Real Estate Information

I just read some stats I thought I would share. Indianapolis is for the 14th consecutive quarter (that's 4.5 years) the most affordable city to own a home in the United States! Affordability is measured by taking Indy's general populace that could buy the median-priced home in our area and have the monthly payment of the home be under 28% of their gross monthly income. The percentage for Indianapolis is 93.1% and second place, Warren Michigan was at 89.6%. That is a difference of 3.5% and if you think about it- Indianapolis is 1.7 million people! 

The National Association of Realtors indicated that the Midwest would be the first area to stabalize in the housing market. I hope all of the indications are true and accurate. NAR reported that pending sales jumped 14.5% in the Midwest for February. The biggest reason is the affordability of homes in the Midwest and the first time buyer $8,000 incentive. Here is some food for thought...What would the market do if we were all given $8,000 to move? I think the market would explode and we would all consider moving, especially with rates under 5% this morning.

The market is hot and we are on fire. We just sold our 30th house for the month and we have 4 more offers out. If you have been thinking about selling, buying or building...now is the time! The market is limited on houses and inventory is still down over last year at this time. As far as buying or building- the rates are unbelievable and you could qualify for the $8,000 tax credit. Call for details but whatever you do, don't wait...get into the market now!

We are on fire! We sold 8 houses last week and have another 5 offers hung out waiting for answers. Chris, my youngest son, was married this past weekend and we are all trying to recover from the lack of sleep. It was a fun wedding and I am very happy for Kristina and Chris. Until next week...bring on spring and warm weather!

What a week! This past week was crazy. The weather has turned the market on. We sold a lot of houses including 5 on Friday the 13th and 2 on the 16th. I had 3 listing appointments yesterday and 3 more call-ins for people wanting to sell their homes. We had 5 buyer's out and 3 more contact us about buying. My youngest, Chris, is getting married on Saturday and we are thrilled about that, but we will be ready for life to get back to normal! Until next week, have a great week and enjoy the spring weather!

You might have noticed the signs in front of most real estate offices on the Southside trying to explain the $8,000 tax credit to new buyers. The Southside Housing Alliance, which we are a part of, has banned together to promote this credit to get buyers moving and to help stimulate the housing market. Regardless of who you use to buy a home please support one of the real estate offices that are spending their money to help the economy.

Good News- Citibank reported a profit today and the stock market rallied!

I just read some good news for once instead of all of the doom and gloom. Reuters released the results of a survey of 47 professional forecasters, predicting that the economy will still begin to recover the 2nd half of this year.

The new stimulus package for anyone who has not owned a home in the last 3 years read like this:

If you buy your home in 2009 you can take your first-time home buyer credit on either your 2008 or 2009 tax return.  If  you purchaase your principal residence on or after Jan. 1, 2009 and before Dec. 1, 2009 you can take the tax credit of up to $8,000 on either your 2008 return or next year on your 2009 tax return. The credit is equal to 10 percent of the home purchase price, up to the $8,000 limit.

If you buy your home before April 15, 2009, you can claim the $8,000 credit on your 2008 return, due by April 15. If you buy your home after April 15, 2009 but before Oct. 15, 2009, you can file an extension and just wait until the October tax deadline to file your 2008 tax return to claim the credit.

If you have already filed your taxes this year and want to claim the tax credit, you can file an amended return or just wait and claim the credit on your 2009 tax return.

Keep in mind that the 8,000 tax credit is income restricted.

With the economy up and down we sometimes tend to focus too much on what we are surrounded by and exposed to everyday.  Why wouldn't we when the media won't focus on anything else. I have told myself and my team that we are not going to listen to the media. We have changed how we advertise and do business and it was a long time coming. We are counting our blessings and focusing on what we have in our lives to be thankful for.  Most of us are focused on the daily grind and influenced significantly by the world around us.  Being thankful is one step towards having a more positive life.  Being thankful is a good habit to begin!

I am starting to see our market change a little. I am on a listing spree right now. I have listed 11 homes in the first 16 days of February and have been on more appointments than that. The market is still 500 homes less than it was last year at this time. Now is the time to get on the market before the spring rush...the buyers that are looking right now are real buyers and not shoppers.

I am waiting to see what Congress has decided to put in the Stimulus Package concerning the housing market. The two proposals the keep coming up are $15,000 to anyone buying a home and/or 3.9% interest rate. The are going to announce today what the proposal involves!