Everybody'sHometownBlog

Help-U-Sell Tech Summit

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Klein) — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 17:37:00 +0000

Day 2 of the Help-U-Sell Tech Summit. Help-U-Sell is rolling out the new website. This site is going to provide a great customer experience.

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Prescott Home Values

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Klein) — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 14:07:00 +0000

Zillow Home Value Index

More Prescott Home Values

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Wall Street Journal Home Prices Not Rising Anytime Soon

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Klein) — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 20:06:00 +0000

January 22nd Free Weekly List of Homes

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Klein) — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 22:09:00 +0000

View this week's Free Weekly List of Homes for sale with Help-U-Sell of Prescott. This list contains all of our current listings with the address, price, description and owner's phone number so you can contact them directly.

http://www.prescotthomesource.com/blogs/michael_klein/archive/2010/01/21/january-22-free-weekly-list.aspx

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Winter Snow in Prescott

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Klein) — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 21:13:00 +0000

We had a winter storm move through Prescott that left us with a few inches of fresh snow. Prescott really is beautful after it snows.

See and download the full gallery on posterous

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Prescott Pictures

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Klein) — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 23:23:00 +0000

I was at the square and wanted to try posting using http://posterous.com so I thought I’d take a couple pictures.

See and download the full gallery on posterous

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2009 Year End Statistics

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Klein) — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 22:03:00 +0000

2009 showed some improvement in the local real estate market; the reduction in home prices, first time home buyer tax credit and sales of foreclosed homes contributed in an increase in the number of sales for the area served by the Prescott Area MLS by over 15% compared to 2008. In addition, the number of new residential listings declined by 12% year over year.
We need to see the inventory of homes for sale decline and the number of sales increase to see a stabilzation in the market. It may take some time but it appears we may be on our way.

Click here to view 2009 Home Sales Statistics

Buying a Home in 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Klein) — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 22:27:00 +0000

MLS 942240

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Klein) — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 18:06:00 +0000

MLS 942240

MBA Wants to Reform Fannie, Freddie 60 mins ago

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Klein) — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 16:55:00 +0000

MBA Wants to Reform Fannie, Freddie 60 mins ago

Real Estate Rebound... Here's Sam Zell's take.

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Klein) — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 21:42:00 +0000

Outlook for Commercial Real Estate

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Klein) — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 17:25:00 +0000

As if the downturn in residential real estate wasn't enough, now we see big problems on the horizon for the commercial sector. This is a very interesting video on the downturn.

Anecdotally, as you drive around the tri-city area there appears to be a growing number of vacancies and those properties that are vacant seem to be taking longer to lease. This has to be a growing concern for local governments so dependent on sales tax revenue.

Have Housing Prices Bottomed

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Klein) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 16:54:00 +0000

It looks like housing prices may be getting "Less Worse" and as the rental gap (the difference in cost between renting and buying a home) widens in some areas it makes more sense for buyers to enter the market. Maybe this is a sign of a bottoming.

Memorial Day

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Klein) — Fri, 22 May 2009 17:10:00 +0000

I think it is easy to lose sight of the meaning of Memorial Day. Many of us get caught up in weekend barbecues, the beginning of summer, heading to the beach or lake; but it is important to remember the true meaning of the holiday and keep in mind those who have lost their lives in serving our country, without their sacrifice we would not be able to enjoy the freedoms offered by this great country.

I found a good article on the U.S. Air Force web site, take a few minutes and read the article Memorial Day: More than just a day off from work and then enjoy your Holiday Weekend.

$8,000.00 Federal Tax Credit for First Time Home Buyers

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Klein) — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 00:17:00 +0000

Now is a great time to buy a home if you are a first time home buyer... Mortgage rates are low, inventory of homes is high & the Federal Government is offering a tax credit. Find out more:

Please call Help-U-Sell for more information (928) 445-2333

Short Sales

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Klein) — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 20:13:00 +0000

Help-U-Sell has put together a team of professionals to help you through a short sale. If you find that you are upside down, owing more on your home than it may currently be worth and you need to sell, a short sale may be an option you should explore. Help-U-Sell of Prescott can assist in a short sale, we have posted to our web site some information on what a short sale is and what documentation you will need to assemble to begin the short sale process. If we can assist you in a short sale of your property please give us a call (928) 445-2333.

Finally Some Good News

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Klein) — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 14:32:00 +0000

Maybe we can see some light at the end of the tunnel. Home sales were up in February, The National Association of Realtors reported on Monday that sales of existing homes rose 5.1 percent in February after a 5 percent decline in January. Mortgage rates have declined and we could see further reductions with the new efforts of the Federal Reserve. The Administration has offered an $8,000.00 tax credit for first time home buyers which may stimulate those first time home buyers.

On a more somber note, we have seen home prices decline approximately 15% from a year ago and distressed sales accounted for 40 to 45 percent of transactions, and total housing inventory grew 5.2 percent, to 3.8 million existing homes for sale.

On a local note, although housing sales are down for the overall Prescott market and Prescott and Chino Valley specifically, Prescott Valley has seen an increase in sales by almost 20% year to date over the same period a year ago. This increase in Prescott Valley sales I believe is based on the number of distressed sales (short sales and foreclosures) in that area.

We may slowly be establishing a bottom, it may take some time and we will see further price erosion however with lower mortgage rates, lower prices and more incentives we will see this market level out.

What Would It Take To Get You Off The Fence?

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Klein) — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 19:59:00 +0000

Diana Olick asked the question in her Blog, Realty Check, How To Move Those Buyers Off The Fence . She commented on a study by the National Association of Home Builders which interviewed buyers who were on the fence and what would it take for them to take the plunge and buy that new home. The answers ranged from lower interest rates, their own uncertainty as to whether they can qualify for a loan and the fear that the home would be worth less in the future.
I thought it would be interesting to pose the same question: what would it take for you to get off the fence and purchase a new home?
Please give us your comments.

Good News Behind Some Dismal Numbers

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Klein) — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 19:25:00 +0000

The Prescott Courier recently reported the following data for building permits in the area:

"Prescott Valley issued no permits for single-family homes in December, down from a multi-year low of one permit in September.

Yavapai County issued nine permits for single-family homes from its offices in Prescott and Cottonwood in December, down from 11 in November. However, the number of permits for manufactured homes increased from seven in November to 12 in December, said Kathy Houchin, unit manager for customer service and permitting for County Development Services.

The number of permits for single-family homes in Chino Valley increased from zero in November to one in December, said Pat Clingman, deputy community development director and building official.

Prescott saw the number of permits for single-family homes double to six in December. However, it is down from 23 permits in December 2006 and 10 permits in December 2007, said Gwen Rowitsch, development facilitator for the City of Prescott."

On a national level building permits were off considerably according to the Wall Street Journal:

"New-home construction fell sharply in December, the Commerce Department said Thursday, and a drop-off in permits for future projects suggests the declines will continue.

Meanwhile, home-builder confidence is at a record low and the government's gauge of home prices, also released Thursday, shows accelerating declines.

Construction of new single- and multifamily homes sank 15.5% in December from the previous month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 550,000 units -- the slowest pace since monthly records began in 1959. The rate was down nearly half from the pace seen in December 2007 as the slowdown continues to weigh heavily on U.S. economic growth."

All of this bad news could really be what is needed to lead to a housing rebound. We need to get the existing inventory of unsold homes off the books. With fewer new homes being constructed buyers are looking at resale homes, this will lead to a reduction in inventory of unsold homes which will eventually lead to a bottoming of prices.

I recently heard an interesting statistic on CNBC, they indicated that it takes between 750,000 and 1 million new homes to offset the number of homes lost each year to fire, natural disaster, condemnation, etc. If this statistic is correct and we are running an annual rate of 550,000 new units, existing inventory has to be offsetting the annual loss of housing units. This will speed up the absorption of unsold homes.

This process will take some time but it is the market correcting itself. What a novel concept.

2008 Real Estate Wrap-up

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Klein) — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 17:28:00 +0000

Out with the old and in with the new!!! Let's take a look at what 2008 brought us and where we will go in 2009.

Below is a table with the results of 2008, as you will see the overall market for residential units was off by -20.41% for the year with Prescott leading the way down -26%, Chino Valley -18.15% and Prescott Valley at -9.24%.

The average price of a home was also down for the year, -11.37% for the overall Prescott Market, Prescott was down by -5.13%, Prescott Valley -12.02% and Chino Valley -21.34%.

If you look at land sales over the same period, sale were even worse... So what does this all mean for the future? 2009 will continue to be a difficult year with the economy weaker than we thought just weeks ago, unemployment will continue to rise which will have a continued negative effect on the real estate market. Markets that we in the Prescott area depend on i.e. Phoenix and Southern California will continue to be weak, foreclosures will continue and prices will not stabilize until we see the housing inventory level off.

Give us your feedback, where do you see the market in the coming year?

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What The Doctor Ordered!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Klein) — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 15:23:00 +0000

The Wall Street Journal reported today:

"Dec. 23, 2008

Existing home sales plunged 8.6% in November to 4.49 million from a downwardly revised pace of 4.91 million in October, according to the National Association of Realtors. The median sales price fell by the largest amount on record, plunging 13.2% in November to $181,300, from $208,000 a year ago. That was the lowest price since February 2004 and the biggest year-over-year drop since the index began in 1968.

New-home sales fell a fourth time in a row during November, and prices remained below year-earlier levels. Sales of single-family homes decreased by 2.9% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 407,000, the Commerce Department said."

The reduction in median sales price is what we need to get this market going again. Lower prices, lower mortgage interest rates, lower rates on Treasuries all will contribute to the market turn around. Will it happen right away, no. It took time to get us into this mess, it is going to take time to get out, but they will all contribute to making real estate a more desirable asset. Lower prices and mortgage rates will increase affordability, lower returns on your investments will make real estate more attractive to investors. The days of buying real estate as an investment banking on appreciation are over, but buying well priced assets that deliver a reasonable return will once again make economic sense.

First time home buyers will re-enter the market financing their purchases with real money down, now that's a novel concept, pay their mortgage over time and actually live in the home they purchased. After a leveling off of the market we will see homes begin to appreciate again, not at bubble-like rates but 2.5 - 3.0% so over the the life of your 30 year mortgage you may see the value of your home double.

Today's news may seem dismal but it's time we look at the silver lining, and reduced prices and lower mortgage rates are a good start.

November Market Stats

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Klein) — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 14:52:00 +0000

The Wall Street Journal had an article today which quoted a number of surveys that reflect the public's opinion on real estate as an investment and home values:
In a poll of 2,000 adults, real-estate-data provider Zillow.com found that 61% believed the value of their home would either remain level or rise over the next six months. Another survey of more than 1,000 homeowners, sponsored by real-estate-services firm Realogy Corp., found that 91% thought that owning a home was the best long-term investment they could make. And an online survey of 5,000 people commissioned by Citigroup found that just 32% believed it was a good time to invest in stocks -- but 51% said it was a good time to buy a home.

The results of the surveys may be a little surprising based upon the current market conditions however I believe it reflects a level of hope and the positive attitude of most Americans.

On a local level, November sales continued to slow; in Prescott the number of Sold Residential Listings declined by 47% from October 2008 and declined 25.9% from YTD 2007 to YTD 2008. The Average Sale Price of a home in Prescott declined 34% in November from October and -5.64% from YTD 2007 to YTD 2008.

Prescott Valley saw a decline in the number of Sold Residential Listings of 43% from October and 11% from YTD 2007 to YTD 2008 with the Average Sales price declining 3.7% for the month of November compared to October and a decline of 11.87% from YTD 2007 to YTD 2008.
The story is much the same for Chino Valley, the number of Sold Residential Listings declined 62% from October and 16.80% from YTD 2007 to YTD 2008. The Average Sale Price dropped 8.8% from October and 21% from YTD 2007 to YTD 2008.

So let's look at the bright side, for the month of November there were 109 homes sell in the Quad-City area and 1848 Year-to-Date. These are not great numbers however it shows that there are buyers in the market who are investing their hard-earned money in the Prescott area and obviously share some of the same opinions of those surveyed.

Give us your opinions of the market and where you see things going in the future.

Social Networking

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Klein) — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 14:18:00 +0000

It has been some time since I posted to my blog but I have decided to make a concerted effort to post consistently and get more involved in the whole social network thing. I think it is more difficult for us baby boomers to take the leap but here we go... I have registered on outside.in and have a Fire Eagle account set up that keeps asking me where I am, I am doing research on Twitter (see the video below), I have a del.icio.us account to bookmark my favorite articles and web sites (I actually find this site quite productive) and have made the commitment to stay updated at ActiveRain. I have decided to go all out in 2009 and see how it works out, I will either end up with a new group of friends, re-connection with old friends and better educated about the workings of the web or just better educated by a new experience... either way I figure I come out ahead of the game.

This is a great video on Twitter, even I can understand it.

So I hope I can keep this interesting and provide those interested some helpful information on the Prescott area and Real Estate in general... and please, if you have something to add or if you agree or disagree with anything I have to say, let me know.

FHA TO THE RESCUE?

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Klein) — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 13:32:00 +0000

There was an interesting article in Realty Times this morning regarding getting FHA involved in helping homeowners holding "Toxic" loans with relief. The lender would face a limited loss on the loans and the FHA would get a piece of the action when the home sold as a risk premium for insuring the loan.
I would question a program that reduces risk by participating in the "profits" realized in the sale of a home in a declining market. If after refinancing the home the owner sells within the first year the odds of realizing any profit is slim. The odds are better that the owner would realize a loss on the sale of their home and accordingly the FHA would also lose.
What are your thoughts, how do we best address the problems home owners face in this challenging market?

60th Annual Kiwanis Club Auction

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Klein) — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 22:25:00 +0000

The Kiwanis Auction is one of the oldest continuous fund raisers in the Prescott area and the largest all volunteer TV production in Arizona. Last year the auction raised $192,000 for children's programs and service organizations. This year the goal is $200,000. The auction will be televised live on Local Access 13 every weeknight 7 PM - 10 PM, March 24 - April 4, and new this year watch live online. Major sponsor is National Bank of Arizona.

If you are interested in donating to the auction please give me a call, I will be happy to stop by your place of business to pick up your donation. Without the generosity of the local business community the auction would never be as successful as it is.

And remember watch the auction, bid high and bid often.... It's for the kids of the community.