Been to long since I have updated this blog. Well I am back with a vengeance. Look for a final 2009 in review and Jan 2010 numbers to be posted over the next couple of weeks. It will be five to ten days before Jan numbers are posted.

One thing I can tell you. This looks to be our transition year. Inventories 250K and below are very low. Overall we finished the year under 4000 resale listings for the County. Lowest number in years. Probably 50% of the current listings are distressed properties. Many would be quality listings are folks sitting on the sidelines at this point waiting for the economy and housing market to recover.

If you are thinking of selling get on the market ASAP before the late spring rush. New late spring listing always outnumber the buyers comming into the market. With the state of the current compatition if you have location, price, and condition you will thump the market.

Seller or buyer give me a call. Lets sit down and work out a strategy for success in this years market.

Till next time,

MIke

New listings remain at around 1500 per month. This is a plateau we have been at most of this year. This has gone a long way in the face of increased sales with keeping our overall inventory levels down from last year.

Sales are up another 9.5% from last month and up 12% from this time last year. The increase in sales has helped to stabilize home prices which have increased about 3.5% from last month but are still down 6-8% from last year.

We still have 4662 active listings in the resale market so there is plenty of competition out there. For my seller that have heard me say “we are in a price war combined with a beauty contest” that still hold true.

I started warning my buyers in late spring that the market was changing and most of the screaming deals are in fact off the table, but it will still take us a couple more years to bring the market back. By back I mean to a healthy market not the rapid equity we saw a few years ago. There are still going to be to many foreclosures and short sales over the next 2-3 years that will make this market recovery a long steady climb.

Good news for sellers: prices have stabilized at 300K and below and inventories have dropped at 200K and below.

Good news for buyers: due to inventory levels at 300K and above, anyone wanting to move up to a larger home, nicer area, ect will be in great shape to do so over the next 6 months at least. As employment numbers change for the better the move up buyers 300-500K will again take over the market and this opportunity will go away.

Thanks for stopping by. I welcome your input and/or questions. Till next time take care.

If you click Has the market stabilized in My area? You will be transported to the Market snapshot report request. This is a very comprehensive on-line report emailed to you that will show you everything about the area around your home. here's the cool part. You will get to see what your neighbors really sold for! The report updates on a regular basis and is live MLS data from the Pikes Peak Association of Realtors. This is the same information I use as a Realtor to counsel my seller and buyers.

Speaking of buyers, you can use this same report to target homes in areas you are thinking of buying in to see what is going on with sales and price trends.

This is a FREE report. You can use it for as long as you like. Take it out for a spin and let me know what you think. I would love to here comments and feedback.

Till next time-take care.

New listings: 1530. Up 2.9% from May but down 5.6% from May 08. This is great. Less new listings = less inventory we have to sell of at some point.

Total Active Listings: 4661. Up 2.3% from last month but again down 20.6% from same time last year. Same as above, the faster the inventory declines the faster we get to a balanced market.

Sales: 829. Up 6% from last month and the same % as June 08. So with sales at the same % as last year and inventory down we are making headway on standing inventory.

So where are sales taking place right now. Most of the activity is below 300K and much of the credit for that goes to the first time buyer tax credit. Another area of activity is the expansion of FT. Carson and the soldiers coming in this year.

One of the biggest niches not being capitalized on is the move up buyer. If you own a home at 200K or below and have outgrown it or are just ready for something different now is the time. Scary in this economy but if you have the income and job stability you can sell at 200K or below and purchase at 300K or above and get a great deal. If this is you call me for details 719-233-6453.

As always I welcome your input or questions.

Till next time,

Mike Erhardt

Here is some great news for first time home buyers using a FHA loan to make their purchase. FHA will now allow the borrower to use the tax credit to establish a temporary bridge loan prior to closing. In doing so, the borrower can then use the tax credit at closing to A. make a larger down payment, B. Buy down their interest rate, C. Pay for closing costs. This is a new change and should help folks with the buying process. Just a reminder, the tax credit ends November 30^th. The typical purchase time frame is 15-30 days find a lender, find the right house and another 20-45 days to execute the contract. So if you are still sitting on the fence jump off and give me a call. Don’t let this great opportunity pass you by.

Take care,

Mike

Welcome back to another update. We continue to see steady progress with the worst of the market behind us. Here is a breakdown of the numbers for last month.

New Listings: 1487 new resale listings hit the market last month. This is a 7.5% increase from April but a (12.9%) decrease from May, 2008. This is great news. With less sellers coming into the market the inventory numbers have continued to drop this year. This will help to stabilize the market as we go forward.

Sales: 782 sales were reported for the month. This is a 22% increase from April. We also beat out May 2008 but only by 1.7%. Still, this is a good sign as we see growing sales and lowering inventory levels.

Total Actives: As of end of May we had 4558 resale homes in the market. This is up 0.7% from April but down (22%) from this time last year. Once again this shows the overall decrease in inventory that will help turn this market.

I saw a large uptick in Military buyers this past 2 months with the 250K and below Powers and Fountain areas seeing the most activity. We are seeing more news at the national level indicating the worst of this downturn is probably behind us. I would encourage anyone thinking of buying a home to pull the trigger in 2009 before this market heads the other way.

Call me.

New listings: 1496.

This number is a 22.3% increase from Feb 09 but still down 5.7% from the 1586 we added to the market this time last year. Less is good as we still have plenty of inventory to get through this year.

Sales: 523.

This is a 12.3% increase from Feb 09 but still down 18.7% from this time last year. Winners, homes under 200,000. Losers, everything else.

Total Active: 5108.

A modest increase of 3.2% from last month(this is a good thing) and down 10.7% from last year. A very good thing.

So all the numbers reflect some catching up to do with last years numbers, but for two months running we have moved up from Jan to Feb-Feb to March. Some of the factors-the tax credit-low rates-influx of troops to Carson. We still need job numbers to change and overall consumer confidence to come back before we start seeing movement in the upper price ranges. That of course translates into great deals for the buyers brave enough to tackle the upper price ranges.

As always I welcome you questions and comments. In addition, let me know if I can be of service. Here is the market graph for the year to date-take care.

So without further delay here is Hutche's feedback from last month.

I attended the Mortgage Lenders luncheon last month here in Colorado Springs and a Lt. Colonel Bolton shared with us what we have coming at us this year for growth down at Fort Carson.

2008 finished the year with 18,100 Military personnel based at Fort Carson with 27,500 family members for a combined total of 45,600 people.

2009 their will be 6,500 soldiers added to Fort Carson.  And there will be an additional 9,900 family members.  They are required to meet the objective of 70% completed by June 16th 2009.  This will be a grand total of 62,000 people here due to our military base.

It is the 4th Infantry Division coming up from Fort Hood Texas.  And we are also getting an Attack Aviation Reconnaissance Battalion as well.

We hopefully will feel an immediate impact to purchase business as the housing that they have been building on the base does not come close to handling this volume.  I don’t remember the specific percentage, but it was not impactful.

So there you have it. In addition I have a volunteer realtor shift comming up at the FT. Carson housing office in a couple of weeks and I will be checking in with those folks as always during my 1/2 day shift.

As always I welcome your questions and comments. take care.

MIke

Time to take a look back at the market stats for the month of February. 

New listings: 1223 resale homes came on the market last month. This is a 2% increase from Jan 09, but a 19.6% drop from Feb 2008. This is a significant drop from this time last year. If rates stay low and buyers continue to be active we will see the kind of decreases in inventory needed to get back to a balanced market!

Total active resale listings: We closed out Feb at 4418 listing. This is a 2.1% increase over Jan but an 8.8% decrease from Feb of 08. Once again this reflects a decrease in overall inventory levels needed to get back to balanced.

Sales: We sold 465 homes in the resale market for the month. This is an increase of 22.4% over a very lackluster sales number for Jan. It does represent a decrease of  6.6% for the same sales number for Feb 08.

So what does all this mean. Sales are at a slower pace from this time last year, however inventory is dropping at a faster rate. This is due to the huge drop in new listings coming into the market. Low interest rates, new soldiers coming to FT. Carson and the first time buyer credit should all help our market this year. How much is the million dollar question.

As always I welcome your questions and comments.

Till next time.

www.applywithkaren.com

www.coloradocapitalbank.com

Tax Credit for Homebuyers
First-time homebuyers who purchase homes from the start of the year
until the end of November 2009 may be eligible for the lower of an
$8,000 or 10% of the value of the home tax credit. Remember a tax credit
is very different than a tax deduction - a tax credit is equivalent to
money in your hand, as opposed to a tax deduction which only reduces
your taxable income.

The tax credit starts phasing out for couples with incomes above
$150,000 and single filers with incomes above $75,000. Buyers will have
to repay the credit if they sell their homes within three years.

Tax Credit Versus Tax Deduction

It's important to remember that the $8,000 tax credit is just that... a
tax credit. The benefit of a tax credit is that it's a dollar-for-dollar
tax reduction, rather than a reduction in a tax liability that would
only save you $1,000 to $1,500 when all was said and done. So, if a
homebuyer were to owe $8,000 in income taxes and would qualify for the
$8,000 tax credit, they would owe nothing.

Better still, the tax credit is refundable, which means the homebuyer
can receive a check for the credit if he or she has little income tax
liability. For example, if a homebuyer is liable for $4,000 in income
tax, he can offset that $4,000 with half of the tax credit... and still
receive a check for the remaining $4,000!

Phaseout Examples

According to the plan, the tax credit starts phasing out for couples
with incomes above $150,000 and single filers with incomes above
$75,000.

To break down what this phaseout means to homebuyers who are over those
amounts, the National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB) offers the
following examples:

Example 1: Assume that a married couple has a modified adjusted gross
income of $160,000. The applicable phaseout to qualify for the tax
credit is $150,000, and the couple is $10,000 over this amount. Dividing
$10,000 by $20,000 yields 0.5. When you subtract 0.5 from 1.0, the
result is 0.5. To determine the amount of the partial first-time
homebuyer tax credit that is available to this couple, multiply $8,000
by 0.5. The result is $4,000.

Example 2: Assume that an individual homebuyer has a modified adjusted
gross income of $88,000. The buyer's income exceeds $75,000 by $13,000.
Dividing $13,000 by $20,000 yields 0.65. When you subtract 0.65 from
1.0, the result is 0.35. Multiplying $8,000 by 0.35 shows that the buyer
is eligible for a partial tax credit of $2,800.

Remember, these are general examples. You should always consult your tax
advisor for information relating to your specific circumstances.

Homes that Qualify

The tax credit is applicable to any home that will be used as a
principle residence. Based on that guideline, qualifying homes include
single-family detached homes, as well as attached homes such as
townhouses and condominiums. In addition, manufactured or homes and
houseboats used for principle residence also qualify.

Higher Loan Amounts

More good news - there is an extension on the additional tier of
conforming loan amounts which had been first established in 2008.  This
tier of home loans are those greater than $417,000, and with a maximum
that depends on the area, but is not greater than $729,750.  These loans
will again be eligible for rates that are slightly higher than
conforming loan rates, but less expensive than the standard "jumbo" loan
rates.

Additional Housing-Related Provisions

Tax Incentives to Spur Energy Savings and Green Jobs - This provision is
designed to help promote energy-efficient investments in homes by
extending and expanding tax credits through 2010 for purchases such as
new furnaces, energy-efficient windows and doors, or insulation.

Landmark Energy Savings - This provision provides $5 Billion for energy
efficient improvements for more than one million modest-income homes
through weatherization. According to some estimates, this can help
modest-income families save an average of $350 a year on heating and air
conditioning bills.

Repairing Public Housing and Making Key Energy Efficiency Retrofits To
HUD-Assisted Housing-This provision provides a total of $6.3 Billion for
increasing energy efficiency in federally supported housing
programs.Specifically, it establishes a new program to upgrade
HUD-sponsored low-income housing (for elderly, disabled, and Section 8)
to increase energy efficiency, including new insulation, windows, and
frames.

Expanding Housing Assistance-This provision increases support for
several critical housing programs. It includes $2 Billion for the
Neighborhood Stabilization Program to help communities purchase and
rehabilitate foreclosed, vacant properties.

More Help for Homeowners in the Future
Another thing to keep an eye on in the coming weeks is President Obama's
plan to help struggling borrowers before they are faced with a default
on their mortgage.

According to reports, the Obama administration is discussing plans to
help borrowers who are struggling to stay afloat, but who have not yet
fallen behind on their payments. At this point, details are scarce;
however, reports indicate that President Obama is looking to spend
approximately $50 Billion to directly help homeowners before they face
foreclosure and financial disaster.

While this is good news for individual homeowners, it will likely be
good for the housing industry as a whole. That's because, assisting
struggling borrowers before they default should help stop the wave of
foreclosures, which are estimated to top two million this year. That, in
turn, will help stabilize home prices.

If you are a buyers reading this keep this in mind. A 1% rise in interest rates will wipe out a 10% decrease in price. Interest rates are at historic lows and as rates stay this low it creates inflationary pressure on the economy. Interest rates at some point will have to ease back the other way to keep inflation in check. Rates will not stay this low all year! Bottom line-this is still a great time to buy!

1. Test monthly and replace batteries yearly: lots of folks use the week of daylight savings time as their trigger to replace the batteries.
2. To Test: press the test button on your unit. It should emit a beep or tone.
3. How not to test: do not use a candle or something that emits smoke. Repeated use of smoke to test will “wear out” the sensor and it could fail to detect in the case of a real fire.

That is a whole bunch of cause and effect that should positively effect the housing market. In my opinion it will probably take more than just lower rates to shore up the foreclosure numbers, but we will have to wait and see  what our new President and Capitol Hill do with the economy.

AS always I welcome you questions and comments. Till next time.

Mike Erhardt   

Anything you would like me to cover or know about just let me know.

I had a very strong close to the year and am looking forward to 2009. As the Chinese say "may you live in interesting times". And we do. I will stay abreast of the Fed, and Fannie and Freddie as we go forward with a new president and the current economy.

Thats all for now. Hope you had a great holiday season and here we go with a new year.

Take care,

Mike 

Hello again and sorry this is a bit late getting  posted. Our MLS board was a bit late getting the numbers out then I went on vacation for a few days so lets jump right into the numbers.

New listings came in at 1295. This is out lowest level for the year down 15% from July and 25% from this time last year. This is a big step towards lowering inventory.

Sales came in at 726 for the month down 10.5% from last month and 16% from last august.

Total Actives are at 5623 down 3.4% from July with the numbers for March slightly lower.

So what does all this mean. We are seeing the market going towards balace in the 50K-199K price range. Balance being a six month supply of homes that favors neither the buyer or seller. WE are at about 7 months supple in that price range.

For homes 250K and above it is still a buyers market as the suply of homes is still in the 8 month plus range.

Credit will remain tight for borrowrs till the Fed gets things sorted out. Good news is  sellers and buyers this time of year are a bit more serious about getting across the finish line. We still have about six months of getting through the rest of the foreclosure market and getting inventory levels lower. There are still deals to be had but I think as the dust settles we will look back on the first half of 2008 as the time of the biggest adjustments and deals. Till next time-Take care,

MIke