portland Metro area:

The 12 month average appreciation rate is: -10.6%
This month’s Average Sales Price is: $296,300
This month’s Median Sales Price is: $249,900

The average days of market time is 135

Questions or comments about the market?

Email me Mailto:Anne@PortlandHomeSource.com

We continue to see good news in the real estate market with the July ‘09 stats that are just out. There were 8.6% more closed sales in July ‘09 over July ‘08 and pending sales were also up 8.3% over last July’s numbers. That means August’s numbers should also be showing improvement.

The number of months of inventory (see the box to the right) is how we measure a buyer’s market vs a seller’s market.  The very high amount of inventory we had been seeing is steadily moving downward each month. This is the 6th consecutive month where we see a reduced amount of months needed to sell all the homes on the market. Just for comparison,  in July ‘08 there was 10 months of inventory for sale.

According to a formula from the National Association of Realtors, housing prices in the Portland area are in the affordable range for families earning the median income.

All of these numbers are moving in the correct direction for a recovery in our housing market.

In the entire Portland Metro area:

The 12 month average appreciation rate is: -11.9%
This month’s Average Sales Price is: $288,600
This month’s Median Sales Price is: $250,000

Questions or comments about the market?

Email me Mailto:Anne@PortlandHomeSource.com

¹ Inventory in Months is calculated by dividing the Active Listings at the end of the month in question by the number of closed sales for that month.

² % Change is based on a comparison of the rolling average sale price for the last 12 months with 12 months before.

All statistical information comes from RMLS^TM

There are signs of good news in the Portland area housing market. June 2009 pending sales were up 8.4% over June 2008. It’s the first time since December ‘06 that pending sales were higher than the same month of the year before. Maybe the worst is behind us.

Comparing June 2009 with May 2009, closed sales were up 24.5%, pending sales were up 10% and new listings were also up 9.7%.

Inventory in Months–see box to the right–dropped for the 5th consecutive month.

All of these numbers are moving in the correct direction for a recovery in our housing market.

In the entire Portland Metro area:

The 12 month average appreciation rate is:   -9.7%
This month’s Average Sales Price is:   $299,800
This month’s  Median Sales Price is:    $249,900

Questions or comments about the market?

Email me Mailto:Anne@PortlandHomeSource.com

¹ Inventory in Months is calculated by dividing the Active Listings at the end of the month in question by the number of closed sales for that month.

² % Change is based on a comparison of the rolling average sale price for the last 12 months with 12 months before.

All statistical information comes from RMLS^TM

So many people have asked me how the federal $8,000 tax credit works. Basically it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to buy your first home and get paid by the government.

Here are some highlights.

What is it? It’s a gift from the federal government to all you first time home buyers. It’s goal is  to help stimulate home sales and make first time home buying more affordable.

Who is a first time home buyer? If neither you nor your spouse have owned a residence in the last 3 years you qualify.

What kinds of properties are covered? As long as you buy a primary residence it can be a condo, townhome or detached single family home.

Are there time restrictions? Yes, you must close escrow on this residence before December 1, 2009. Most escrows take 30-60 days, so call me now. Let’s start looking at homes.

How much is the credit? The credit is for 10% of the purchase price up to $8,000.  So most any property you purchase in the Portland area would be for the maximum $8,000 credit.

Suppose I owe less than $8,000 in taxes, then what? The balance of the credit over what you owe in taxes is refunded to you…even if you owe no taxes and the full $8,000 is refunded to you. Sweet deal.

Is there an income limit to qualify? Yes. Buyers who are single can have income up to $75,000 and married people up to $150,000 can receive the maximum credit. If your income is higher you may still receive a portion of the credit.

Does the tax credit need to be repaid? Not if you live in the house for at least 3 years. Should you sell the house or stop living in it before 3 years is up, you’ll need to repay the credit.

Which is better, a tax credit or a tax deduction? The tax credit is better. It is subtracted from your tax owed. A tax deduction is an amount subtracted from your income before your tax is figured.