Welcome Back Readers! It's time for a Market Update, The Lancaster County Association of Realtors® (LCAR) just released their monthly recap of real estate market activity in February 2010 and there were a few good things to point out.
I'll tell you what those are shortly, but in the meantime just a note, March was busier than February, April will most likely be too. As a reminder, if you are buying a home, as a first time buyer or a repeat buyer, you have 29 days left to place a home under agreement to ensure that you qualify. Buyers who want to claim the credit must have a home under agreement by 4-30-10 and must settle by 6-30-10. Call me if you'd like more details, now on the the market report!
• Pending home sales rose to 345 from 311 a year ago-a 10.9 percent increase.
• New listings increased 9.2 percent over February 2009.
• The average sale price was $191,375-a 14.5 percent increase over last February, continuing a trend of higher average sales prices that we saw in January.
• Half of the homes and condos that sold in February were on the market for 60 days or less.
"This is the ninth straight month we've seen an increase in pending sales on a year-over-year basis," noted LCAR president Bob Rose. "Pending sales of homes in the $200,000 - $300,000 range are up 10.4 percent, and there's nice activity in the $400,000+ range as well. The tax credits appear to be helping, and we expect to see the impact through March and probably into April."
So, let's keep things simple, I've written here before about the upcoming FHA changes and the changes in the FED policy of purchasing mortgage backed securities having some affects on the real estate market at the same time the tax credit is expiring. End of the world? No. Can you get a better deal now, in the next 29 days than you will in the 30 days after the credit expires. Absolutely.
So, if you are thinking of buying, jump in now. If not, thats, OK too, I'll be here when you are!
As always, I'd like you to be part of the conversation, so if you like what you read here please comment, forward The Lancaster Connection.com to your friends and subscribe!
If you have questions, need real estate advice or want to buy or sell a home, you can call or text me at 717-371-0557, email me at Jason@JasonsHomes.com or contact me at the office at 717-490-8999!
Your Friend in Real Estate,
Jason Burkholder
Weichert, Realtors - Engle & Hambright
Search for Lancaster County Homes for sale at www.JasonsHomes.com by clicking here!
Want to see what's happening to home prices in your neighborhood? Go to www.RealEstateCrystalBall.com !
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