Rent A Home Or Buy A Home: The Case For Both Sides in Mesa

September 17, 2010 By Leave a Comment

I get a lot of folks asking me is now a good time to buy a house, or should I continue to rent. To be sure, there is no clear cut answer that I can give that covers everyone at all times. What you should or shouldn’t do is really based on your personal situation for the most part, and some consideration of the market. Here is a video: 3-minute joint interview from NBC’s The Today Show, to hear a general case for both renting and buying a house.

Consider renting because:

  • No cash for down payment,
  • Ongoing, annual cost of home maintenance — estimated at 2% of a home’s value can be expensive,
  • Ability to “follow a job” to a new town or region without having to worry about selling your home first,
  • If you know you are not going to live somewhere for at least 5 years.

Consider buying a home because:

  • Mortgage rates are low and each 1% drop to rates equates to a 9% drop to home price,
  • Home prices are very attractive and near the bottom if not at the bottom of the current cycle,
  • With so many houses on the market, home buyers can zero in on a particular neighborhood with particular schools or walkability, for example, better than renters
  • A home can be thought of as a sort of “forced savings” plan for families that want it meaning over time the homeowner will payoff their mortgage and build equity in their home, giving them a valuable asset they can sell for $$$ when needed for family needs, retirement etc.
  • 1% Down Payment Assistance in Arizona for home prices up to $359,000

Whether buying or renting, especially in Mesa AZ where I do most of my real estate transactions, don’t try to go at it alone. There’s lot of resources online, including my website to help you decide whether buying or selling a house is right for you. Contact me to talk about possiblities.

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Mortgage Rates Might Not Be Low for Long

May 29, 2010 By

Mortgage Rates Might Not Be Low for Long
The near-record low mortgage rates seen during the past few weeks may not be around much longer.

Signs of improving economic conditions could lead Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke to raise key interest rates, driving up mortgage rates, says Stephen Stanley, chief economist at Pierpont Securities LLC.

The evidence includes more consumers are paying their bills on time. Past-due accounts at American Express declined 34 percent compared to a year ago, and Target Corp. reported its lowest delinquency rate in two years during the second quarter.

In another sign of economic improvement, fewer banks reported tightening lending standards this month, one reason consumer borrowing rose for the second time in three months.

“If lending standards start to stabilize, that’ll be another reason to remove the emergency measures, including the zero rate,” says Jay Bryson, a senior global economist at Wells Fargo Securities LLC in Charlotte, N.C., who formerly worked at the Fed in Washington.

Source: Bloomberg, Bob Willis and Anthony Feld (05/28/2010)

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439 E McKinley St Tempe AZ 85281 – New Listing

April 18, 2010 By Leave a Comment

http://tour.previsite.com/F94A317D-050A-AD71-7F82-5103EFC17349

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Moving to Arizona?

April 17, 2010 By 1 Comment

What is better than the smell of orange blossoms on a 70 degree day in Arizona?  I would say nothing could replace that smell in the Springtime months here in Arizona.  I always say I wish I could bottle up that smell and send it to my family back east.  Check out a few spring pictures that make it so great to live here in this beautiful state.  Enjoy the rest of the Spring months here in sunny Arizona.  -Kay Wood

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Real Estate Home Buyer Tax Credit

April 3, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Questions answered for the fast approaching  expiration date for home buyers credit,  The credit expires April 30, 2010.

“Some of the more commonly-asked questions, and the answers, include:

1. How does a home buyer claim the tax credit?

The credit is claimed when the home buyer files or amends their federal income taxes. For qualifying homes purchased in 2009 or 2010, the taxpayer must complete IRS Form 5405 and attach a copy of the settlement statement. In most cases, the settlement statement is a properly executed Form HUD-1.

In circumstances where a HUD-1 is not provided, such as purchasing a mobile home or a newly constructed home, the IRS will accept an executed retail sales contract (mobile homes) or a copy of the certificate of occupancy (new homes).

2. Does the home buyer have to sell their current home in order to qualify for the $6,500 repeat home buyer tax credit?

A home buyer does not need to sell their current home in order to be eligible for the repeat buyer credit. They can continue to own both homes, and rent or use their former home for something else, as long as it no longer serves as their principal residence. The taxpayer is required to use the new home as their principal residence, and live in it for at least 36 months, or they will have to repay the credit.

3. Do married couples both have to meet the eligibility requirements in order to claim the credit, even if they file taxes separately?

Both spouses must fully meet all the eligibility requirements for either the $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit or the $6,500 repeat buyer tax credit, regardless of if they file joint or separate tax returns. However, if an unmarried couple purchases a home and only one person qualifies, the eligible person may claim the full credit.

4. Do all home purchases need to be completed by April 30, 2010, in order to be eligible for the credit?

There are two exceptions to the April 30 deadline. If the buyer enters into a binding contract by the deadline, they have until June 30, 2010, to complete the purchase. The deadline has been extended a year, to April 30, 2011, for members of the uniformed services, Foreign Service or employees of the intelligence community who have been on qualified extended duty outside the United States for at least 90 days between January 1, 2009, and April 30, 2010.

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Mesa Arizona New Attraction

March 23, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Golfland, located just off of US 60 and Mesa Drive has added a new attraction to it’s menu. It is called the Thunder Falls and opens full time May 15th.  They are currently open now until March 21st with heated water.  Just another reason why Mesa and Arizona are such great places to live and buy a home in.

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Home Values of Older Americans Begin to Rebound in Fourth Quarter 2009

March 10, 2010 By

Golden Gateway Financial, a financial resource for seniors and retirees, recently released new usage data from its online Reverse Mortgage Calculator that showed average home values for older Americans have halted their slide after remaining flat or declining for seven consecutive quarters. The national average self-reported home value of older Americans rose from $369,762 in the third quarter of 2009 to $381,895 in the fourth quarter of 2009.

Older Americans were one of the last segments of the population to see home prices rebound, but overall home values for seniors remain significantly lower than 2008 levels. Despite this rise in the national average, the report also showed significant decline in many large states, including Florida, Texas and New York.

This mixed recovery in terms of senior home values will likely continue as individual markets reduce inventory and regain their footing. Data from the most recent S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices shows that many markets within these states continue to show improvement, and this should eventually contribute to an increase in home values for older Americans as well.

“Even a minimal gain in home value is a reassuring sign for older Americans because many of these individuals live on a fixed income and rely on their home to support their retirement lifestyle,” said Eric Bachman, founder and CEO of Golden Gateway Financial. “This is especially true for those considering a reverse mortgage because as their home increases in value, so does their potential for greater reverse mortgage proceeds.”

Additional observations from the data include:
-The average age of users remained roughly consistent
-Self-reported senior home values rose by a little more than 3%between the third and fourth quarter of 2009
-The average existing forward mortgage debt dropped slightly to $143,360
-Reverse mortgage average max up front proceeds available rose by roughly 3% while the average max monthly proceeds available dropped by 13%

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Home Builders Using Homebuyer Tax Credit?

March 7, 2010 By

Builders looking to cash in on homebuyer tax credit?

New housing stats rose 21 percent in January from a year ago, the Census Bureau said today, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 591,000.

That’s up from a record low pace of 479,000 units per year seen in April, but still well off the 1 million to 2 million-a-year range that’s been the norm for five decades. During the last boom, housing starts peaked at 2.07 million in 2005.

Single-family home stats were up 36 percent from a year ago, to a seasonally adjusted rate of 484,000 per year.

Single-family home starts, which typically exceed 1 million a year when the economy is not in a recession, hit an all-time high of 1.72 million in 2005 before plunging to 445,000 last year.

Analysts said builders may be putting up homes on “spec” to beat the expiration of a federal homebuyer tax credit, currently limited to homes under contract by April 30 and closing by June 30.

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What Are Home Values In Mesa Arizona Doing in 2010?

February 24, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Case-Shiller Monthly Change Nov 2009-Dec 2009

According to a new study released by Standard & Poors – the Case-Shiller Index – Phoenix appears to be showing a slight increase overall in home values actually showing a slight increase. This could be a good sign for what home values in Mesa are doing or going to do in 2010. But overall, what is the national real estate market doing 2010?

Using data compiled in December, Standard & Poors released its Case-Shiller Index Tuesday.  The report shows home prices down just 2.5% on an annual basis, a figure much lower than the 8.7% annual drop reported after Q3.

According to Case-Shiller representatives, the housing market is “in better shape than it was this time last year”, but some of the summer’s momentum has been lost. 15 of 20 tracked markets declined in value between November and December 2009.

Meanwhile, it’s interesting to note the 5 markets that didn’t decline — Detroit, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Phoenix and San Diego.  Each of these metro regions were among the hardest hit nationwide when home prices first broke.  Now, they’re leading the pack in price recovery.

For some real estate investors, that’s a positive signal.  But we also have to consider the Case-Shiller Index’s flaws because they’re big ones.

As examples:

  1. Case-Shiller data is reported on a 2-month lag
  2. The Case-Shiller sample set includes just 20 U.S. cities
  3. There’s no “national real estate market” — real estate is local

That said, the Case-Shiller Index is still important. As the most widely-used private sector housing index, Case-Shiller helps to identify broader housing trends and many people believe housing is a key element in the economic recovery.

If the markets that led the housing decline will lead the housing resurgence, December’s data shows that full recovery is right around the corner.

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Housing Construction Permits up In January 2010: Why?

February 19, 2010 By Leave a Comment

National Housing Starts 2010Sometimes, headlines for housing can be misleading and this week gave us a terrific example. Last week we say news about housing starts being up. But what is the real story about this story?

On Wednesday, Feb 17 2020, the Commerce Department released its Housing Starts data for January 2010. The data showed starts at a 6-month high.

A “Housing Start” is a privately-owned home on which construction has started.

Headlines on the Housing Starts story included:

  • U.S. Housing Starts Hit 6-Month High (Reuters)
  • U.S. Economy Receives Home Building Boost (Shepparton)
  • Housing Starts Post Sharp Rebound (ABC)

Based to the headlines, the housing market looks poised for rapid growth through the Spring Market.

The real story, though, is that although Housing Starts increased by close to 3 percent last month, the growth is mostly attributed to buildings with 5 or more units.  This includes apartments and condominiums — a sector of the housing market that’s notoriously volatile.

If we isolate Housing Starts for single-family homes only, we see that starts grew by just 7,000 units last month and have failed to break a range since June 2009.  January’s tally is slightly below the 8-month average.

Perhaps more interesting than the Housing Starts, though, is the Commerce Department’s accompanying data for Housing Permits. After a 5-month plateau that ended in November, Housing Permits posted multi-year highs for the second straight month.

According to the Census Bureau, 82% of homes start construction within 60 days of permit-issuance.

One reason permits are up is that home builders want to capitalize on the federal homebuyer tax credit’s dwindling time frame.  Sales are expected to spike in March and April and more homes will come online to deal with that demand.  Home buyers in Mesa should shop carefully, but with an eye on the clock.

As the tax credit’s April 30, 2010 deadline approaches, competition for homes may be fierce.

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