Should I wait until spring to buy or sell a home?

Posted by on Dec 20, 2010 in Blog, First Time Home Buyers, Market Updates, Sellers | 0 comments That’s the question I get asked when I approach people about buying or selling in the middle of winter in New England.  Everyone wants to wait for the “spring market”….but is that the right thing to do?  I suggest you don’t wait until spring.  Here’s why.  If you’re a seller, in the spring, you’ll have lots of competition.  Right now, the...
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Could we end up with a housing shortage?

Posted by on Aug 4, 2010 in Blog, Market Updates | 0 comments I just read this article at SmartMoney.com about the possibility of a housing shortage in the future.  This is not something you’d think could happen; particularly when so many people are having trouble selling their homes.   When you step back and think about it, it does make sense.  Right now only about 600,000 new homes are being built each year, but we need about 1.3mil to 1.4mil...
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Pending Home Sales Data Shows Great Deals On Homes Are Getting Harder To Find

Posted by on Jun 3, 2010 in Blog, Buyers, First Time Home Buyers, Home Values, Market Updates, The Economy | 0 comments The Pending Home Sales Index shot higher in April as low mortgage rates and a soon-to-expire federal tax credit spurred home buying across the county. A “pending home sale” is a home that’s under contract to sell but not yet closed. Region-by-region, April’s pending home sales varied versus March’s data: Northeast Region: +29.5% Midwest Region : +4.1% South Region...
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Home Price Index Rises 0.3% in March 2010

Posted by on May 26, 2010 in Blog, Home Values, Market Updates | 0 comments Home values rose in March, according to the Federal Home Finance Agency’s most recent Home Price Index. Values were reported higher by 0.3 percent, on average, from February. We use the phrase “on average” because the Home Price Index is broad-reaching, national housing statistic. It ignores the dynamics of neighborhood real estate markets as well as citywide markets ,...
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Foreclosure Activity Slows For The First Time In Several Years

Posted by on May 13, 2010 in Blog, Buyers, First Time Home Buyers, Home Values, Market Updates, The Economy | 0 comments The national foreclosure rate is finally falling. According to foreclosure-tracking firm RealtyTrac.com, the number of foreclosure notices dropped 2 percent between April 2009 and April 2010. 2 percent may not seem like much, but it’s the first time in the history of the RealtyTrac report that the annual foreclosure rate has dropped. To be sure, foreclosure rates remain elevated —...
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Markets Ignore The April Jobs Report And It’s Good News For Mortgage Rates

Posted by on May 7, 2010 in Blog, Buyers, First Time Home Buyers, Home Values, Market Updates, Mortgage Rates, The Economy | 0 comments On the first Friday of every month, the U.S. government releases its Non-Farm Payrolls report.  More commonly called “the jobs report”, Non-Farm Payrolls is a major market mover. The number of working Americans is directly tied to the health of the economy which, in turn, drives the stock and bond markets. In general, when jobs numbers improve, it’s good for stocks and bad for...
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