An investigation has been started by the U.S. House committee to determine whether lenders used the property boom to encourage people to buy by using deceptive tactics.
The central part of the investigation will focus around Countrywide Financial Corp. Countrywide was bought by Bank of America in July 2009 and was considered the largest U.S. mortgage lender.
For assistance in navigating your way in the complicated process of purchasing your first home, please contact Eddie Perez at (201) 344-2886 or go to Hoboken Condo Expert.
It is a great time to be a first-time home buyer in this market. Existing single-family home prices are down and interest rates are near historic lows. And you can’t forget about the first-time buyer $8,000 tax credit.
Following are a few first-time home buyer tips you may want to consider:
1. Think about the long term future.Purchasing a home requires long-term planning. If you are unsure of where you will be in the short term future, you might want to reconsider your plans to buy. The more time you spend in your home gives you a better opportunity to recoup your investment.
2. Don’t settle for the first home you see. Calculate how much home you can afford. A good way to do this is to browse online listings to become familiar with the market. It is tough to find everything you want but if you prioritize your needs and wants you may have a good chance of finding what will really suit you.
3. Find a good buyer’s agent. A good buyer’s agent does a lot more than just hand you listings. The agent can help you with many things, from a loan preapproval, to a home inspection, but above all is ready to put all of your interests first.
4. Remember the high price that comes with owning a home. Many first-time home buyers will focus on the actual price of a home and forget to consider the other costs that come with it. Don’t forget about closing costs, basic maintenance and utilities.
There are so many advantages to being a first time buyer in this current market. For more information regarding how I can help you negotiate the best deal on your first home, contact Eddie Perez, Broker-REALTOR, CDPE. My market includes Hoboken, Jersey City, Weehawken and Union City. I can be reached at eddie@InvestHoboken.com or 201-344-2886.
Highly regarded housing consultant. John Burns Real Estate Consulting,recently released a survey of home builders regarding the type of financing their buyers’ used. The survey states that almost 60 percent of new home buyers relied on low down-payment mortgages from the government.
20 percent of buyers used conventional financing, 7 percent got a jumbo loan and 7 percent of buyers paid cash.
Other important facts that were included in the survey was that the total of unsold finished inventory has dropped and sales are slow, particularly among builders who do not have a lot of appeal to first-time home buyers.
As a top Hoboken REALTOR, I can help you through the entire process of buying your first home. If you are looking for assistance in finding the perfect home in Hoboken, contact Eddie Perez at (201) 344-2886 or go to Hoboken Condo Expert.
There has been a tentative agreement in the senate to extend the current $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers. In addition, there will be a new $6,500 credit offered to existing homeowners who have lived in their current residence for a consecutive five-year period in the past eight years.
The new requirements are that home buyers must be under contract by April 30, 2010, and close before July 1.
Location, location, location, is a big factor in determining the price of a home. But, what does that mean when the home is next door to President Barack Obama in Chicago?
A 17-room mansion located in Chicago at 5040 S. Greenwood that is next to Obama's house at 5046 South Greenwood Avenue is for sale.
If you are interested, the home’s listing can be found at 5040greenwood.com. The website reportedly got 60,000 hits in just its first week.
The current owner, Bill Grimshaw, reportedly paid $35,000 for the 103-year-old home in 1973.
Although, homes in the area usually go for $1.5 million to $2 million, the Grimshaw house, which features period details and original woodwork, will likely be sold for a much higher price.
There may some hidden treasures for you located in Hoboken. Whether you are search of the perfect Hoboken condo or a lovely Victorian brownstone, please contact Eddie Perez at (201) 344-2886 or go to Hoboken Condo Expert.
You now have until the end of November to utilize the tax credit available to "first-time" homebuyers who purchase a home this month.
Baltimore Sun reporter Jamie Smith Hopkins has estimated there are 19,000 people who have claimed the credit and have not bought a home. It’s amazing that there are people who are willing to commit fraud to get the $8,000 without buying a home.
It is possible there is as much as $600 million dollars worth of bogus first-time homebuyer tax-credit claims. With a total of more than 1.4 million first-time homebuyer tax-credit claims filed since late August, says the Los Angeles Times.
In addition to this, there are numerous reports of people under the age of 18 receiving the credit. There is even a case of a 4-year-old who has received the tax credit, says U.S. News & World Report.
There still may be enough time for you to qualify for the $8,000 tax credit For more information contact Eddie Perez, Broker-REALTOR, CDPE. Eddie’s market includes Hoboken, Jersey City, Weehawken and Union City. He can be reached at eddie@InvestHoboken.com or 201-344-2886.
When the day comes that you decide to sell your home, the best method to calculate how much to sell it for is by utilizing real estate comps. This data is called “comparable sales” or “comps,” and is a big factor in determining the sale price of a particular home. Information is calculated by gathering the figures of recent sales of nearby homes. By using these figures you can determine how much a home might be worth.
Buyers can use comps to determine a fair price to offer for a home. Comps can also be used to track market trends to effectively determine whether a home has been properly priced.
Also, it is important for a buyer to keep in mind that the timing of comps should be considered. Generally, many sales could close within the range of four to six weeks, but some may take as long as six months to sell. The longer sales could reflect outdated market conditions and be poor comps to consider. This is another reason why a buyer needs to use a competent Realtor® to interpret the information about any home sales.
If the seller’s loan balance exceeds the value of the home, as defined by a short sale or foreclosure, the comps could be irrelevant.
Now we have to play the waiting game to see whether Congress will extend or possibly expand the first-time home buyer tax credit.
The National Association of Realtors announcd that Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and House Ways and Means Committee Chair Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) both support an extension.
What really needs to be worked out is to define how the credit should be extended and who should receive it. Some say the potential for an extension could be any where from a month to a year. If the extension does become approved, the length of time is likely to be some where between a month and a year. Another major question is, will the requirements of eligibility be changed to make the credit available to not just first-time buyers but to all primary home buyers, as well as buyers at higher income levels.
Currently, the tax credit is available to buyers with incomes up to $75,000 for individuals and $150,000 a year for couples.
To find out all the benefits and options for preventing foreclosure, contact Eddie Perez, Broker-REALTOR, CDPE or Anoir Redouane, REALTOR, CDPE. Their market includes Hoboken, Jersey City, Weehawken and Union City. They can be reached at eddie@InvestHoboken.com or 201-344-2886.
Here are the final sales figures for September 2009 compiled using the Hudson County Multiple Listing Service.
September’s Hoboken condo market statistics showed a slow down from the strong numbers that appeared during the month of August. Total closed units were down slightly with 69 closings in August followed by 67 closings in September. Final closed sales prices were mixed with average prices falling 2.1 % to $485,497 in September from $495,882 in August. Median closed sales prices were slightly up however at $490,000 in September compared with $475,000 in August. The largest drop off was in contracts signed where we saw a 21.2% decline (80 in August vs.63 in September).
Now when I compared last Septembers sales figures with this years, I found the results reflected the challenging year in the pricing environment with average prices off 13.9% ($564,184 in Sept ‘08 versus $485,497 in Sept ‘09). Median numbers were down less at 3.9% ($510,000 vs $490,000).
The good news is that the closed sales and pending sales activity were both up compared with last years. Closed unit sales were up a just 1.5% (We’ll take it!) however the impressive gain was seen with pending contracts as 63 contacts were signed this year compared with 51 during last September. A big 23.5% increase! (We’ll take that too!).
So what can we take away from this? Reasonable activity is still there with value being the driving force for this activity. It looks like there are savvy buyers out there that want to take advantage of the low interest rates, first-time home buyers tax credits, the great selection of homes while negotiating the best possible deal.
Seems like a pretty good combination.
Here are the comparisons:
September 2009
September 2009
Comparison:
Units Sold:
66
67
+ 1.5%
Avg. Price:
$564,184
$485,497
- 13.9%
Median Price:
$510,000
$490,000
- 3.9%
Pending:
51
63
+ 23.5%
September 2009 Sold Condominiums:
High
Low
Average
Median
Total Price
Listing Count
List Price:
$1,259,000
$272,900
$505,296
$499,000
$33,854,836
67
Sold Price:
$1,150,000
$267,500
$485,497
$490,000
$32,528,318
DOM:
529
4
96
60
Studio: none sold
1 bedroom: 25 sold.
Average asking price: $373,969
Average selling price: $360,532 (-3.6% of asking price)
Average days on market: 69
2 bedroom: 33 sold
Average asking price: $540,483
Average selling price: $521,030 (-3.6% of asking price)
Average days on market: 102
3 bedroom: 9 sold
Average asking price: $741,072
Average selling price: $702,333 (-5.2% of asking price)
Average days on market: 145
4 bedroom: none sold
September 2009 – Pending Contracts. These are the deals that were consummated during the month and represents the current buying activity.
Today you can find just about anything on Craigslist. As a potential Real Estate Investor, did you ever notice that Craigslist is divided into cities? This can be a big drawback when you are searching for properties for sale.
Did you know there is a feature on Craigslist that allows you to search multiple cities at one time? The featured site is called http://www.Craigshelper.com but is now very recently being redirected to http://www.searchtempest.com (Thank you to James Lyon at Vista Pacific Realty for pointing this out).
With Craigshelper all you need to do is type in the zip code where you would like to search for property. It also gives you the ability to specify the radius of the search. The Ad Notifier feature for Craigslist will alert you when something is posted on Craigslist that fits your specifications. Ad Notifier for Craigslist will even text your cell phone when a match is found.
What really is critical to get the tools to work is to be sure to use the best search terms. Avoid using a simple term like “house for sale” try using creative search terms that locate sellers.
The following search terms may be helpful for finding people that need to sell their property:
Owner will finance
Owner Desperate
Motivated seller
House must go
Homeowner must sell
All offers welcome
Seller will carry second
Consider all offers
Terms available
OBO, Or Best offer
Below appraised value
Will sell for what is owed
Lease Option
Rent to own
It is amazing what you can find by thinking creatively when you are looking to purchase property.
To find out all the benefits and options for preventing foreclosure, contact Eddie Perez, Broker-REALTOR, CDPE or Anoir Redouane, REALTOR, CDPE. Their market includes Hoboken, Jersey City, Weehawken and Union City. They can be reached at eddie@InvestHoboken.com or 201-344-2886.
Market news,stats, new listings, price reductions and lots of other useful info about condos and other real estate in Hoboken, NJ.
If you enjoy what you are reading, remember to subscribe to my blog. It is my focus to provide relevant greater Hoboken real estate market information on real world level. No media hype. No fluff. Just a real voice based on an active Hoboken REALTOR (R).
Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
committee to determine whether lenders used the property boom to encourage people to buy by using deceptive tactics.
Existing single-family home prices are down and interest rates are near historic lows. And you can’t forget about the first-time buyer $8,000 tax credit.
recently released a survey of home builders regarding the type of financing their buyers’ used. The survey states that almost 60 percent of new home buyers relied on low down-payment mortgages from the government. 
extend the current $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers. In addition, there will be a new $6,500 credit offered to existing homeowners who have lived in their current residence for a consecutive five-year period in the past eight years.
Location, location, location, is a big factor in determining the price of a home. But, what does that mean when the home is next door to President Barack Obama in Chicago?
available to "first-time" homebuyers who purchase a home this month.
the best method to calculate how much to sell it for is by utilizing real estate comps. This data is called “comparable sales” or “comps,” and is a big factor in determining the sale price of a particular home. Information is calculated by gathering the figures of recent sales of nearby homes. By using these figures you can determine how much a home might be worth.
Congress will extend or possibly expand the first-time home buyer tax credit.
As a potential Real Estate Investor, did you ever notice that Craigslist is divided into cities? This can be a big drawback when you are searching for properties for sale.
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