For many American homeowners, interest paid on a mortgage is tax-deductible in the year in which it was paid.

Knowing that, eligible homeowners can increase their 2009 tax deductions just by making their January 2010 mortgage payment before the end of the year.

This time of year, it’s easier for some to postpone their mortgage payment until after the holidays. By paying in 2009, the mortgage interest paid can be applied against 2009’s itemized tax deductions even though the payment isn’t technically due until 2010.

It can reduce your tax burden come Thursday, April 15, 2010.

And lest you think you’re paying the mortgage “in advance”, remember that mortgage interest is paid in arrears; a payment due January 1 accounts for interest that accumulated in December 2009 anyway.

Tax planning is a complicated issue and not all homeowners qualify for mortgage interest tax deductions. Check with your tax professional before making tax planning decisions.

If you don’t have an accountant you trust, call or email me anytime; I’m happy to make a recommendation to you.

Carmel Indiana real estate market statistics indicate the last half of 2009 may be a turning point for home sales. While home prices aren’t back to the average sales price of the first quarter of 2008, the average sales price is remaining steady and the number of home sales in Carmel is up.

In the home sales report for the first three quarters of 2008 vs 2009, you can clearly see the average price decline to it’s lowest point in the first quarter of 2009. By the end of the second quarter of 2009, the average home value was up to $304,270 and climbing.

In November there were 103 condos and homes sold in Carmel, compared with 65  sold in November, 2008.

Average Sales Price: $328,980

Single Family Home Sales:

• Homes Sold:89
• Average price: $356,914
• Average Days on Market: 92
• Highest Price Home Sold: $1,964,196.
• Lowest Price Home Sold: $40,000

Condos Sales in Carmel:

• Condos Sold: 14
• Average Price: $151,227
• Average Days on Market: 93

Is this a trend we will see continue for Carmel? We’ll look at the fourth quarter next month, but it looks promising.

Graphs are a look at the past two years for single family homes and condos combined.

Carmel Indiana Home Sales Price

Carmel Indiana  Homes  Sold

Carmel Indiana Homes  – Average Days on Market

Statistics were obtained from the Metropolitan Indianapolis Board of Realtors (MIBOR) data and are representative of Indianapolis homes which were  listed on the Indianapolis BLC; private sales are not included. All information is believed to be accurate, but is not guaranteed.

Indianapolis Real Estate Blog, written by Paula Henry, an Indianapolis real estate agent and team leader of The Henry Group, an Indianapolis Realtor Team at Red Door Real Estate, serving the Indianapolis and Carmel Indiana real estate market.

Call Paula: 317–605–4174

Country Club Place is one of Wayne Township’s most beautiful communities. Located off 21st St., just east of Country Club Rd, providing easy access to the freeway, shopping and parks, makes this a great location to buy your home in Wayne Township.

The neighborhood amenities include meticulously maintained green areas, swimming pool, clubhouse, park and playground. Tree lined lots, rolling greenways and ponds througout the neighborhood.

Drive through the neighborhood of Country Club Place today and check out the great options of available homes. We think you’ll agree this is a community worth considering.

Copyright © 2009 by Paula Henry, All Rights Reserved. *Country Club Place in Wayne Township, Indianapolis*

The new Good Faith Estimate makes its debut January 1, 2010. The new format will make it easier for Indianapolis home buyers to compare loans.

Expanded from 1page to 3, the legislators responsible for the new Good Faith Estimate want it to be simpler for homeowners and home buyers to understand than the former version.

By most accounts, Congress will meet this goal.

The new Good Faith Estimate includes plain-English explanations of every fee, charge, and interest payment involved in a purchase or refinance.  It also includes a section called “The Shopping Cart” in which applicants can compare lenders.

The new Good Faith Estimate is concise, too.  Using a series of “Yes/No” checkboxes on Page 1, mortgage lenders specifically note:

• The interest rate on the mortgage
• Whether the interest rate can change over time
• Whether the loan carries a prepayment penalty
• The length of the rate lock

Currently, this information is spread across 3 separate forms.

Furthermore, the new Good Faith Estimate simplifies rate-and-fee comparisons, showing applicants how a lower rate can be available for a higher set of fees, and vice versa.

For all of its clarity, though, the new Good Faith Estimate still fails to address the issue of “suitability”.  As in, is this the right loan for the right borrower?  That’s something only a loan officer can do.

For suitable advice, talk with a loan officer who both listens to your needs and helps you plan for them.  Great terms on an unsuitable loan are often worse than “good” terms on the right one.

If you need a recommendation for a great loan officer, let me know.

Cobblestone Springs is a popular neighborhood in Avon, located just north of Rockville Road off of Dan Jones.

This beautiful single story home offers three bedrooms, an office, formal dining room and split master bedroom floor plan.

Great Master bedroom is very spacious with his and her closets, double vanities, jacuzzi tub and separate shower. A real retreat!

The large covered patio and deck overlooking the pond provides privacy, as well as a beautiful view from the back. View this beautiful home at 6968 Cobblesprings Drive.

Copyright © 2009 by Paula Henry, All Rights Reserved. *Cobblestone Springs home for sale  – Avon Indiana*

The Brownsburg real estate market statistics for 2008 vs 2009 was a bit up and down as far as home prices and days on market, and relatively similar in the number of homes sold. While home prices were up the first half of the year, the third quarter and November saw a drop in the average price of homes. Combined with the lower price in November, I will again relate this to the late fall activity of first time home buyers who bought homes in the lower price range.

Since many first time home buyers were forced to decide on a home by the end of October to qualify for the credit, the effect on the stats are evident.

Copyright © 2009 by Paula Henry, All Rights Reserved. *Brownsburg Indiana Real Estate Market Report – November 2009*

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Statistics were obtained from the Metropolitan Indianapolis Board of Realtors (MIBOR) data and are representative of Indianapolis homes which were  listed on the Indianapolis BLC; private sales are not included. All information is believed to be accurate, but is not guaranteed. Data was collected on 12/4/2009.

Indianapolis Real Estate Blog, written by Paula Henry, an Indianapolis real estate agent and team leader of The Henry Group, an Indianapolis Realtor Team at Red Door Real Estate, serving the Indianapolis and Brownsburg Indiana real estate markets.

The supply of newly-built homes fell to its lowest levels since 2006, offering additional proof of a housing market in recovery. You only have to take a drive through new home communities in Indianapolis to see the reduced amount of new starts.

Home supply is defined as the amount of time it would take to sell the current inventory of homes at the current pace of sales. When home builders slow down the pace of building, existing home sales pick up.

In October, for the 8th consecutive month, home supplies fell. Since peaking in January 2009, it’s now down by almost half. Lower supply leads to higher prices.  This is Economics 101.

Furthermore, supply is expected fall into 2010. According to the government, builders are breaking ground on new homes at a declining pace, even as sales ramp up.

Builders are cheering the October New Home Sales report, but its the everyday sellers of “existing homes” that have real reason to celebrate.

See, as builders clear out their respective inventories and turn profitable, there’s less reason for them to offer the types of over-the-top purchase incentives that characterized the last 12 months of selling.

With fewer builder incentives, the playing field levels between large corporations and individual home sellers.

And while this is happening, buyers are eagerly taking advantage of low mortgage rates and federal tax credits for buying homes.  It’s pressuring home prices higher overall.

Since January 2009, the average sale price of a newly-built home is up 6 percent.

Avon Indiana Real Estate Market Report

Comparing the last two years data for Avon Indiana for the first three quarters reveals both the number of homes sold and the average price of homes sold was down year to year. The anomaly was the month of November, which I attribute to the  fact many first time home buyers already had closings scheduled before the credit was extended.

I could almost contribute the lower price point in November to the first time home buyer credit, except the home prices were down last year in November, as well. When we consider the number of sales in November was up by 75% over last year, the average price point may not be as dismal as it first appears. Considering the amount of first time home buyers in the market and the affordability of homes in Avon, it’s expected there would be more lower priced homes sold in November 2009, forcing the average price point down. The fact it compares with last years sales is actually good news.

The average days on market have held fairly steady throughout the last two years.

Copyright © 2009 by Paula Henry, All Rights Reserved. *Avon Indiana Real Estate Market Report – November 2009*

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Statistics were obtained from the Metropolitan Indianapolis Board of Realtors (MIBOR) data and are representative of Indianapolis homes which were  listed on the Indianapolis BLC; private sales are not included. All information is believed to be accurate, but is not guaranteed.

Indianapolis Real Estate Blog, written by Paula Henry, an Indianapolis real estate agent and team leader of The Henry Group, an Indianapolis Realtor Team at Red Door Real Estate, serving the Indianapolis and Avon Indiana real estate markets.

Call Paula: 317–605–4174

APR is an acronym for Annual Percentage Rate.  It’s a government-mandated calculation meant to simplify the comparison of mortgage options.

A loan’s APR can always be found in the top-left corner of the Federal Truth-In-Lending Disclosure.

Because APR is expressed as a percentage, many people confuse it for the loan’s interest rate.  It’s not.  APR represents the total cost of borrowing over the life of a loan.  “Interest rate” is the basis for monthly mortgage repayments.

The main advantage of APR is that it allows an “apples-to-apples” comparison between loan products.

As an example, a 5.000 percent mortgage with origination points and fees will almost certainly have a higher APR than a 5.500 percent mortgage with zero fees.  In this sense, APR can help a borrower determine which loan is least costly long-term.

However, APR is not without its shortcomings.

First, different banks includes different fees into their APR calculations.  By definition, this spoils APR as a choose-between-lenders, apples-to-apples comparison method.

And, second, when calculating APR, “life of the loan” is assumed to be full-term.  When a 30-year mortgage pays off in 7 years or fewer — as most of them do — APR comparisons are rendered moot.

In other words, APR is just one metric to compare mortgages — it’s not the only metric.  The best way to compare your mortgage options is to review all the loan terms together and determine which is most suitable.

A conforming mortgage is one that, quite literally, conforms to the mortgage guidelines set forth by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.

Each year, the government sets the maximum allowable loan size for a conforming mortgage, based on “typical” housing costs nationwide. 

Loans in excess of this amount are typically called “jumbo”.

While home prices increased from 1980 to 2006, so did conforming loan limits.  Since then, however, as home prices have dipped, the conforming loan limit has held.

Now, in 2010, for the 5th consecutive year, the government set $417,000 as the nation’s conforming mortgage loan limit.

The 2010 conforming loan limits, as released by the government, are:

• 1-unit properties : $417,000
• 2-unit properties : $533,850
• 3-unit properties : $645,300
• 4-unit properties : $801,950

But conforming loan limits don’t apply to all U.S. geographies equally.  As a result of various economic stimuli since 2008, the government now considers certain regions around the country ”high-cost” areas.  In these areas, conforming loan limits can range to $729,750.

There are less than 200 such areas nationwide.  The complete list is published on the Fannie Mae website.