The Week in Review
....your Wilmington Connection
December 29th, 2007
The New year is upon us a time when some people start to rethink the roles in life and make resoloutions. Here is a little humous antidote to start your New Year off with some glee. An optimist stays up until midnight to see the New Year in. A pessimist stays up to make sure the old one leaves. May the New Year bring all that you wish for!
Great temperatures and great times here in Wilmington. Todays temperature was around 73 a great day for boating or walking on the beach.
Home prices are still steady and not faltering. Wilmington is still a great place to invest. Why not look to see what is on the market.
Existing-Home Sales to Trend Up in 2008
Existing-home sales are projected to trend up in 2008, with pending home sales showing a slight rise, according to the latest forecast by the National Association of Realtors®. However, a recovery for new-home sales is unlikely before 2009.
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said the worst part of the credit crunch has already worked its way through the data. “The unusual mortgage disruptions that peaked in August were clearly seen in lower home sales that were finalized in September and October, so the market was underperforming,” he said. “Now that mortgage conditions have improved, some postponed activity should turn up in existing-home sales over the next couple of months, and I expect sales at fairly stable to slightly higher levels.”
Pending Home Sales Index,* a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in October, increased 0.6 percent to an index of 87.2 from an upwardly revised reading of 86.7 in September. It was the second consecutive monthly gain, but remained 18.4 percent below the October 2006 index of 106.8. “The broad trend over the coming year will be a gradual rise in existing-home sales, but because sales are exceptionally low in the final months of 2007, total sales for 2008 will be only modestly higher than 2007,” Yun said.
PHSI in the Northeast jumped 16.0 percent in October to 80.6 but is 11.1 percent below a year ago. In the West, the index rose 8.4 percent to 87.3 but is 16.9 percent lower than October 2006. The index in the Midwest slipped 1.4 percent in October to 85.5 and is 11.7 percent below a year ago. The South, the index dropped 7.8 percent in October to 91.6 and is 25.3 percent below October 2006.
“Improvement in the Northeast reaffirms a trend apparent for some months now that shows signs of recovery, noteworthy because that was the first region to slump, and the gain in the West indicates some easing of interest rates for jumbo loans.
Existing-home sales are likely to total 5.67 million this year, the fifth highest on record, rising to 5.70 million in 2008, in contrast with 6.48 million in 2006. Existing-home prices should be down 1.9 percent to a median of $217,600 for all of 2007, and then rise 0.3 percent to $218,300 in 2008.
Property taxes a hot topic in nation
Assessments take time, so a declining market value is not always reflected immediately.
Homeowners know only that they have to find a way to pay the bills and are pressuring their legislative leaders to do something. At least five states this year cut property taxes and 21 tried to provide homeowners relief from higher bills, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
In 2008, more legislatures are expected to try to find solutions to rising taxes. Congress has gotten involved through proposals that would allow people who don't itemize to deduct all or portions of their local or state property tax bills from their federal income tax.
............until next week in The Week in Review
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