Jenn Klarman, SRES®, Realtor®, Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc.

Offering you an enjoyable and stress-free real estate experience from beginning to end and beyond! Call me today, 240-832-2486!

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Welcome! I realize your time is valuable; so, my intention is to provide useful information. I keep my site current; so, please feel free to visit often! If you see an area you feel could use some improvement (or you particulary like), I'd love to hear from you! Here's to a great day! Cheers! Jenn, 240-832-2486 or jklarman@lnf.com

 

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JUNE 30, 2009
  

Real Estate Outlook: When Signals Are Mixed 

By Kenneth R. Harney

 

The key to understanding what's happening for housing and real estate right now is to remember this: In a recovery that's just getting going, don't expect all the economic arrows to point the same way at any given moment.

 

The latest numbers on housing sales, prices, mortgage rates and foreclosures are great examples of that point:

 

Sales of existing houses came in on the upside for May, with a 2.4 percent increase nationally over the month earlier.

 

That's the first consecutive monthly gain in resales in the U.S. since way back in September of 2005.

 

But then again -- last month also saw sales of newly-constructed houses fall by six tenths of a percent, as low-priced foreclosures swamped the market and pulled buyers away from builders' showrooms and subdivisions.

 

Meanwhile, prices in both the resale and the new construction segments continued to head downwards. According to the National Association of Realtors, the median home sale price in May was $173,000, 16 percent below what it was a year earlier.

 

The number one reason for the drop, according to Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, was the heavy presence of foreclosures carrying rock-bottom prices in many markets.

 

Nationally, one of every three homes that went to closing in May was a "distressed" situation -- foreclosure or short sale. In some hard-hit areas, the percentage was much higher -- well over half.

 

Prices won't really stabilize until foreclosures fall to a much lower proportion of total transactions.

 

Now, on the other hand, there were scattered reports of resale prices beginning to get a foothold. For example, in the Tampa Bay metropolitan market on Florida's west coast, median prices jumped by four percent. They were also up slightly in Orlando.

 

On the sales side, Florida markets were red hot, with record increases in closed transactions. Florida as a whole saw a 16 percent statewide gain in May. But Broward County sales were up a phenomenal 47 percent and Orlando condo sales were off the charts for the month -- up 206 percent!

 

Looking ahead, mortgage rates appear to have at least temporarily reversed their recent increases. According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, the average 30-year fixed rate loan went for 5.4 percent last week -- that's down from 5. 5 percent the week before and close to 6 percent just a few weeks ago, based on quotes from major lenders.

 

Thanks to slightly lower rates, homebuyers continue to pour into the mortgage market. Applications for home purchase loans were up by 7.3 percent last week, pointing to continuing strength in sales during the coming several months.

 

> MORE INFO: Realty Times


When is a Real Estate Agent a REALTOR®?
 
A real estate agent is a REALTOR® when he or she becomes a member of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®, The Voice for Real Estate®, the world's largest professional association. The term "REALTOR®" is a registered collective membership mark that identifies a real estate professional who is a member of the National Association of Realtors and abides by its strict Code of Ethics.


Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc.
Annapolis Sales
102 Old Solomons Island Road
Annapolis, MD 21401
410-266-5505 office
410-224-0875 office fax
 410-867-1101 alternate fax


Jenn Klarman, SRES, REALTOR

240-832-2486 cell