Market Update

Existing Home Sales Hit 5-year High in 2012

  ^[1](MCT)—Sales of existing homes ticked down in December from the month before, while the total for 2012 hit the highest level in five years, according to data released Tuesday by the National Association of REALTORS®.

The pace of sales fell 1 percent in December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.94 million, according to NAR. For all of 2012, existing-home sales hit 4.65 million, the highest level since 2007 and up 9.2 percent from 2011.
“Record-low mortgage interest rates clearly are helping many home buyers, but tight inventory

SELLER FINANCING...A POSSIBILITY

Real Estate Q&A: Seller Financing Can Help Sell Home

 Consumer News and Advice,Home Owner News,Homeowner's Toolkit,Today's Top Story - Consumer | Comments Disabled

^[1](MCT)—QUESTION: I am trying to sell my home but am not getting any showings. I’m thinking about allowing a buyer to finance it through me. Is this a good idea?
—Suzanne
ANSWER: It certainly can be, depending on your situation. If you own the property free and clear of any mortgage loans, financing the transaction for the buyer yourself has its advantages. But you’ll need to take precautions to protect your interests.
This sort of arrangement can help attract a deeper pool of prospective buyers who have temporary financial issues. You can finance the property for your buyer at an interest rate much higher than any bank will pay you for storing your money.

FISCAL CLIFF - WHAT IT MEANS TO HOMEOWNERS

Fiscal Cliff Avoided: What it Means for Housing and Home Builders

  ^[1]The fiscal cliff, an economically damaging set of tax hikes and spending reductions scheduled to begin in 2013, has been avoided (for now) and that is good news for housing in the short-run.

The enactment of H.R. 8, the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, will extend permanently most, but not all, of the 2001/2003 tax cuts. The legislation prevents a fiscal drag of approximately $600 billion in 2013, which would have been large enough to push the current weak economy into recession. That in turn would have reduced demand for both owner-occupied and renter housing and threatened the ongoing recovery for home building.

CONFIDENCE FOR 2013

Looking Confidently Ahead: Power Broker Predictions for 2013

Posted By Paige On January 2, 2013 @ 4:30 pm In Business Outlook,Finance and Economy,Real Estate Information,Real Estate News,Real Estate Trends,Today's Marketplace,Today's Top Story | Comments Disabled

^[1]Consumer confidence. Price appreciation. Multiple offers. Wait…is this real estate we’re talking about?!
Like long-forgotten music to our ears, these are just some of the buzz words peppering the vernacular of the nation’s top brokers as they advance toward further recovery. Even though some significant obstacles still stand in the way—from potentially hazardous changes to housing-related policy to a still-sizeable foreclosure inventory—power brokers believe that positive momentum in 2013 will carry us over the bumps in the road.