Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Positive Real Estate Trends...
A worthwhile read for those invested in Real Estate and those thinking about jumping in!
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Home%20prices%20rise%20in%2011%20of%2020%20metro%20areas%2C%20including%20Seattle
Thursday, August 27, 2009
new listing in Maple Valley
Check out this great 1 Story home in the Maple Valley area. Call me if you want more information, but I did make this site dedicated to the house. You can also find more information about it, and other homes in the area at Matt Harber's website, http://www.prodigyteam.com/. If not, here it is, live and in color. 21215 SE 271st Place, Maple Valley WA 98038.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
great article on the market
This was posted on our MLS. Thought I would share it on the blog...
If there is any more information I can provide, please go to Matt Harber's website, shoot me an email at mattharber@kw.com or give me a call at 253-441-2262.
Echo boomers, the 75 million American born between 1979 and 1995, are a "powerful, powerful underpinning of future demand" for housing, according to Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies.
Echo boomers are expected to help keep demand strong for the next 10 years and beyond, bolstering the markets for rentals and starter homes.
Eric Belsky, executive director of the Joint Center, expects the number of echo boomers aged 25-44 will eclipse the number of baby boomers when they were those same ages by more than 5.9 million. "These impending population shifts have important implications for housing demand over the next decade," wrote the authors of "The State of the Nation's Housing 2009."
As members of the echo-boom generation enter the prime household formation and home buying ages, they will reverse declines in the 25-44 age group created by the much smaller baby-bust generation. The number of households in this age group is projected to increase by between 2.0 million and 3.4 million, resulting in a surge in demand for rentals and starter homes.
Meanwhile, baby boomers will add dramatically to the number of households over age 65, in part due to longer life spans and sheer numbers relative to the preceding generation. This is expected to lift demand for retirement and assisted living communities as well as services and home improvements that help seniors age in place. "How this demand is expressed will depend importantly on how much, and how quickly, these households can rebuild their recently decimated wealth," according to the Joint Center's report.
Household growth among Hispanics and Asians is also expected to accelerate as the more diverse echo-boom generation reaches adulthood and as immigration continues. In fact, minorities are expected to fuel 73 percent of household growth in 2010-20, with Hispanics leading the way at 36 percent. Noting this group's lower average incomes and wealth, the authors caution the increase in minority households could add significantly to the nation's already widespread housing affordability challenges.
Despite the demographic changes, the echo-boom generation now reaching adulthood will start off on a lower trajectory than the baby-bust generation due to the scarcity of entry-level jobs they face. "In addition, with the tight grip on credit, even sharply lower home prices may not be enough to help the echo boomers match the headship and homeownership rates of their predecessors by the time they reach their 30s and 40s" the report's authors noted.
"The best that can be said of the market is that house price corrections and steep cuts in housing production are creating the conditions that will lead to an eventual recovery," Belsky said. "For now, markets remain under considerable stress."
Nevertheless, the authors added, "Once new home sales rebound and the economy begins to pick up, the aging of the echo boomers should reinvigorate the housing market," according to the researchers.
If there is any more information I can provide, please go to Matt Harber's website, shoot me an email at mattharber@kw.com or give me a call at 253-441-2262.
Echo boomers, the 75 million American born between 1979 and 1995, are a "powerful, powerful underpinning of future demand" for housing, according to Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies.
Echo boomers are expected to help keep demand strong for the next 10 years and beyond, bolstering the markets for rentals and starter homes.
Eric Belsky, executive director of the Joint Center, expects the number of echo boomers aged 25-44 will eclipse the number of baby boomers when they were those same ages by more than 5.9 million. "These impending population shifts have important implications for housing demand over the next decade," wrote the authors of "The State of the Nation's Housing 2009."
As members of the echo-boom generation enter the prime household formation and home buying ages, they will reverse declines in the 25-44 age group created by the much smaller baby-bust generation. The number of households in this age group is projected to increase by between 2.0 million and 3.4 million, resulting in a surge in demand for rentals and starter homes.
Meanwhile, baby boomers will add dramatically to the number of households over age 65, in part due to longer life spans and sheer numbers relative to the preceding generation. This is expected to lift demand for retirement and assisted living communities as well as services and home improvements that help seniors age in place. "How this demand is expressed will depend importantly on how much, and how quickly, these households can rebuild their recently decimated wealth," according to the Joint Center's report.
Household growth among Hispanics and Asians is also expected to accelerate as the more diverse echo-boom generation reaches adulthood and as immigration continues. In fact, minorities are expected to fuel 73 percent of household growth in 2010-20, with Hispanics leading the way at 36 percent. Noting this group's lower average incomes and wealth, the authors caution the increase in minority households could add significantly to the nation's already widespread housing affordability challenges.
Despite the demographic changes, the echo-boom generation now reaching adulthood will start off on a lower trajectory than the baby-bust generation due to the scarcity of entry-level jobs they face. "In addition, with the tight grip on credit, even sharply lower home prices may not be enough to help the echo boomers match the headship and homeownership rates of their predecessors by the time they reach their 30s and 40s" the report's authors noted.
"The best that can be said of the market is that house price corrections and steep cuts in housing production are creating the conditions that will lead to an eventual recovery," Belsky said. "For now, markets remain under considerable stress."
Nevertheless, the authors added, "Once new home sales rebound and the economy begins to pick up, the aging of the echo boomers should reinvigorate the housing market," according to the researchers.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
2102 North Ferdinand, Tacoma Washington
Just took a great new listing in the North end of Tacoma. The seller has cleaned it up, its a charmer and move in ready. Currently they are putting some finishing touches on it and within the next couple of days there will be lots of pictures. You can find out more information or schedule a viewing of this property by going to www.prodigyteam.com or by calling Matt Harber at 253-229-1329.
Here is one other link worth looking at:
http://www.2102ferdinandst.willsellquick.com
Have a good day all...and if you know anyone that needs to sell, or is looking to buy their first home, or an investment property in Washington State, I will always have time to help.
Here is one other link worth looking at:
http://www.2102ferdinandst.willsellquick.com
Have a good day all...and if you know anyone that needs to sell, or is looking to buy their first home, or an investment property in Washington State, I will always have time to help.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Turning the corner in Real Estate???
Matt Harber with Keller Williams at www.prodigyteam.com passing on some information from a friend. Its a great read, encouraging for sellers and motivating for you buyers!
Real Estate Outlook: Case-Shiller Reports Reversing
by Kenneth R. Harney
When the Case-Shiller index reports that home prices have reversed course and are finally rising again, and you know that Case-Shiller has been the gloomiest, scariest-headline-producing monitor of the real estate market for the past three years -- some say: We have truly turned the corner here.
Not only are home sales up, new housing starts up, new permits up, but now the last of the doomsayers say that home prices are moving up. For the month of June, in fact, the Standard&Poor's Case-Shiller index found prices up in 14 of the 20 major markets it covers -- and up nationally by one half of one percent.
That's the first monthly gain in the heavily publicized Case-Shiller index in three years!
Other indexes that get less attention on the evening news began trending more positive a few months earlier, such as the federal government's "FHFA" index.
But the Case-Shiller news, late though it was, should send a loud message to consumers: We're past the low point of the cycle on prices: If you were waiting to buy at the bottom, well - we've passed that point.
So don't sit on the sidelines if you're serious about buying a house this year.
Case-Shiller found prices in Cleveland up 4 percent for the month, Dallas up by close to 2 percent, San Francisco, Washington DC and Chicago up by a percent or more. But the bottoming out on prices is hardly the only sign of the housing recovery underway:
* New home building is beginning again even in the hardest-hit markets. In California, June bullding permits soared by 17 percent over May. In the high-cost San Francisco area they were up by 20 percent.
* In Florida, sales of existing homes jumped by 28 percent, according to the Florida Association of Realtors. Condo sales were up by an average 37 percent for the month. And despite the foreclosures still weighing down Florida transactions, average prices in June managed to rise by two and a half percent!!
* The share of distressed homes as a percentage of total sales is also on the decline -- thirty one percent of sales in June versus 45 to 50 percent earlier this year, according to the National Association of Realtors.
* Meanwhile, the mortgage market continues to help sellers and buyers on the affordability front: According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, new applications for loans to buy homes remained steady last week. Thirty year fixed interest rates averaged 5.4 percent, while fifteen year loans went for an average 4.8 percent.
If I can help any of my readers...with more information about the market, about your neighborhood, about your house, or how you can start the process of owning your own home, please, visit Matt Harber's web page at www.prodigyteam.com.
Real Estate Outlook: Case-Shiller Reports Reversing
by Kenneth R. Harney
When the Case-Shiller index reports that home prices have reversed course and are finally rising again, and you know that Case-Shiller has been the gloomiest, scariest-headline-producing monitor of the real estate market for the past three years -- some say: We have truly turned the corner here.
Not only are home sales up, new housing starts up, new permits up, but now the last of the doomsayers say that home prices are moving up. For the month of June, in fact, the Standard&Poor's Case-Shiller index found prices up in 14 of the 20 major markets it covers -- and up nationally by one half of one percent.
That's the first monthly gain in the heavily publicized Case-Shiller index in three years!
Other indexes that get less attention on the evening news began trending more positive a few months earlier, such as the federal government's "FHFA" index.
But the Case-Shiller news, late though it was, should send a loud message to consumers: We're past the low point of the cycle on prices: If you were waiting to buy at the bottom, well - we've passed that point.
So don't sit on the sidelines if you're serious about buying a house this year.
Case-Shiller found prices in Cleveland up 4 percent for the month, Dallas up by close to 2 percent, San Francisco, Washington DC and Chicago up by a percent or more. But the bottoming out on prices is hardly the only sign of the housing recovery underway:
* New home building is beginning again even in the hardest-hit markets. In California, June bullding permits soared by 17 percent over May. In the high-cost San Francisco area they were up by 20 percent.
* In Florida, sales of existing homes jumped by 28 percent, according to the Florida Association of Realtors. Condo sales were up by an average 37 percent for the month. And despite the foreclosures still weighing down Florida transactions, average prices in June managed to rise by two and a half percent!!
* The share of distressed homes as a percentage of total sales is also on the decline -- thirty one percent of sales in June versus 45 to 50 percent earlier this year, according to the National Association of Realtors.
* Meanwhile, the mortgage market continues to help sellers and buyers on the affordability front: According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, new applications for loans to buy homes remained steady last week. Thirty year fixed interest rates averaged 5.4 percent, while fifteen year loans went for an average 4.8 percent.
If I can help any of my readers...with more information about the market, about your neighborhood, about your house, or how you can start the process of owning your own home, please, visit Matt Harber's web page at www.prodigyteam.com.
Friday, July 31, 2009
www.prodigyteam.com
Matt Harber here with Keller Williams and http://www.prodigyteam.com/. Its been a while since I last posted, so I thought I would return and make a few comments. First, I want to point out that if you go to my website, http://www.prodigyteam.com/, I just added a new feature that will provide you with free market analysis. It is called, fittingly enough "market snapshot" and is provided by me, to you, for free. Check it out. You can find out information about your neighborhood, or a neighborhood you are interested in even. I'd love to hear any feedback about it.
It has come to my attention numerous times today by different people about the expose' run by the Today show on NBC. Basically, that if you want to buy a house, wait 3-6 months as there is going to be a surplus of homes that come on the market and housing prices are really going to get hammered. Let me say, that I agree, there probably is going to be a surplus of houses coming on the market as banks have been forced to not foreclose on a large amount of homes and now the time has come to do just that. I understand the news needing to report the news...but I have a serious problem with what to me looks more like sensationalism than anything else.
First off, we all know that the media is a major influencing factor in the reaction of the consumer. It seems like we just started turning the corner in the market (as far as sales go) and even in the economy. The stock market has started to recover and it seems, to me, that people are out and about a lot more right now, spending money. News like this causes widespread panic in the consumer.
Second, the majority of these foreclosures are going to occur in certain areas of the country, not the whole. Places like California, Florida, Nevada and Arizona have always been the most serious offenders, contributing to 1/3 of the nations foreclosures between the 4 of them alone. But when panic occurs in a consumer, because of the media sensationalizing things like the Today show did, housing prices everywhere are going to suffer. The direct effect of this is a continuation of the downward trend. By presenting it as a National problem, they perpetuate the problem into more of a reality than it ever might have become. Washington State is a prime example. We have been fortunate enough to have not been as hard hit by the foreclosure and catastrophic value loss as California or Arizona. Our sales have been up, and in some areas, values have actually gained stable footing. What does news like this do to the consumer? It scares them away!
Third...is there a third? I don't know, but all I can say as a person concerned with the economy, my own home values, and the real estate market, is that the only way we are going to come out of this, is if people stop listening to the dooms day, negative, down in the mouth drivel that comes from the media right now. There are incredible deals right now, and while the grass is always greener on the other side, if you wait too long, you'll be on the outside looking in.
All for now.
If there is anything Matt Harber, or the Prodigy Team can help you with, whether its buying, selling or investing, call, email or visit http://www.prodigyteam.com/ and we can help.
It has come to my attention numerous times today by different people about the expose' run by the Today show on NBC. Basically, that if you want to buy a house, wait 3-6 months as there is going to be a surplus of homes that come on the market and housing prices are really going to get hammered. Let me say, that I agree, there probably is going to be a surplus of houses coming on the market as banks have been forced to not foreclose on a large amount of homes and now the time has come to do just that. I understand the news needing to report the news...but I have a serious problem with what to me looks more like sensationalism than anything else.
First off, we all know that the media is a major influencing factor in the reaction of the consumer. It seems like we just started turning the corner in the market (as far as sales go) and even in the economy. The stock market has started to recover and it seems, to me, that people are out and about a lot more right now, spending money. News like this causes widespread panic in the consumer.
Second, the majority of these foreclosures are going to occur in certain areas of the country, not the whole. Places like California, Florida, Nevada and Arizona have always been the most serious offenders, contributing to 1/3 of the nations foreclosures between the 4 of them alone. But when panic occurs in a consumer, because of the media sensationalizing things like the Today show did, housing prices everywhere are going to suffer. The direct effect of this is a continuation of the downward trend. By presenting it as a National problem, they perpetuate the problem into more of a reality than it ever might have become. Washington State is a prime example. We have been fortunate enough to have not been as hard hit by the foreclosure and catastrophic value loss as California or Arizona. Our sales have been up, and in some areas, values have actually gained stable footing. What does news like this do to the consumer? It scares them away!
Third...is there a third? I don't know, but all I can say as a person concerned with the economy, my own home values, and the real estate market, is that the only way we are going to come out of this, is if people stop listening to the dooms day, negative, down in the mouth drivel that comes from the media right now. There are incredible deals right now, and while the grass is always greener on the other side, if you wait too long, you'll be on the outside looking in.
All for now.
If there is anything Matt Harber, or the Prodigy Team can help you with, whether its buying, selling or investing, call, email or visit http://www.prodigyteam.com/ and we can help.
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