Real Estate info- buying, selling and everything in between

What goes up...must come down.  As numbers tumbled nationwide the (sharpest drop in history at 27%) after the tax credit original expiration of June 30 2010 something odd was going on in O'Fallon IL.  While it is true that numbers did go down slightly from June to July they went back up (+15%) in August...actually it was the best August since 2006. 

 

 

So while there are areas that are continuing to slide, O'Fallon IL seems to be holding on and in fact increasing despite the economic climate and depressed housing market.  On a broader but still local view things have increased for the entire county over last month (despite what the local paper would have you believe) in July there were 480 closings in St. Clair County and in August that number climbed to 500, not staggering numbers however that is roughly 2.8 million in housing inventory off the market.

On to the Market Update!

 

O'Fallon IL Real Estate Market Update for August 2010:

 

In August 2010 47 homes closed in O'Fallon IL.  As mentioned above this is the best August in 4 years.

Average sales price for these homes was $213,607 and average market time was 151 days.

 

August was in fact the second best month so far of 2010 only being beaten out by June (with the much talked about tax credit in place) by 2 homes.  While this is not normal activity for this time of year I doubt very seriously any homeowners are complaining.

 

 

 

Year to date numbers also look very promising as we are 29 homes ahead over this same time last year.

 

 

 

Price range is the one consistent again this month with 83% of all closed homes falling below the $300,000 mark.

 

 

With 49 homes currently under contract things look promising at least for the immediate future. Stay Tuned...

 

 

First a bit of disclosure...

I stopped taking a paper years ago.  I view them about the same way I see phone books... a giant and expensive waste of paper.  However I do in fact still voraciously read various trade publications along with our local paper online.  The big news of late has been that home sales have plummeted 27% from June to July. So effective is social media that I received this news almost a dozen times before a client brought it to my attention in a printed format.

 

Our local paper managed to regurgitate the same story yesterday (read the article here) basically plummeting sales due to the expiration of the tax credit.  And while monthly numbers (June-July) are in fact down, year to date numbers are up. If you dig a bit a slightly different story starts to emerge.  Please keep in mind these numbers are for this area only... of course there are markets hit hard and they will continue to drop.

 

St Clair County saw 246 homes close in June 2010 and 172 in July.  Telling numbers, however in 12+ years of selling houses I think maybe once a buyer/client asked me to show them all of St. Clair County. Those are called referrals.   More often than not it is much more hyper-local.  So let's look at 2 of our biggest markets and the impact of the tax credit.

The two cities we will highlight make up more than 50% of total home sales in this county for June.

 

Belleville IL:

In June of 2009 there were 79 closings.  This number is important as there was no frantic rush to get things closed with a June 30 deadline.

June 2010: 79 closings.  Notice something? Exact same amount with the deadline in place.

 

O'Fallon IL:

June 2009 had 48 closings  - again  no deadline in place.

June 2010 had 49 closings with the deadline.  Tax credit  = +1 over June last year.

 

So a grand total of 1 more closing in 2 of our biggest markets in the 30 days leading up to the deadline. 

Odd this did not make it into the paper...

 

 

 

Since this is primarily an O'Fallon IL focused Real Estate site I will expand a bit further.

Now that the credit has expired and July numbers are in (August to follow shortly) we can see a bit of a drop.

July 2009 had 44 closings.  July of 2010 had 41.  Down 3 but not what I would call plummeting.

 

Now...

August is not over but already O'Fallon is ahead of last year.

August 1-25^th 2009 24 homes closed

August 1^st-25^th 2010 35 homes closed

 

Encouraging numbers as we head into the 4^th  quarter of 2010.

 

Another interesting note....not a single active REALTOR  was interviewed, Executive Officers for both of our local boards were quoted but I am fairly sure they are not currently selling homes. 

 

Countdown to a paperless office - 5 DAYS!

 

 

 

 

For those of you who have had the pleasure of meeting Randy Grim you know what an extraordinary person he is.  If you have not been lucky enough to meet him and get involved then please check out the Stray Rescue Website.

This weekend is a celebration of sorts, a semi - grand opening/ open house at their new location and the "Liberation Revolution Festival" if you need a new furry friend, this is the time and place to be. 

THANK YOU O'FALLON!

 

The first load of used electronics is now on its way to being recycled.  Thank you to everyone who dropped off their old equipment...am pretty sure I saw a Commodore 64 in the pile. 

 

We will start collecting for our next drop starting October 1^st.  Click here for more info.

Our next event will be a canned food drive for the O'Fallon Food Pantry.  You can drop off items at the RE/MAX Balloon September 11^th 5:30-7:30pm at the Parcs at Arbor Green or at the display.  Hope to see you there!

 

First of all THANK YOU to all of you who came out to support Children's Miracle Network.  Proceeds from every Blizzard sold on August 5^th went to help Local Children's Miracle Network Hospitals. In 2009 over $4.6 Million was raised on Miracle Treat Day alone!

 

After the spike in June with the rush to get things closed prior to the tax credit deadline (it has been extended) things seem to have settled down.  Based on the numbers for July it would appear at least locally that the extension had little effect.  However estimates nationwide put the number of homeowners who would have missed the credit in the 180,000 range.  It will be this Fall before we get a "true" image of the market but expect sales to continue to soften a bit as we go into the 3^rd and 4^th quarter. Numbers for closed homes July 1 2010- July 31 2010:

Closed: 39

Re-sale: 37 Average Sales Price $194,799 Average Days On Market 149

New Construction: 2 Average Sales price $288,178 Average Days on Market 116

 

July numbers, while still strong, have slipped a bit from June as mentioned above. This is most likely due to the original expiration date set forth for June 30^th.  That said...only one more home closed in June of 2010 than June of 2009 so the true impact remains to be seen.

 

 

Price range continues to remain critical in O'Fallon.  In July 90% of the homes closed were below $300,000.  Average price for the $100,000-$199,999 range was $160,784 and for the $200,000-$299,999 was $241,638 no real surprises here.

 

 

 

Looking at numbers for July 2005- July 2010 again shows no great surprise with about an 11% decrease from July 2009-July 2010.

 

 

Year to date numbers are stronger over last year, actually 2010 YTD is up 8.5% over the same span for 2009.

 

More reason for optimism,  as of August 6th there are 63 homes under contract in O'Fallon.

 

Once again we wish to thank you for helping to support CMN if you did not get a Blizzard yesterday, don't panic they make them everyday;) and if you wish to donate you may do so by clicking here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

August 5th 2010...it’s HOT go get a Blizzard from DQ and help us out. Proceeds from every Blizzard purchased at a participating Dairy Queen store will help children at your local Children's Miracle Network hospital. Diet? What diet? It’s a GREAT cause so go for it! Local DQ restaurants participating

DQ GRILL & CHILL RESTAURANT 412 S MADISON ST LEBANON, IL 62254-1609

DAIRY QUEEN BRAZIER 2411 OLD COUNTRY INN DR CASEYVILLE, IL 62232-2304

DAIRY QUEEN BRAZIER 804 N STATE ST FREEBURG, IL 62243-4004

DAIRY QUEEN BRAZIER 3260 NAMEOKI RD GRANITE CITY, IL 62040-5014

 

Great home for sale in O'Fallon IL just reduced!

 

 

On August 5th proceeds from every Blizzard purchased at participating Dairy Queen restaurants will help local Children's Miracle Network (CMN) Hospitals.  Since it is going to be "Hotter than a Goat Eating a Blow Torch" ...no I did not make that up I really heard it...get some ice cream and feel good about doing it.

 

Road construction continues on the soon to be New and Improved O'Fallon/Troy Road.  Don't let the lack of activity fool you there are really folks working... the photos are from early morning.

 

Stay cool we are headed for 100 degrees this week.

 

 

 

 

June 2010 And Mid Year Quarter Real Estate Market update for O'Fallon IL.

 

Nationwide: More money for troubled homeowners...

The Treasury Department has approved another $1.5 Billion to help homeowners in the five States with the highest levels of foreclosure rates.  Arizona, California, Florida, Michigan and Nevada all will be receiving the additional funds.  Currently on the table for discussion (and should pass by the end of the month) is another 600 Million  for the next five states on the list, North Carolina, South Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island.

 

 Locally:

The end of the tax credit came and went...then came back.  The original June 30^thdeadline for closings was extended to assist those caught in the backlog of home loans in the pipeline that could not get the loan packages completed on time.  Some interesting numbers for O'Fallon and the tax credit's impact on the local market.  There was actually very little difference between June of 2009 and June of 2010 in the number of closings inO'Fallondespite the increased number of first time homebuyers taking advantage of the credit.  For example there was exactly 1 more closing this June than in 2009...not what I would call an overpowering impact.  The graphs below will illustrate this far better than I can.

 

Looking at 2010 individually it shows June was by far the most active month in 2010 year to date

 

 

 

However when you look at the same time period from 2009-2010 it shows only marginal improvement excluding a spike in April:

 

 

 

Year to date numbers are "almost" encouraging.  It is still very difficult to ascertain the true impact of the credit, but a clearer picture should be available by mid August. However the numbers are pointing in the right direction:

 

Good News!  Average Days on Market (DOM) has fallen!  This is the time it takes from when a house is first listed to when it closes.  We have gone from a 6 year high of 161 days in 2009 back down to 149 for 2010. 

 

Price range:  Bottom line...if your home is priced below $300,000 you have a FAR better chance of getting an accepted offer in an acceptable time frame.  As shown below 82% of the homes closed in June 2010 were below $300,000.

 

Looking at this same issue expanded over the year thus far (6/30/2010) paints a much stronger picture with 91% of the homes closed in O'Fallon IL falling below the $300,000 mark.

 

 

Market Time:

Average Days on Market is still (and always will be) directly tied to sales/list price.  For example average market time for June 2010 in the $200,000-$299,999 range was 104 days.  If you jump over the $300K mark your market time increases to 296 days, over a 6 month increase! Go up even further to over $400,000 and it jumps to a staggering 474 days.  Pricing a home correctly the first time is one of the most critical aspects of the real estate market today and sadly often ignored.

 

 

To recap, the tax credit helped on a nationwide scale, but viewing it in a hyperlocal level is difficult at best.  There has been an incentive for first time home buyers in place since last year so undoubtedly there has been a benefit to the local market but how much remains to be seen.

 

Go Green O'Fallon!    

 

I was a bit dismayed by a visit from the local Boy Scouts yesterday.  Seems we have less than 2,000 residents in O'Fallonparticipating in the recycling program offered by Waste Management.  Folks it costs $5.66 a month.  You will produce roughly 127,604 pounds of garbage in your lifetime...recycle.

Another benefit: If the community exceeds 2000 participants the price will decrease to $4.66.   For more info please contact Waste Management at 1-800-989-2783.

 

 

 

Tax credit extension passes Congress: U.S. homebuyers who are eligible for a Homebuyer Tax Credit now have until Sept. 30 to close the transaction and receive the credit. Congress has extended the closing deadline, which had been June 30, by an additional three months. President Barack Obama is expected to sign the legislation soon. The action affects an estimated 180,000 homebuyers who, because of circumstances beyond their control, had been unable to close on their purchase by the original deadline. Short Sale and REO transactions are holding up many of these closings. Qualified first-time buyers can receive a credit of 10 percent of the home price up to $8,000. Repeat buyers are eligible for a credit of up to $6,500.

 The National Association of Realtors estimates that 4.4 million people have received the credit since it was made nonrefundable in 2009. That includes 2.9 million first-time buyers and 1.5 million repeat buyers. © 2010 RE/MAX, LLC. RE/MAX Affiliates may share this article, provided they do not charge for it and this notice is included. All other rights reserved.

 

 

An amendment that would have extended the U.S. Homebuyer Tax Credit closing deadline from June 30 to Sept. 30 died with the American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act of 2010, which also would have extended U.S. jobless benefits. The Senate voted Thursday 57-41 against the legislation.

NAR estimates that as many as 180,000 buyers who went under contract before April 30 could miss out on the credit without an extension.

"Unfortunately, this piece of legislation ended up being very controversial," says Dave Liniger, RE/MAX Chairman and Co-Founder. "We were optimistic when the Senate approved the amendment adding the tax credit extension to the jobless benefits bill.

"It's going to be tough to get the extension passed by the deadline, but we won't stop trying. In the meantime, agents need to do everything they can to help their clients close by June 30."

© 2010 RE/MAX, LLC. RE/MAX Affiliates may share this article, provided they do not charge for it and this notice is included. All other rights reserved.

Don't forget today marks the kickoff for the  O'Fallon/Troy Road Project so be prepared:

 

 

Stay Tuned For the second quarter O'Fallon IL Real Estate Market Update!