Buyers have the advantage in this shifting market By Rick Hazeltine Buyers are finally being able to take advantage of cooling trends in previously hot markets. Multiple offers are no longer being thrown at sellers as soon as the For Sale sign hits the front yard. Competition has dwindled in many areas as investors disappear and buyers take to the sidelines. Unless a buyer thinks his local market is headed for a big downturn, this could be the pause that allows him to get into the market with a few perks unheard of in recent years as a bonus. So how do you know what shape your market is in? Economists believe that real estate is closely tied to employment, so if you’re in an area of growing employment, don’t expect to see double-digit depreciation anytime soon. In areas such as the Midwest, where auto manufacturing is king, prices have fallen sharply and will likely continue until the industry rebounds. Here are 10 things buyers need to know to negotiate the best deal in a market shifting to their favor: 1. Human nature is the biggest problem for sellers and buyers to overcome in a changing market. Prices stagnate or drop a few percentage points and it’s amazing how different buyers and sellers react. Sellers still think their house is “special” and immune to the market. Buyers figure every seller is about to be foreclosed on and make ridiculous low-ball offers. Smart buyers do their homework, know what size home they need, how much they can afford and then search the market for what they want and negotiate fairly. 2. When you make an offer, know the recent comparable sales; it’s the best bargaining tool. “See what’s going on out there,’’ says Beverly Durham of ReMax Gold Coast Realty in Camarillo, Calif., where entry-level single-family homes begin at $500,000. “Make an offer $10,000 to $15,000 under what the last one sold. Even in this market, if you insult your seller, they won’t want to deal with you. Sellers know what the last one sold for. You want them to at least look at your offer.” 3. Find out as much as you can about the seller’s motivation — retirement, job, divorce, wants to move up but only if he gets the right price. Durham says if a buyer knows the seller’s motivation they can negotiate a better deal or move on to the next property. 4. Multiple Listing Service (MLS) properties usually state what the seller owes. If not, your agent should be able to track down the figures. There’s a big difference in negotiating with an owner who owes more than the house is worth and one who has a lot of built-up equity. 5. “After 45 to 60 days the seller is usually absolutely sick of keeping their house spotless and sick of people walking through,’’ said Durham. This is when a seller may be the most anxious about selling their house as traffic to their house has likely fallen sharply. 6. Unless you’re incredibly handy and have time and cash, go after houses that are as updated as you can afford. This is easier to do in a stagnant or falling market and fixers aren’t usually discounted enough to be worthwhile. 7. In a tighter market, it’s not too much to ask the seller to add the closing costs to the price of the house. It’s better to put 20 percent down and add the closing costs to the loan than put 15 percent down and pay the costs upfront. 8. Items to ask for that shouldn’t offend sellers are paying for new kitchen appliances or washer and dryer. Most sellers will be willing to do so to close the deal. Durham also says it’s OK to ask sellers to pay up to the first year of homeowner association dues. 9. Don’t request anything that requires quality workmanship. “Don’t ask them to paint,’’ Durham said. “They won’t do it the way you want. They’ll do a lousy job.’’ Also, don’t get carried away and ask for the entire store. Be reasonable. 10. Make sure to look at the big picture. In changing markets you should be planning to stay for at least five years, so don’t get caught up in a $2,000 price difference. Remember, the goal is to get the house you want to live in for some time, not to impress friends with how you worked the previous owner. Copyright © by Move, Inc. Get the Realtor.com Real Estate Search App for iPhone and for Android.
Tariffville Real Estate & Tariffville CT Homes For Sale
Tariffville Connecticut Real Estate & Tariffville CT Homes For Sale. Santa Realty is your top realtor in Tariffville, serving all of your real estate needs. Tariffville is a neighborhood and census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Simsbury in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 1,324 at the 2010 census.[1] It is a popular location for whitewater paddlers who use the Farmington River. Part of the original mill village area is included in the Tariffville Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The historic district excludes newer development around West Point Terrace and Hayes Road, as well as properties along White Water Turn, Wooster Road, and Main Street Extension. The historic district is architecturally significant for preserving some evidence of early nineteenth century mill village characteristics (in retaining some old mill housing and street layout) and for also preserving later 19th century Greek Revival and Gothic Revival structures.[2] In 1825 (or 1827),[3] the Tariff Manufacturing Company built a carpet mill along the Farmington River, giving its name to the area.[4][5] The company name came from the Tariff Act of 1824 which included protective tariffs for a number of products, including wool and cotton textiles. The area did not have sufficient housing for the workers, so the company built housing, some of which survives today.[6] The carpet business survived for a few decades, but by 1867, the primary industry in the area was sorting and packing of tobacco. The tobacco business would continue as the chief industry through the 1930s.[3] The first steel manufacturing plant in the country was established in Tariffville at a site on the Farmington River in 1727.[7] To meet with Santa Realty, the #1 realtor and top real estate company in Tariffville, pick up the phone and call Rick or Kristina today!
Realtor Granby CT – Housing Affordability Index to Set Annual Record for 2012 – Broker Granby CT
Washington, DC, January 9, 2013 With 11 months of data reported, 2012 will clearly go down as a record year for favorable housing affordability conditions, and a great year for buyers who could get a mortgage, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. NAR’s national Housing Affordability Index stood at 198.2 in November, based on the relationship between median home price, median family income and average mortgage interest rate. The higher the index, the greater the household purchasing power; recordkeeping began in 1970. An index of 100 is defined as the point where a median-income household has exactly enough income to qualify for the purchase of a median-priced existing single-family home, assuming a 20 percent downpayment and 25 percent of gross income devoted to mortgage principal and interest payments. For first-time buyers making small down payments, the affordability levels are relatively lower. For all of 2012, NAR projects the housing affordability index to be a record high 194, up from 186 in 2011, which was the previous record. November’s reading was 2.5 index points below October, but up 1.5 index points from a year earlier. Lawrence Yun , NAR chief economist, said home buyers are able to stay well within their means. “Although 2012 was highest on record, the excessively tight underwriting precluded many would-be homebuyers from locking-in generational low interest rates,” he said. “Rising home prices and a gradual uptrend in mortgage interest rates will offset improvements in family income, but 2013 likely will be the third best on record in terms of household buying power. A window of opportunity remains open for buyers who can qualify for a mortgage.” NAR projects the housing affordability index to average 160 during 2013, which means on a national basis that a median-income family would have 160 percent of the income needed to purchase a median-priced existing single-family home. Conditions vary widely, with the highest buying power in the Midwest. Even in the West, where the regional index is lower, they typical family is well positioned in most markets. NAR President Gary Thomas, broker-owner of Evergreen Realty in Villa Park, Calif., said the minor erosion in affordability conditions moving forward could be mitigated by bank and regulatory policies. “Clearer rules from the government regarding future lawsuits and buybacks of Fannie and Freddie loans could encourage banks to use their massive cash holdings to originate more loans,” he said. “A more sensible lending environment that makes it easier for other financially qualified buyers to get a mortgage would allow many more households to enter the market, boosting home sales as much as 10 to 15 percent,” Thomas said. The National Association of Realtors®, “The Voice for Real Estate,” is America’s largest trade association, representing 1.1 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.
Windsor Connecticut Real Estate & Windsor CT Homes For Sale
Windsor Connecticut Real Estate & Windsor CT Homes For Sale. Santa Realty is your top realtor in Windsor, serving all of your real estate needs. Windsor is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, and was the first English settlement in the state. It lies on the northern border of Connecticut’s capital, Hartford. The population of Windsor was 29,044 at the 2010 census.[2] Poquonock is a northern area of Windsor that has its own zip code (06064) for post-office box purposes.[3] Other areas in Windsor, which are not incorporated, include Rainbow and Hayden Station in the north, and Wilson and Deerfield in the south. The Day Hill Road area is known as Windsor’s Corporate Area, although other centers of business include New England Tradeport, Kennedy Industry Park and Kennedy Business Park, all near Bradley International Airport and the Addison Road Industrial Park. To meet with Santa Realty, the #1 realtor in Windsor, pick up the phone and call Rick or Kristina today!
Bloomfield Connecticut Real Estate & Bloomfield CT Homes For Sale
Bloomfield Connecticut Real Estate & Bloomfield CT Homes For Sale Santa Realty is your top realtor in Bloomfield, serving all of your real estate needs. Bloomfield is a picturesque Connecticut village, graced with rural beauty, abundant land, quality schools,dynamic commercial building projects, and a highly educated work force. Homeowners value Bloomfield as a quiet, friendly haven from the big cities. Bloomfield also offers an unmatched opportunity for businesses seeking a strategic location in New England, with the largest tract of undeveloped industrial land in the Capitol Region, making Bloomfield the perfect place to build a dream home or an international headquarters. Santa Realty is also local to Bloomfield and is a great Bloomfield Real Estate company. Originally part of Windsor, the town of Bloomfield is rooted in a 1640 settlement known as Messenger Farms, located at the eastern end of what is now Park Avenue. By the time it was formally incorporated in 1835, the settlement had grown to over 900 residents. Traditionally an agricultural community, Bloomfield began to diversify its economic base following its incorporation. Tobacco was added to the agricultural list , as were numerous cider mills and a brandy distillery. The Prosser Inn on Simsbury Road housed headquarters of the Hartford to Wesfield stage line; and the Hartford to Tariffville stage line passed through the Town Center. Within thirty years of its incorporation, Bloomfield’s new rail service included eight trains traveling roundtrip to Harford daily, and was serviced by four stations in town. In 1891, The Hartford Electric Light Company brought Bloomfield into the 20th centrury, and by 1920 the town’s population had grown to over 2,000. Bloomfield is located in Central Connecticut, just 10 minutes west of the state capitol, Hartford. It is easily accessible to Bradley International Airport and interstates 84 and 91. The Town encompasses 26.4 square miles and has a population of 20,000 residents. To meet with Santa Realty, the #1 realtor in Bloomfield, pick up the phone and call Rick or Kristina today! Contact Santa Realty today for all of your East Granby real estate needs.
East Granby Connecticut Real Estate & East Granby CT Homes For Sale
East Granby Connecticut Real Estate & East Granby CT Homes For Sale Santa Realty is your top realtor in East Granby, serving all of your real estate needs. East Granby is in the Farmington valley, with the Farmington River passing along the southern border of the town. The Metacomet Ridge, a mountainous trap rock ridgeline that stretches from Long Island Sound to nearly the Vermont border, runs through the center of the town, cutting off Salisbury Plain to the east, which used to lie under the ancient, glacial Lake Hitchcock. High points on the Metacomet Ridge in East Granby include Hatchet Hill and Peak Mountain; the latter offers a bird’s eye view of the historic Old Newgate Prison. The 51-mile (82 km) Metacomet Trail traverses the ridge. To meet with Santa Realty, the #1 realtor in EastGranby, pick up the phone and call Rick or Kristina today! Contact Santa Realty today for all of your East Granby real estate needs.
A sign the housing recovery just might stick
Mortgage applications were higher again in January. If individual buyers dominate home sales as opposed to investors, we might see a more sustainable housing recovery. FORTUNE — Investors armed with cash have largely driven the recovery of the U.S. housing market to date, but a few signs suggest that trend may be easing up. For the past five months, applications for new mortgages have risen, suggesting that regular buyers may be starting to play a bigger role in the housing recovery. A shift would be significant. The worry has been that once home prices rise to a point where it’s not as worthwhile for investors to buy, prices could eventually drop off. But if individual buyers dominate home sales, we might see a more sustainable recovery under way. In January, mortgage applications rose by 1.8% from the previous month – the highest level in 18 months. And during the last week of January, applications rose to the highest level since mid-2010. To be sure, cash sales by investors haven’t let up. Colony Capital, Blackstone (BX), Waypoint Real Estate Group LLC and other firms have scoured the country from Phoenix to Atlanta for bargains. They’ve snapped up homes on the cheap, with plans to rent them out and eventually flip them for a profit when the market is right. MORE: Bank deposits soared in fourth quarter Roughly 20% of all existing homes are sold with cash, says Stephen Melman with the National Association of Homebuilders. That share has stayed steady for the past year. For there to be a shift in the market where individual buyers drive the recovery, cash transactions would likely have to drop to 10%. As interest rates stay ultra low, there have been many more borrowers refinancing their homes rather than taking out new mortgages. In 2012, it’s estimated that refinances made up 71% of all mortgage originations. However, experts expect home loans to rise as refinances decline: New mortgages are expected to increase from an estimated $503 billion in 2012 to $592 billion in 2013 and $703 billion in 2014, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Individual buyers will likely play a bigger role in the housing recovery, but the pace may feel like it’s happening in slow motion. At least it’s happening.
Existing-home sales reach five-year high
Existing-home sales reach five-year high Decent news today for a housing recovery in the United States: Existing home sales for 2012 have reached the highest level in five years, the National Association of Realtors says. The housing market has continued to pick up steam throughout the recovery, as record-low mortgage rates spur demand for homes.
Real Estate Company Suffield CT – Suffield Connecticut Real Estate & Suffield CT Homes For Sale – Real Estate Brokerage Suffield CT
Suffield Connecticut Real Estate & Suffield CT Homes For Sale Santa Realty is your top realtor in Suffield, serving all of your real estate needs. Located on the Connecticut River between Hartford, Connecticut, and Springfield, Massachusetts, Suffield is proud of its heritage and its steady growth, a product of careful planning. Beginning as a farming community in 1670, Suffield maintains a delicate balance between its colonial roots and today’s modern life-style. A lively community with a 2000 population of 13,555, Suffield is a gracious town with a rural flavor in a suburban setting. The town center boasts a small shopping complex and an excellent library. Recent expansion of public buildings includes a police station and school additions and renovations. Bradley International Airport on the southern boundary attracts business, while quick access to I-91 makes commuting up and down the Connecticut River valley from Vermont and New Hampshire to Long Island Sound an easy trip. This town is rich in contrasts – sweeping fields, forested hills, a picturesque Main Street, farms, shopping areas, and the Congamond Lakes. There are over 43 square miles of countryside. Some agricultural lands have given way to housing developments, though far-sighted citizens helped purchase property on West Suffield Mountain, where Sunrise Park offers a lake, hiking trails, picnic and recreation areas to town residents. Other lands are being preserved through the Suffield Land Conservancy, the Nature Conservancy, and the Farmland Preservation Act. To meet with Santa Realty, the #1 realtor in Suffield, pick up the phone and call Rick or Kristina today!
Realtor West Hartford CT – West Hartford Connecticut Real Estate – West Hartford CT Realtor
West Hartford Connecticut Real Estate & West Hartford CT Homes For Sale Santa Realty is your top realtor in West Hartford, serving all of your real estate needs. The Town of West Hartford prides itself on its overall attractiveness, customer service, citizen involvement, public safety and education, all characteristics that make our town a desirable place to live. West Hartford has become a destination for businesses and families because it is a full-service community in every sense, from its quality municipal services to its top-rated schools. To meet with Santa Realty, the #1 realtor in West Hartford, pick up the phone and call Rick or Kristina today! Contact Santa Realty today for all of your West Hartford real estate needs.