Thursday, January 17, 2008
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Certified Real Estate Divorce Specialist
I'm in Colorado now attending a conference to get a very special designation. The class is being taught by a Family Law Attorney and the president of the Financial Divorce Association. What a terrific class. Understanding the steps that couples go through in a divorce and how their real property is affected is extremely valuable information for me to be able to assist my clients.
Sharing my knowledge with clients is a passion of mine. If you know someone who is separating or getting a divorce, tell them to contact me to go over options. They don't always have to sell their home.
Sharing my knowledge with clients is a passion of mine. If you know someone who is separating or getting a divorce, tell them to contact me to go over options. They don't always have to sell their home.
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Market Update
This is a casual blog about the market. I was speaking with another agent yesterday and we were discussing how bad it is right now. Both of us seem to be racking up listings but neither of us are selling anything. I do have 2 closings this month though. She said Wake County sales are down 1/3 in November. Ouch! I can tell its slow when there are no showings on ANY of my listings and NO calls. Every now and then I'll get a call but the person doesn't seem to be serious. Its been really frustrating. If I needed to sell right now, I'd personally underprice my house slightly to see how much traffic I'd generate. New construction seems slower but still better than resale. Builder's can afford to offer better incentives and those houses are easier to show. I guess we just need to wait it out and pray.
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Update from Triangle Business Journal
Economic conditions in the Federal Reserve district that includes North Carolina weakened in October and early November, as retail sales and a weak housing market dragged down modest gains in other sectors.
That's according to the Fed's latest Beige Book report, which compiles anecdotal evidence of how the local economy is doing. The report for the 5th District, headquartered in Richmond, Va., compiles data from the District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia, the Carolinas and most of West Virginia.
The Fed said district retailers were nervous about the holiday season. Sales of big-ticket items including automobiles slumped in the last six weeks, and big-box retailers rolled out holiday discounts in anticipation of weak seasonal revenue.
Residential real estate also got weaker - bad news on top of already tough conditions in an area that had resisted the national housing slump for months. Housing inventories swelled, and an agent in Greensboro told the Fed that both the price and condition of properties had to be "just right" in order to sell.
Home mortgage lending slowed, the Beige Book says, singling out Raleigh as an area where that occurred. Contacts in the Carolinas also told the Fed that commercial mortgage demand has weakened in recent weeks, though other parts of the Fed district saw slight increases.
The area's strong commercial real estate market also took a hit, with office properties seeing less activity, according to the Fed. Retail and industrial leasing were "generally upbeat."
There was also good news in the Fed's report. A weaker dollar prompted manufacturers to boost production to export more goods. Service firms bolstered revenue. Tourism was also up from last year, Outer Banks contacts told the Fed, and Raleigh's temporary-job market was thriving thanks to the area's low unemployment figures.
Agriculture was slow in the period thanks to the ongoing drought.
That's according to the Fed's latest Beige Book report, which compiles anecdotal evidence of how the local economy is doing. The report for the 5th District, headquartered in Richmond, Va., compiles data from the District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia, the Carolinas and most of West Virginia.
The Fed said district retailers were nervous about the holiday season. Sales of big-ticket items including automobiles slumped in the last six weeks, and big-box retailers rolled out holiday discounts in anticipation of weak seasonal revenue.
Residential real estate also got weaker - bad news on top of already tough conditions in an area that had resisted the national housing slump for months. Housing inventories swelled, and an agent in Greensboro told the Fed that both the price and condition of properties had to be "just right" in order to sell.
Home mortgage lending slowed, the Beige Book says, singling out Raleigh as an area where that occurred. Contacts in the Carolinas also told the Fed that commercial mortgage demand has weakened in recent weeks, though other parts of the Fed district saw slight increases.
The area's strong commercial real estate market also took a hit, with office properties seeing less activity, according to the Fed. Retail and industrial leasing were "generally upbeat."
There was also good news in the Fed's report. A weaker dollar prompted manufacturers to boost production to export more goods. Service firms bolstered revenue. Tourism was also up from last year, Outer Banks contacts told the Fed, and Raleigh's temporary-job market was thriving thanks to the area's low unemployment figures.
Agriculture was slow in the period thanks to the ongoing drought.
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Triangle Home Starts Up but Sales are Down 11%
Article in the Triangle Business Journal today...
New home construction increased in the Triangle in the third quarter, but sales declined as the homes stayed on the market longer.
The data are the first real indication that the national struggles of the new-housing market have hit home, according to Houston research firm Metrostudy, which released the data.
Metrostudy said developers started 4,445 single-family homes in the Triangle in the quarter, up 8 percent from the 4,009 housing starts reported in the same period last year.
But closings on new homes dropped 11 percent to 3,915.
There were also 111,527 new and under-construction homes on the market at the end of the third quarter. That's 9.4 months of supply, up from 7.5 months at the end of the third quarter of 2006.
"The Triangle is one of the last markets in the nation to feel the impact of the housing downturn," Ed Dunnavant, director of Metrostudy's North Carolina division, said in a prepared statement.
Metrostudy also said that the Triangle will be one of the first areas to recover from the downturn because of a strong local economy. Strong job growth, low unemployment, affordable housing, a cheap cost of living and inventory levels that haven't completely bottomed out all work in the area's favor, Dunnavant said.
New home construction increased in the Triangle in the third quarter, but sales declined as the homes stayed on the market longer.
The data are the first real indication that the national struggles of the new-housing market have hit home, according to Houston research firm Metrostudy, which released the data.
Metrostudy said developers started 4,445 single-family homes in the Triangle in the quarter, up 8 percent from the 4,009 housing starts reported in the same period last year.
But closings on new homes dropped 11 percent to 3,915.
There were also 111,527 new and under-construction homes on the market at the end of the third quarter. That's 9.4 months of supply, up from 7.5 months at the end of the third quarter of 2006.
"The Triangle is one of the last markets in the nation to feel the impact of the housing downturn," Ed Dunnavant, director of Metrostudy's North Carolina division, said in a prepared statement.
Metrostudy also said that the Triangle will be one of the first areas to recover from the downturn because of a strong local economy. Strong job growth, low unemployment, affordable housing, a cheap cost of living and inventory levels that haven't completely bottomed out all work in the area's favor, Dunnavant said.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
U.S. Census Bureau releases statistics on moving
The U.S. Census Bureau has released a series of 34 tables, "Geographical Mobility: 2006," on the 40 million Americans who moved between 2005 and 2006, including characteristics of movers by type of move. Some of this year’s findings include the following:* In 2006, 39.8 million United States residents moved within the previous one-year period. * The moving rate remained statistically unchanged from 2005 at 14 percent. * Nearly half of the reasons given for moving (18.4 million) were housing related, such as wanting a bigger or smaller house. * The West had the highest moving rate (16 percent), followed by the South (15 percent), the Midwest (13 percent) and the Northeast (10 percent). * Hispanics had the highest moving rate (18 percent), followed by blacks (17 percent), Asians (14 percent) and non-Hispanic whites (12 percent). * In 2006, nearly one-third (30 percent) of all people living in renter-occupied housing units lived elsewhere a year earlier. The moving rate for people living in owner-occupied housing units was seven percent. * For the population 16 and older, 24 percent of those who were unemployed in 2006 lived in a different place a year earlier. This compares with 14 percent of those who were employed in 2006 and 10 percent for those not in the labor force. * Most movers stayed within the same county (62 percent), while 20 percent moved from a different county within the same state; 14 percent moved from a different state and three percent moved from abroad.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Triangle home sales drop 24%
According to the Triangle Business Journal today...
Sales of existing homes in the Triangle dropped 24 percent in September as woes in the national housing market continued to chip at the local economy.
Data released by the Triangle Multiple Listing Service show that 2,347 homes were sold in September, down from 3,098 in September 2006.
Local home sales had been trending down for months, most recently dropping 8 percent in August and 11 percent in July. But the area hadn't yet seen such a sharp downturn equivalent to those in other markets, where declining home costs and troubles with subprime mortgage markets have embroiled economies.
Prices weren't the culprit. The average closing price on a home rose 6 percent year-over-year to $242,885.
But as foreclosures grow locally and the national economy slows, local home inventory rises. It continued to rise in September, when there were 17,929 active listings - up 22 percent from the year prior.
And unlike in recent months, when wealthier ZIP codes dominated home sales, the top three ZIPs for sales all came in areas that have seen high foreclosure activity. Fuquay-Varina's 27526 topped the list with 96 home sales, while southeast Raleigh's 27610 was No. 2 with 90 and Wake Forest's 27587 was No. 3 with 88.
Sales of existing homes in the Triangle dropped 24 percent in September as woes in the national housing market continued to chip at the local economy.
Data released by the Triangle Multiple Listing Service show that 2,347 homes were sold in September, down from 3,098 in September 2006.
Local home sales had been trending down for months, most recently dropping 8 percent in August and 11 percent in July. But the area hadn't yet seen such a sharp downturn equivalent to those in other markets, where declining home costs and troubles with subprime mortgage markets have embroiled economies.
Prices weren't the culprit. The average closing price on a home rose 6 percent year-over-year to $242,885.
But as foreclosures grow locally and the national economy slows, local home inventory rises. It continued to rise in September, when there were 17,929 active listings - up 22 percent from the year prior.
And unlike in recent months, when wealthier ZIP codes dominated home sales, the top three ZIPs for sales all came in areas that have seen high foreclosure activity. Fuquay-Varina's 27526 topped the list with 96 home sales, while southeast Raleigh's 27610 was No. 2 with 90 and Wake Forest's 27587 was No. 3 with 88.
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