Real Estate Information Archive

Blog

Displaying blog entries 101-110 of 117

Market Trends 4/11/07

by Galand Haas
Presented by: Galand Haas Team

 

Lane County Real Estate


 RMLS February 2007 Reporting Period 

 February Residential Highlights

Comparing February 2007 to February 2006 closed sales increased 7.4%. Further, new listings increased 24.8%. However, pending sales decreased 2.2%. The 1,508 active residential listings at month's end would last approximately 4.9 months given the month's rate of sales.

 

Year-to-Date

Comparing market activity for January-February 2007 to the same time period in 2006, closed sales increased 4.2%. Further, new listings were up 16.4%. Meanwhile, pending sales decreased 2.7%

 

Appreciation

Comparing the 12 months ending with February 2007 to the 12 immediately prior, the average sale price climbed 11.3% ($256,000 v. $230,000). Using the same formula we can see that the median sale price increased 13.4% ($225,200 v. $198,600). 

 

 

 

To-do list for spring, summer home sellers.

If you plan to sell your house in 2007, in most communities the peak sales months are April, May, June and July. The reason is the largest number of prospective buyers are in the market during this time of the year. That means now is the time to get your home ready for sale. If you want to earn top dollar, careful preparation and planning are essential. The four key steps are:

1. GET YOUR HOME INTO "MODEL HOME" CONDITION.

The best way to get your house ready for sale is to take a critical look at it. Pretend you are a critical buyer. Ask yourself, "Would I buy this home?" If your honest answer is "no," then do your best to correct its deficiencies. Getting your home into "model home" condition doesn’t mean making major renovations, such as installing a new kitchen or new bathrooms. That is usually a waste of money because buyers might not like your tastes.

Instead, cleaning, repairing and painting are all that is usually needed. Inexpensive cosmetic improvements usually pay off handsomely.Even if your home really doesn’t need it, fresh paint is the most profitable improvement you can make. It gives that "new feeling" to even old houses. For every $1 spent painting the interior and exterior, the return in the form of a higher sales price is often 10 times its cost. Other profitable improvements that usually return more than their modest costs include new light fixtures, new floor coverings (carpets, kitchen and bathroom tile or vinyl, refinishing wood floors, etc.) and a landscaping spruce-up with colorful flowering plants.

Pretend you are a photographer from one of the home magazines, such as House Beautiful or Sunset. Aim to make your house worthy of a low-cost home makeover feature article.

 2. HAVE YOUR HOME PROFESSIONALLY INSPECTED.

Another alternative is to repair or replace the deficient item, such as a bad furnace, but ask the supplier to delay payment until the sale closes. Most suppliers are eager to make sales and will readily agree to delayed payment without extra cost.

The reason a pre-listing professional inspection is so vital is that most of today’s savvy buyers insist on these inspections. By having your own pre-listing inspection, you will already be aware of any serious drawbacks. In addition, wise home sellers have customary local inspections such as for termites, energy efficiency, radon and building code compliance. Such inspections avoid later surprises. Smart sellers have repairs made before putting their home on the market, thus thwarting buyer objections.3. ESTIMATE YOUR HOME’S MARKET VALUE.

Home sales prices are based on the recent sales (not asking) prices of nearby similar houses within the last three months. A good place to start is on the Internet to determine your home’s approximate market value. For a FREE, no obligation, current market analysis of your home, log onto www.forhomesellers-nonSmartZip.com, fill out the form and a current market analysis of your home will be emailed directly to your inbox.

To find out the asking prices of similar homes listed for sale in your community, the best source is www.forhomeinfo.com. This Web site searches homes directly from the Multiple Listing Service. It is also FREE to sign up for and homes will be emailed directly to your inbox that meet your specific criteria. It will give you a good idea of comparable nearby houses now listed for sale. Please remember these are asking price, not sales prices. You can also obtain a home value analysis by email by logging onto www.forhomesellers-nonSmartZip.com. Here, you simply enter in the information pertaining to your home and within about 24 to 48 hours you will receive this analysis by email.

 4. INTERVIEWING A REAL ESTATE AGENT.

1. Ask how long the agent has been in the business.

2. How many homes they list and sell annually? (more is good).

3. What kind of marketing do they provide? (extensive Internet is good).

4. Get at least 3 references.

6. How long is the listing period?

7. How long do they follow up on showings?

8. What systems do they have for regular communication?

9. Are they a single agent or do they have a team? Teams are typically better.

Never, never choose an agent solely based on the fee they charge or on a potentially inflated sales price. Follow these simple suggestions and you should maximize on your homes sale price and have a great selling experience.

 

For Sale: $260000
podcast
 
Keller Williams Realty Eugene and Springfield, 242 Country Club Road, Eugene, OR, 97401

Monday Morning Real Estate Update 3/12/07

by Galand Haas

Good Monday Morning!

Wow! 75 degrees on Sunday. It was a new record high temperature for that date! Congratulations to the Oregon ducks men's basketball team for winning the Pac 1o tournament and now moving on to the NCAA tournament.

The home sales statistics are in for last month.  There were 558 new homes hitting the market.  This was in comparison to 510 for the same month in 2006.  There were 257 closed sales, which was the exact same number as February of 2006.  The average time on the market increased to 76 days.  This is compared to 55 days during the same month of last year.  The average sales price was $243,700, which is up from $236,600 for February of 2006.

As you can see the largest difference from a year ago is the time it takes a home to sell and the average sales price. So there goes the thought that we have a bad RealEstate market here in the Eugene and Springfield area.

Have An Awesome Week!

 

 



AND HERE'S YOUR MONDAY MORNING COFFEE!!

Sincerely,
Galand

Monday Morning Real Estate Update 3/26/07

by Galand Haas

Good Monday Morning!

Congratulations to the University of Oregon men's basketball team for making it all of the way to the Elite 8 in the NCAA tournament. It was a great season!

The Fed kept rates stable last week, so there has been little change in mortgage interest rates with the potential of a declining rate situation over the next few weeks.  With this news and the news that the Fed could even lower rates on the next go around, we should see a continued improvement in the Real Estate market in our area.  This is good news for home buyers and home sellers as well.

Have An Awesome Week!. 

 

 

 

 



AND HERE'S YOUR MONDAY MORNING COFFEE!!

Sincerely,
Galand

Monday Morning Real Estate Update 3/19/07

by Galand Haas

Good Monday Morning!

Congratulations to the Oregon ducks men's basketball team for advancing to the Sweet 16.  Good luck Friday against UNLV!!!

The Real Estate market here in the Eugene and Springfield area remains in kind of a holding pattern.  There just has not been any significant change one way or the other in weeks.  The only thing to watch at this time is the slow down in the number of homes hitting the market for sale.  This could be a trend or maybe it is just a lull before the Spring rush.  I will keep you informed as we move ahead.

If you are considering selling your home, you can receive a FREE home market value analysis by e-mail simply by logging onto www.forhomesellers-nonSmartZip.com and entering in the details on your home.

Have An Awesome Week!

 

Monday Morning Real Estate Update 3/5/07

by Galand Haas

Good Monday Morning!

Yeah!  Spring is back!!!!!!

Nationally, the home sales statistics are continuing to slide.  In the Eugene and Springfield area the Real Estate market continues to look better than it does throughout most of the country.  I am seeing homes sell that have been sitting for months.  Much of this is due to home sellers reducing prices, which is certainly good news for buyers.  Because of this there are now more buyers looking and actually taking action to purchase a home.  Look for this trend to continue for no less than the short term.

Have An Awesome Week!

 



AND HERE'S YOUR MONDAY MORNING COFFEE!!

Sincerely,
Galand

January Home Sales Improve Nationally

by Galand Haas
 
Existing-Home Sales Improve in January
WASHINGTON, February 27, 2007 - 

Sales of existing homes rose in January, reaching the highest level in seven months, according to the National Association of Realtors®.

Total existing-home sales – including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – increased 3.0 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate1 of 6.46 million units in January from an upwardly revised pace of 6.27 million in December.  Sales were 4.3 percent below the 6.75 million-unit level in January 2006.

David Lereah, NAR’s chief economist, said observers shouldn’t overreact to the sales gain, or to other short-term effects.  “Although we’re expecting existing-home sales to gradually rise this year, and buyers are responding to the price correction, some unusually warm weather helped boost sales in January,” he said.  “On the flip side, the winter storms that disrupted so much of the country in February could negatively impact the housing market.

“Although the data is seasonally adjusted, these weather events are unusually large – many transaction closings were postponed in February, and home shopping was essentially shut down for about a week in many areas,” he said.  “We shouldn’t be surprised to see a near-term sales dip, but that will be followed by a continuing recovery in home sales.”

Total housing inventory levels rose 2.9 percent at the end of January to 3.55 million existing homes available for sale, which represents a 6.6-month supply at the current sales pace – unchanged from the revised December level.  Supplies peaked at 7.4 months in October.  “Inventories are looking better, but price softness should continue until spring when the market is expected to become more balanced,” Lereah said.

The national median existing-home price2 for all housing types was $210,600 in January, down 3.1 percent from January 2006 when the median was $217,400.  The median is a typical market price where half of the homes sold for more and half sold for less.

NAR President Pat Vredevoogd Combs, from Grand Rapids, Mich., and vice president of Coldwell Banker-AJS-Schmidt, said a broader view shows the housing market stabilizing.  “The market is trending up from its low last fall, and that is important in restoring confidence to buyers who’ve been on the sidelines,” said Combs.  “Since buyers can find more favorable terms, and they are looking for a place to call home for some years to come, getting into the market now make sense because it’s a choice many didn’t have during the boom period of bidding wars in much of the country.”

According to Freddie Mac, the national average commitment rate for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage was 6.22 percent in January, up from 6.14 percent in December; the rate was 6.15 percent in January 2006.

Single-family home sales rose 3.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.69 million in January from an upwardly revised 5.50 million in December, but were 4.2 percent below the 5.94 million-unit level in January 2006.  The median existing single-family home price was $209,200 in January, down 3.5 percent from a year earlier.

Existing condominium and cooperative housing sales slipped 0.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 767,000 units in January from a downwardly revised pace of 768,000 in December.  Last month’s sales activity was 5.7 percent below the 813,000-unit pace in January 2006.  The median existing condo price3 was $222,200 in January, up 0.5 percent from a year ago.

Regionally, existing-home sales in the West rose 5.6 percent to an annual pace of 1.32 million in January but were 9.6 percent lower than a year ago.  The median price in the West was $321,300, down 4.6 percent from January 2006.

In the Midwest, existing-home sales increased 4.8 percent in January to a level of 1.53 million, and were 0.6 percent lower than January 2006.  The median price in the Midwest was $162,600, which is 3.5 percent below a year ago.

Existing-home sales in the South rose 2.0 percent to an annual sales rate of 2.54 million in January, but were 7.3 percent below a year ago.  The median price in the South was $174,600, which is 1.7 percent below January 2006.

Existing-home sales in the Northeast were at a level of 1.07 million in January, unchanged from December, and were 5.9 percent higher than January 2006.  The median existing-home price in the Northeast was $260,700, down 1.2 percent from a year earlier.

The National Association of Realtors®, “The Voice for Real Estate,” is America’s largest trade association, representing more than 1.3 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.

# # #

1 The annual rate for a particular month represents what the total number of actual sales for a year would be if the relative pace for that month were maintained for 12 consecutive months.  Seasonally adjusted annual rates are used in reporting monthly data to factor out seasonal variations in resale activity.  For example, home sales volume is normally higher in the summer than in the winter, primarily because of differences in the weather and family buying patterns.

Each February, NAR Research incorporates a review of seasonal activity factors and fine-tunes historic data for the previous three years based on the most recent findings.  Revisions have been made to monthly seasonally adjusted annual sales rates for 2004 through 2006, as well as the inventory month's supply data.

Existing-home sales, which include single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, are based on transaction closings.  This differs from the U.S. Census Bureau’s series on new single-family home sales, which are based on contracts or the acceptance of a deposit.  Because of these differences, it is not uncommon for each series to move in different directions in the same month.  In addition, existing-home sales, which generally account for 85 percent of total home sales, are based on a much larger sample – nearly 40 percent of multiple listing service data each month – and typically are not subject to large prior-month revisions.

2 The only valid comparisons for median prices are with the same period a year earlier due to the seasonality in buying patterns.  Month-to-month comparisons do not compensate for seasonal changes, especially for the timing of family buying patterns.

Existing-home sales for February will be released March 23.  The next Pending Home Sales Index will be on March 6 and the forecast will be revised March 13.

3 Because there is a concentration of condos in high-cost metro areas, the national median condo price can be higher than the median single-family price.  In a given market area, condos typically cost less than single-family homes.

Statistical data, charts and surveys also may be found by clicking on Research

Monday Morning Real estate Update 2/26/07

by Galand Haas

Good Monday Morning!

Winter-Spring-Winter-Spring!  The weather can't make it's mind up.  One thing that is for sure is that the month of March in Oregon will bring more of the same!

Is the Real Estate market in the Eugene and Springfield area strong or slow?  Well, just like March weather, it depends on the mood that week. We are seeing great activity one week and then the next week it's just very slow.  This is because our market is just downright inconsistent right now.  Buyers are fickle and just the slightest events or things can quickly change the mood of the market.  The interesting part of this may be watching which direction we head for the duration of the year.  One thing that I can say is that right now is a very good time to take advantage of softer home prices and good mortgage interest rates.  Inventories of homes for sale remain high, so there is a very good selection out there. 

If you wish to go on our automated e-mail home search log onto www.forhomeinfo.com. This system will automatically update you daily by e-mail with complete information on homes meeting your search criteria as they hit the market.  This system updates each day at 5:30 a.m., so you will typically know about new homes hitting the market even before the agents do.

Have An Awesome Week!

Monday Morning Real Estate Update 2/19/07

by Galand Haas

Good Monday Morning!

Saturday certainly gave a a sneak preview of Spring.  There is lots more of this weather on it's way.

"Don't look for any huge upswings in the Real Estate market nationally"!  This was the statement that was made over an over at the national Real Estate convention I attended last week.  This news is not all bad, because the culprit for our slower market is the fact that home prices have increased much faster than the buyers ability to purchase them has. Our current situation will slow that process down.  Most likely we will not see a strong market again until home prices and home buyers ability to purchase are in sync once again. 

This does mean that for home buyers today, there are bettter deals on homes and the prices will most likely be soft for some time to come.  For those selling a home this market demands proper home pricing. If sellers do not have their home priced in line with the market and the competion, their chances of selling will be slim.

Have An Awesome Week!

 



AND HERE'S YOUR MONDAY MORNING COFFEE!!

Sincerely,
Galand

Monday Morning Real Estate Update 2/12/07

by Galand Haas

Good Monday Morning!

The Real Estate market in the Eugene and Springfield area continues to be somewhat stronger.  Even with the slight increase in mortgage interest rates there seems to be more home buyer interest.  For home buyers this really is a great time.  Home prices are certainly softer and there is a fairly good inventory of homes to choose from. 

If you are thinking of purchasing a home, make sure that you explore your mortgage loan options.  We have watched many buyers go into loan situations that become very negative several years later.  Know your options and do some research before you just take out a mortgage loan.  If you have any questions on mortgages or would like to have a top mortgage loan professional recommended, please e-mail or call me.

Have An Awesome Week!

 



AND HERE'S YOUR MONDAY MORNING COFFEE!!

Sincerely,
Galand

Monday Morning Real Estate Update 1/22/07

by Galand Haas

Good Monday Morning!

What a gorgeous weekend it was!  We all deserved it following the snow and ice of the prior weekend.

The statistics are in reflecting on last years Real Estate market in the Eugene and Springfield area.  The Median home price in 2006 rose 15% to $225,000.00.  This was in comparison to a 25% increase for the previous year.  The average time it took a home to sell was 53 days in 2006 in comparison to 45 days in the prior year.  The average time for a home to sell had increased even further to 68 days by December of 2006.  The inventory of homes on the market for sale also increased from 2.3 months in 2005 to an average of 3.3 months in 2006.  This means that if no new homes hit the market it would take this number of months to exhaust the existing supply of homes for sale. 

Have An Awesome Week!

 



AND HERE'S YOUR MONDAY MORNING COFFEE!!

Sincerely,
Galand

Displaying blog entries 101-110 of 117

Syndication

Categories

Archives

Contact Information

Photo of Haas Real Estate Team  Real Estate
Haas Real Estate Team
Keller Williams Realty Eugene and Springfield
2645 Suzanne Way Suite 2A
Eugene OR 97408
Direct: (541) 349-2620
Fax: 541-687-6411

Share This Page

Find Your Next Home

Homes for sale in the Eugene area are only a click away!