In our May 19 blog, we began look at our current market conditions, spearating rumor from fact. Let's continue the discussion...
As a Buyer… Contrary to what you may have heard, this is the time to buy!!! Interest rates (which I will discuss more in a later blog)are at close to HISTORIC lows. Last month we were seeing refi’s (which I will ALSO discuss later) on a 30 year loan and on home purchases still around the 5% mark. This is the close to lowest they have been in my 15 year real estate career.
All of this means your purchasing dollar goes farther. For example, in 2001, the average rates we were seeing on a 30 year mortgage were at 7%. So let’s say that I had a client buying a house back then for $150,000. Their monthly payment would have been $997.95. Today, buying that SAME house at that SAME price, their approximate payment would be $760.03. That is a monthly savings of $237!!! You are certainly getting more bang for your buck today!
Additionally, housing prices in the Valley are lower than they have been in 4 years. It has been my experience these last few months that in general houses are selling for what they would have sold for back in 2004. This is a far cry from what they would have sold for back in May of 2007 when we were hitting our value peak here in the Valley.
So if you look at both the combination of interest rates, lower prices, and the amount of inventory to choose from, you see that we have created a “perfect storm” in which to buy a home!
Add to this that if some of you are interested in being a first time home buyer, the government is offering some big tax incentives right now. I want you to write down this link if you are a first time home buyer: http://www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com/. According to this site, a tax credit of up to $8,000 is now available for qualified first-time home buyers purchasing a principal residence on or after January 1, 2009 and before December 1, 2009. Unlike the tax credit enacted in 2008, the new credit does not have to be repaid. This is amazing news!
So we see that the FACTS are telling us that it is a great time to buy, even if the news is telling us it is the time to fear.
In my next post, I will focus on the other side of the coin: What a seller should know in our current market.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Check this out! We are #1!
According to a recent article in Outdoor Life Magazine, Lewiston is ranked as the #1 spot in the US for "Affordable, thriving and perfectly wild towns in America." So if you are interestedwhat Outdoor Life presents as the 2nd Annual Top 200 Towns for Sportsmen, check out this link.
http://www.outdoorlife.com/photos/gallery/hunting/2009/05/top-200-towns?photo=10
http://www.outdoorlife.com/photos/gallery/hunting/2009/05/top-200-towns?photo=10
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Some positive news...
The following article was taken directly from the Lewiston Tribune and highlights what the market appears to be doing in our community.
Most property values in Nez Perce County remain stable
By Sandra L. Lee of the Tribune
Saturday, May 2, 2009
East Main Street businesses, apartments and farm ground are seeing the greatest increases in property values this year, Nez Perce County Assessor Daniel J. Anderson said.
However, most property owners in the county won't see any dramatic changes - up or down - in the notices going out late this month, Anderson said.
"The majority of folks are going to see a level (value) or an actual decrease, a small decrease," Anderson said.
The exception is East Lewiston commercial property that will rocket up 29 percent after being unchanged the past five years. The assessor's office looks at a different part of the city or classification of businesses each year. Averaged, East Main has gone up about 5 percent a year, he said, but it's still a good value compared with other commercial areas.
For instance, the downtown area west of Lincoln Street last year averaged increases of 9 percent for land and 22 percent for improvements.
Based on past sales, values of $1.50 a square foot on East Main will go to about $1.93, or $2 up to $2.60, none of which are anywhere close to Thain Road or 21st Street values, he said.
Throughout the county, apartment values are going up an average of 13 percent and farm ground by 10 percent. Condominiums will increase an average of 2 percent to 3 percent.
The county is seeing the reverse of what happened when residential values were escalating wildly in parts of the nation, but seeing relatively modest increases here, Anderson said. Now, homeowners in some of those regions are finding their houses are worth less than they owe, but values here are either flat or within a percent or two up or down from last year's values.
Where there are increases in residential properties, it's likely to be a couple percent, up to about 7 percent for newer manufactured homes in courts and parks, Anderson said. Manufactured homes on their own lots, however, are flat or even down a bit.
The more moderately priced houses, up to about $150,000, will see about a 5 percent raise.
"A case could easily have been made that I could have raised almost all property 5 percent because last year 70 percent of the sales sold for more than we had just raised them to," he said
"I'm given latitude by the State Tax Commission to be within a range based on the actual sales that occur between 90 percent and 110 percent. We're statistically setting around 95 percent, and I have opted to take a wait-and-see attitude as far as what's going to happen with sales in 2009."
Anderson said a couple things are protecting the market here. One is the continued stability of employment at places like Clearwater Paper, ATK, Regence BlueShield, St. Joseph Regional Medical Center and Lewis-Clark State College. There also wasn't a large stock of houses built on speculation, such as existed in other locations, to drive down the market.
New housing starts are down somewhat, but haven't stopped completely.
In 2008, permits were issued inside Lewiston for 40 new residences and seven manufactured homes. Permits for 15 of those stick-built houses and one manufactured home were issued in the first four months of 2008, compared with 10 house permits and two manufactured homes in the same period this year, according to Sarah Redenbaugh, permit representative with the Community Development Department.
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Lee may be contacted at slee@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2266.
Most property values in Nez Perce County remain stable
By Sandra L. Lee of the Tribune
Saturday, May 2, 2009
East Main Street businesses, apartments and farm ground are seeing the greatest increases in property values this year, Nez Perce County Assessor Daniel J. Anderson said.
However, most property owners in the county won't see any dramatic changes - up or down - in the notices going out late this month, Anderson said.
"The majority of folks are going to see a level (value) or an actual decrease, a small decrease," Anderson said.
The exception is East Lewiston commercial property that will rocket up 29 percent after being unchanged the past five years. The assessor's office looks at a different part of the city or classification of businesses each year. Averaged, East Main has gone up about 5 percent a year, he said, but it's still a good value compared with other commercial areas.
For instance, the downtown area west of Lincoln Street last year averaged increases of 9 percent for land and 22 percent for improvements.
Based on past sales, values of $1.50 a square foot on East Main will go to about $1.93, or $2 up to $2.60, none of which are anywhere close to Thain Road or 21st Street values, he said.
Throughout the county, apartment values are going up an average of 13 percent and farm ground by 10 percent. Condominiums will increase an average of 2 percent to 3 percent.
The county is seeing the reverse of what happened when residential values were escalating wildly in parts of the nation, but seeing relatively modest increases here, Anderson said. Now, homeowners in some of those regions are finding their houses are worth less than they owe, but values here are either flat or within a percent or two up or down from last year's values.
Where there are increases in residential properties, it's likely to be a couple percent, up to about 7 percent for newer manufactured homes in courts and parks, Anderson said. Manufactured homes on their own lots, however, are flat or even down a bit.
The more moderately priced houses, up to about $150,000, will see about a 5 percent raise.
"A case could easily have been made that I could have raised almost all property 5 percent because last year 70 percent of the sales sold for more than we had just raised them to," he said
"I'm given latitude by the State Tax Commission to be within a range based on the actual sales that occur between 90 percent and 110 percent. We're statistically setting around 95 percent, and I have opted to take a wait-and-see attitude as far as what's going to happen with sales in 2009."
Anderson said a couple things are protecting the market here. One is the continued stability of employment at places like Clearwater Paper, ATK, Regence BlueShield, St. Joseph Regional Medical Center and Lewis-Clark State College. There also wasn't a large stock of houses built on speculation, such as existed in other locations, to drive down the market.
New housing starts are down somewhat, but haven't stopped completely.
In 2008, permits were issued inside Lewiston for 40 new residences and seven manufactured homes. Permits for 15 of those stick-built houses and one manufactured home were issued in the first four months of 2008, compared with 10 house permits and two manufactured homes in the same period this year, according to Sarah Redenbaugh, permit representative with the Community Development Department.
---
Lee may be contacted at slee@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2266.
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