Register Real Estate Advisors

Houston Association of Realtors just announced that Mortgage rates hit another low. Follow this link below to the article and when your ready to buy call me.

See the original article HERE.

Mortgage rates hit new historic lows last week, as the average 30-year fixed rate fell to 3.87 percent, according to Freddie Mac Mortgage Market Survey released Thursday.

The 30-year dropped after nudging up a bit the previous week to 3.98 percent, but overall the rate has remained below 4 percent for a couple months. Other rates hit new lows, including the 15-year, which fell to an average 3.14 percent, down 0.8 percentage points.

Compared to the same period a year ago, average 30-year fixed rate was 4.81 percent and the 15-year was 4.08 percent.

I love the opening sentence in today’s article on Investor’s Business Daily, Real Estate A Buy or Bust This Spring Selling Season:

Predicting the housing market’s fortunes in 2012 on the eve of the spring selling season is like guessing which direction an amoeba in a petri dish will move.

How often am I asked, “Judy how’s the Real Estate Market?”  We are trained and scripts are written to give a ready made answer.  But really … how can anyone honestly answer this question?  I want to roll my eyes, shrug my shoulders and answer, how the heck am I suppose to know!  Instead, let me share what I learned at the Houston Association of Realtors, Montgomery County breakfast last week.

From the Economic Development Partnership here are the statistics for South Montgomery County Population Growth:  in all of Montgomery County the estimated population for 2010 was 458,171 and the projected number for the year 2015 is 552,203!  Now if that isn’t enough to get this Realtor® excited about the Real Estate Market in my area then I don’t know what would get me excited! Could excitement come from  Anadarko-plans-new-tower-to-accommodate-growth- ?  Anadarko’s additional tower is expected to be completed by 2014!  So that gives anticipated excitement to the Real Estate Market!
There were other companies named who are in the process of relocating to our area.  One of which is RPC Inc., which is bringing at least 150 jobs to our area this month.  Other known company names mentioned that will bring jobs to our area are McKesson Specialty Health Care, International Commodities Export Corporation , Talisman Energy.  When I mention our area, I must include the North Harris County expansion of The Exxon Construction which sits on the edge of our southern border of Montgomery County.  All of these companies and the trickle effect bring many hopes and lots of encouragement to our local economy, employment factors and foremost in my own world The Real Estate Market.

South Montgomery County offers amenities of numerous housing developments.  It is centrally located in the Houston Marketplace and well served by 2 large Airports.  The recreation on Lake Conroe is just a stone’s throw away!  The impact of Exxon moving to our area means that The Grand Parkway is happening and will be a highly beneficial infrastructure to our transportation system.

So given what I learned last week, and what I am continuing to hear about the future of my home area … I would say that, “The Real Estate Market is like an amoeba about ready to explode!”  That’s a heart felt answer.  Nothing you are going to see written in a script. But given all the statistics that our leaders here in Montgomery County, Texas are giving us, I would say there is a very bright future for the Real Estate Market.  Wouldn’t you?

I am standing by to help you find your dream home.  Contact me!

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White Board Monday this week is on home inspections; what are they, why do you need one, and what to expect. Enjoy!

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The Falls at Imperial Oaks was featured on “Hot on Homes” this Saturday. I was there at the taping and had a bit part in the show!

HOUSTON (CB Richard Ellis) – H-Town’s office market finished 2011 with more than three million sf of positive net absorption, reports CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) in its latest market analysis. The firm credits area job growth, increasing shale exploration activity and stronger oil prices for the surge in leasing. According to the report, predictions for the city’s 2010 employment gains of 13,700 were later revised to reflect the addition of around 40,000 more new jobs than anticipated. The Greater Houston Partnership’s figures show the city gained 170,700 jobs since economic recovery began. That’s 111.7 percent of the 152,800 jobs lost because of the recession. In addition, CBRE said employment forecasters expect 84,000 jobs to be added this year. Office space absorption in the early part of 2011 was the result of several large transactions that had been shelved during the recession. Fourth quarter absorption, on the other hand, was from many small to medium-sized deals. Class-A vacancy dropped 150 basis points from 12.14 in fourth quarter 2010 to 10.6 percent a year later. With the decreasing vacancy rate and shrinking Class-A available space, proposed developments and new construction are on the rise in the suburban markets.

Hey guys! It’s White Board Monday again. This week is on the kind of lock boxes realtor’s use on your home when it is on the market. Enjoy!

Shannon and I had the opportunity to get Kevin Price, host of “Price of Business” on 1070AM, on the phone the other day to talk about Lake Conroe real estate. I hope you enjoy. Call me today to find your lake front dream home!

Thought this might be useful information for investors.

The Federal Housing Administration is extending its “anti-flipping” waiver through the end of 2012, which allows buyers to purchase homes that have already been sold in the last 90 days.

The waiver, which was soon set to expire, is “intended to accelerate the resale of foreclosed properties in neighborhoods struggling to overcome the possible effects of abandonment and blight,” Carol J. Galante, the acting Federal Housing Administration commissioner, said in a statement. “FHA remains a critical source of mortgage financing and stability and we must make every effort to promote recovery in every responsible way we can.”

An anti-flipping rule originally took effect in 2003 to stop a spike in home flipping that was being blamed on driving up home prices during the housing boom. The rule prevented FHA-backed loans from being used to purchase homes that had been owned by a seller for less than 90 days. But the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development decided to reconsider the 90-day limit in 2010 after skyrocketing foreclosures and abandoned homes were causing blight in neighborhoods across the country and hampering nearby property values.

The temporary waiver to the anti-flipping rule will allow buyers and investors to quickly resell refurbished homes and not have to wait 90 days to do so. Since the waiver took place in 2010, FHA has insured nearly 42,000 mortgages worth more than $7 billion on homes resold within 90 days of the last purchase, according to HUD.

“It’s certainly an inducement to move real estate and reduce inventories,” says Don Cameron, a real estate investor who owns a franchise of We Buy Ugly Houses in South Florida. “Why wait 90 days before you can close on a home?”

The waiver, however, still prevents predatory flipping, and sellers must justify any increases in value if the sales price of the property is 20 percent more than what the seller had recently purchased it for (such as by providing extra documentation on renovation expenses). Sales also must be in “arms-length, with no identity of interest between the buyer and seller or other parties participating in the sales transaction.”

Source: “Government Extends Waiver of Anti-Flipping Law, Allowing Homes to be Bought and then Sold in 90 Days,” McClatchy-Tribune Regional News (Dec. 29, 2011) and HUD.gov

NAR released its latest pending home sales index figure last week and for the second month in a row the index is up. But more than that, the index has broken 100. This is significant because the only time since the housing boom collapsed that the index has broken 100 is when the home owner tax credit was in effect. The fact that the index has returned to that level a year since the credit has been in effect means the housing market is strengthening completely on its own, without any stimulus.

Every year the National Association of Realtors surveys homebuyers and sellers to monitor housing trends.  Below are Top 10 Housing Trends from 2011.

1.  There were fewer first time home buyers in 2011 than in 2010.

2.  Almost 90% of homeowners used the internet to search for a home.

3.  The average homebuyer searched for 12 weeks and viewed 12 homes.

4.  Almost 90% of homebuyers used a real estate agent or broker.

5.  Only 10% of sellers sold their homes without a real estate agent.

6.  Home Buyers choose their houses based on commute to work, the neighborhood, and affordability.

7.  Buyers said the loan process was more difficult than they expected.

8.  Over half of home sellers traded up for a larger, newer, or more expensive home.

9.  People move about every 9 years.<

10.  Most homes sold for 95% of the listing price.