C21AGVoices

A kitchen is often a home’s busiest room — a meeting place for meals and conversation. It’s also among the home’s most grimy rooms. Bacteria, dirt and germs collect on floors, on countertops, and inside appliances. And on Thanksgiving, the traffic is even higher with holiday dinners for the whole family.

In this 4-minute clip from NBC’s The Today Show, you’ll learn how to rid your kitchen of “nastiness”.  The featured fixes use nothing but basic household cleansers and elbow grease, and they include:

• How to clean and restore wooden cutting boards and bowls
• How to remove “burn stains” from the side of a frying pan
• How to eliminate pervasive dishwasher odors

The segment also tackles why you should choose loofah over sponge, and how to catch fruit flies.

For as much time as you spend in your kitchen, it’s best to keep it clean and sanitized.

According to October data from foreclosure-tracking firm RealtyTrac, foreclosure filings topped 300,000 for the 20th straight month last month as 1 in every 389 U.S. homes received a foreclosure filing.

The generic term “foreclosure filing” is defined to include default notices, scheduled auctions, and bank repossessions. Versus the month prior, filings fell 4 percent, and as compared to October 2009, filings were essentially the same.

As usual, foreclosure density varied by region last month, with just 5 states accounting for close to half of the nation’s repossessed homes.

• California : 14.8 percent of all bank repossessions
• Florida : 14.4 percent of all bank repossessions
• Michigan : 7.3 percent of all bank repossessions
• Texas : 6.6 percent of all bank repossessions
• Arizona : 6.0 percent of all bank repossessions

The other 45 states accounted for the remaining half.

It reminds us that, like everything else in real estate, foreclosures are local.

For today’s Philadelphia home buyers, though, foreclosures represent an interesting opportunity.

Homes bought in various stages of foreclosure are often less expensive than other, non-foreclosure homes and it’s one of the reasons why distressed home sales now represent 35 percent of all home resales.  But don’t confuse less expensive for less costly.  Foreclosed homes may also be in various stages of disrepair. Getting them into living condition can be expensive.

Your best real estate “deal”, therefore, may be that non-distressed home that’s in sound, move-in ready condition.

If you’re buying foreclosures — or even just thinking about it — make sure you talk with a real estate agent first. Buying distressed property is different from the “typical” home purchase. You’ll want somebody experienced in your corner, and since CENTURY 21 Advantage Gold has been representing lenders in the sale of their foreclosed properties for almost 23 years, our agents are well versed in the issues surrounding such transactions. so feel free to call anyone of our offices today or search for foreclosed properties at www.c21ag.com .

Related articles

• Foreclosure Activity By Metro Area, Q3 2010 (c21agvoices.com)
• Bank Reposessions Top 100,000 In A Month For The First Time Ever (c21agvoices.com)
• Foreclosure Activity Slows Again In June 2010 (c21agvoices.com)

Newspaper stories can be misleading sometimes — especially with respect to real estate. We saw a terrific example of this Wednesday.

A “Housing Start” is a privately-owned home on which construction has started and, according to the Commerce Department’s October 2010 data, Housing Starts data dropped by nearly 12 percent as compared to September.

The media jumped on the story, and its negative implications for the housing market overall.

A sampling of the headlines included:

• Housing Starts Plunge: Market’s ‘Pulse is Faint’ (WSJ)
• Housing Starts Tumble (Reuters)
• Housing Starts Sink 11.7 Percent In October (NPR)

Although factually correct, the headlines are misleading. Yes, Housing Starts fell sharply in October, but if we strip out the volatile “5 or more units” portion of the data — a grouping that includes apartment buildings and condominiums — Housing Starts only fell 1 percent.

That’s a big difference. Especially because most new construction buyers in Philadelphia and around the country don’t purchase entire condo buildings. They buy single-family residences.

As an illustration, 84% of October’s Housing Starts were single-family homes. The remaining starts were multi-units.

This is why the headlines don’t tell the whole story. The market that matters most to buyers — the single-family market — gets completely glossed over. The Housing Starts reading wasn’t nearly as awful as the papers would have you believe.  Furthermore, it’s never mentioned that single-family Housing Permits climbed 1 percent last month, either.

According to the Census Bureau, 82% of homes start construction within 60 days of permit-issuance. Therefore, we can expect December’s starts to be higher, too.

After 3 straight months of improvement, the Pending Home Sales Index slid lower in September. As compared to August, September’s reading fell 2 percent.

A “pending home sale” is a home under contract to sell, but not yet closed. The data is drawn from a combination of local real estate associations and national brokers, and represents 20 percent of all purchase transactions in a given month.

Because of the large sample set, and because 80 percent of homes under contract close within 60 days, the Pending Home Sales Index is a terrific future indicator for the housing market. A high correlation exists between the Pending Home Sales Index and the NAR’s monthly Existing Home Sales report issued two months hence.

Expect home sales to idle into the New Year, therefore.

For home buyers in Philadelphia and surrounding counties , this is good news. Over the last two months, housing markets have overwhelmingly favored home sellers.

Consider than, since June, the volume of both new home sales and existing home sales has increased, causing the available home inventory to fall by months. Meanwhile, helped by low interest rates, demand from buyers has remained relatively stable.

As with everything in economics, falling supply with constant demand leads to higher prices.

Therefore, the Pending Home Sales Index’s fading September figures suggest a more balanced supply-and-demand curve in the months ahead, a move that should suppress rising home prices and shift negotiation leverage back to the buy-side.

So long as mortgage rates remain rock bottom, the autumn season is looking like a terrific time to buy, and if the activity seen by our agents in the past few weeks is indicative, buyers are taking advantage of this and buying themselves year end presents to provide financial stability and security for their families.

Related articles

• Home Sales Are Back On The Rise After A 2-Month Pullback (c21agvoices.com)
• Existing Home Sales Rebound In August, Give Hope For Autumn (c21agvoices.com)
• As Buyer Foot Traffic Rises, So Does Homebuilder Confidence (c21agvoices.com)

As the “pulse of the single-family housing market”, the Housing Market Index is a monthly product of the National Association of Homebuilders. Its scores range from 1-100, with a reading a 50 or better suggesting “favorable conditions” for builders.

Because of its methodology, the Housing Market Index can offer excellent insight into the Philadelphia market for newly-built homes. This is because its value is a composite of three survey questions:

1. How are market conditions today?
2. How do market conditions look 6 months from now?
3. How is the prospective traffic of new buyers for new homes?

Builder responses are collected, weighted, then presented as the Housing Market Index.

According to the NAHB, October’s HMI reading of 16 is its highest value in 5 months. The uptick hints that the market for newly-built homes may rebound more quickly that this summer’s weak new homes sales figures would otherwise suggest.

You’ll remember that, between April and August, the number of new homes sold per month fell by 30 percent and the available, new home inventory climbed 2.3 months.

This month, though, builders report much better foot traffic and, as a result, have raised their expectations for the next six months of sales. Low mortgage rates are likely aiding the optimism, too.

As compared to 1 year ago, average, 30-year fixed mortgage rates are lower by 0.75 percent, a payment savings of $45 per $100,000 borrowed.

30-year fixed mortgage rates rose 2 weeks ago, marking the first time in a month that rates failed to fall week-to-week.

The data sources from Freddie Mac, one of the government’s major mortgage securitizers and a sister entity to Fannie Mae. Each week, Freddie Mac collects mortgage rate data from more than 120 lenders nationwide and publishes the results in a report called the Primary Mortgage Market Survey.

According to last week’s PMMS, the 30-year fixed rate rose 0.02% and now averages 4.21% nationally. The average accompanying cost is 0.8 points.

1 point is equal to 1 percent of the loan size.

Note, though, that these are just averages. Just as real estate markets are local, mortgage rates can be, too. As an illustration, look how this week’s rates break down by region:

• Northeast : 4.22 with 0.8 points
• Southeast : 4.30 with 0.8 points
• N. Central : 4.19 with 0.8 points
• Southeast : 4.23 with 0.7 points
• West : 4.17 with 1.0 points

The rate-and-fee combination you’d get in your home state of New Jersey , in other words, is different from the rate-and-fee combination you’d get if you lived somewhere else. In the West, rates are low and fees are high; in the Southeast, it’s the opposite.

The good news is that, as a rate shopper, you can have it whichever way you prefer. If getting the absolute lowest mortgage rate is worth the extra cost to you, have your loan officer structure to structure your loan as such. Or, if you prefer higher rates and lower costs, you can go that route, too.

Banks offer multiple mortgage set-ups to meet every type of budget and, with rates down 1.00% since April 8, there’s good cause to call your loan officer about a mortgage refinance. See what set-up will work best for you.

The amount of air that leaks from the seams of a typical home is the same amount of air that would escape through an open window. It’s why home care experts recommend a routine caulking of a home’s windows and doors — at least once per year.

Solid, all-around caulk jobs can reduce a home’s energy bill by as much as 20 percent.

A Philadelphia homeowner’s basic toolkit should include the familiar caulking gun and tube for larger jobs, but for spot treatment, Caulk Singles can be a good alternative.  A product of GE, Caulk Singles are single-use caulking “packages”, squeezable like a toothpaste tube.

The singles are easier-to-control than a traditional caulking tube, and require no instruction or experience.

Caulk Singles are made in 3 varieties :

• Waterproof Silicone (White), for white finishes
• Waterproof Silicone (Clear), for colored finishes
• Paintable Acrylic, for paintable seals

Caulk Singles cost roughly $2.50 per package on Amazon, but may be cheaper at a local hardware store.

In the same week that the National Association of REALTORS reported home resales up 10 percent in September, the U.S. Census Bureau reported similarly strong results for the new construction market.

After improving 1 percent in August, New Home Sales popped another 7 percent in September.

It’s no wonder homebuilder confidence is at a 5-month high.

• Sales volume is higher in 4 of the last 5 months
• New home supply is at a 5-month low
• Buyer foot traffic is on the rise

For home buyers in Mount Holly , September’s New Home Sales data may foreshadow a shift in builder sales strategies and it’s something worth watching.

Recall that in April, the month that the federal homebuyer tax credit contract deadline passed for non-military citizens, sales of new homes was strong as buyers rushed to meet the April 30 cut-off date.

When the month ended, there were 216,000 new homes for sale — an inventory that would have taken 6 months to sell off in full, given April’s sales pace.

In May, however, the month after the tax credit deadline, buyers vanished. As a consequence, total units sold dropped 31 percent to their lowest level in recorded history. Coincidentally, at the end of May, there were still 216,000 units for sale.

By contrast, though, at May’s sale pace, the inventory would have needed nine months to sell out.

This is why builders are optimistic. The market for new construction is improving so buyers may have a harder time trying to negotiate for items like free upgrades or sales price reductions. So long as New Home Sales improve, home buyers may find themselves paying more money for less house.

Therefore, if you’re in the market for a newly-built home somewhere near South Philly , you may want to move up your time frame. The longer you wait, the more it may cost you.

31 percent of homeowners say “cleaning window blinds” is their least favorite household chore. Perhaps that’s because they haven’t seen how simple blind-cleaning can be.

In this 2-minute video from HowCast, you’ll learn the basics of blind-cleaning with nothing more than a dust cloth and towel, a sponge and all-purpose cleaner, and ordinary dryer sheets.

The steps are basic:

1. Get the dust off with the dryer sheet
2. Remove the blinds from the window
3. Go outside, or find a bathtub
4. Wash, rinse, and dry with the towel
5. Re-attach the blinds

Cleaning window blinds is a monthly activity, but with regular dusting, you could push that schedule to quarterly, depending on your home’s airborne particles and overall cleanliness.  The trick is that when you do wash your blinds, you wash them properly.

This week marks the start of the Refi Boom’s 7th month across Pennsylvania ; rates have been falling since early-April 2010. Whether you’re looking to refinance or buy a home, however, know that not everyone will qualify for today’s low rates.

Mortgage approvals are primarily based on good income, good equity and strong credit, and, without all three, the best rates of the day remain out of reach. Now, you can’t always ask for a raise and equity is a function of the housing market, but you can do something about your credit score.

In this 4-minute segment from NBC’s The Today Show, you learn some credit basics to help propel your score higher:

• There’s no “quick fix” for credit. Time + Good Credit Behavior = Better FICOs.
• Pay every bill when it comes due. Even one late payment can damage your score.
• Don’t close old credit cards

Also among the segment’s advice is to stop worrying about whether rates have bottomed. Refinance today if it makes financial sense. Then, if, by chance, rates fall in the future, just refinance again.  Don’t be greedy, we’re told.