Real Estate info- buying, selling and everything in between: David Holden Broker/Owner RE/MAX Preferred (RE/MAX Preferred ABR, CDPE,GREEN,GRI,SFR)

Dogs & Real Estate...

At first glance you might wonder what in the world do dogs have to do with Real Estate?  Why has Dave written this?  Hang in there...

Yesterday provided a surprise few hours of free time, so what does one do? 

Go to the Soulard Mardi Gras Pet Parade of course!  This is a really unique and interesting event.  If you have never had the opportunity to attend I highly recommend it.  There are also Wiener dog races afterwards but I for the life of me can't really tie that in although it's a RIOT!  Here are some photos:

So...the connection to Real Estate.  Foreclosures affect pets as well as people.  All too often folks vacate a house and leave a dog (or several) chained up outside or just left in the house with an empty bowl to fend for themselves.  This is heartbreaking. 

There are several groups that will come and take them to safe quarters and the event above benefits the Open Door Animal Sanctuary.  A fine group of folks who do some terrific work. 

This past holiday season, we collected items for a local animal shelter, before our drive ended the shelter contacted us asking for whatever we had.  Seems people were dropping animals off because they could not afford to feed them any longer.  The shelter was attempting to keep the animals in the homes by providing food.

Stay tuned as I try and tie Pizza and Real Estate together.

Looking for homes?

A stimulus update! And some foreclosure numbers for O'Fallon IL.

First the stimulus:

The $15,000 tax credit for homebuyers now looks to be $8,000 (still nothing to sneeze at in my opinion) and may not have to paid back...read on!

If the home is purchased between Jan. 1 2009 - Nov. 2009 and you are a first time home-buyer, you will be eligible for a $8,000 tax credit.  If you hold on to the property for at least 36 months it does not have to be paid back.  So all in all a pretty good deal.  This should be finalized next week at which point we will get the final details out to you. Rates are still very good and prices are still low so now is the time! 

Foreclosures:  currently there are 16 foreclosures in the 62269 zip code.  Click Here for the details.  Keep in mind this list does not include pre-foreclosures and short sales.

Happy Valentines day from www.OFallonRealEstate.com

Foreclosures...

Sort of a sobering word. We are constantly asked how many are there?  Where are they? Are more happening?  These are good questions but somewhat difficult to answer.  Foreclosure lists abound online, some are accurate some are not.  When you factor in pre-foreclosures and short sales things get a little confusing.  For a "real time" look at how deep this problem is click here: Foreclosure ticker The number upon this posting was at 276,507.

Good news is that things seem to be picking up on the sale side of things.  If the stimulus package gets passed with the $15,000 tax credit we expect things to pick up even more.  More on this later...

 Looking for Homes?

In a recent conversation with our friend Ryan Luechtefeld we asked if would be kind enough to shed some light on just what the government is doing in relation to the mortgage industry.  We get many calls regarding this and thought it might be better coming straight from the source.  If you have any questions do not hesitate to contact him directly at the number below.

The US Government has decided to pump very large amounts of money into our economy.  This trend started in 2008 and has continued into 2009.  The reason that I mention it here is because it has had a very direct impact on long-term mortgage rates.  Long-term mortgage rates are basically dictated by the value of a Mortgage Backed Security.  These Mortgage Backed Securities are securities that are backed by the principal and interest payment of a set of mortgage loans.  When their value is up, mortgage interest rates go down.  The value of any security is the result of how many people are attempting to purchase the security compared to how many people are attempting to sell it.  It is simple supply and demand.  What has happened over the last month is that the US Government has decided to purchase 500 billion dollars of Mortgage Backed Securities.  This added demand has put an upward pressure on their value and mortgage interest rates have come down as a result.  Again, this is simple supply and demand.  Our expectation is that the government will continue to add value to Mortgage Backed Securities through the first quarter of 2009.  We then expect that they will then slowly pull back on their buying during the 2^nd quarter until the 500 billion dollars is spent.  What this means is that the low rates should continue for much of the first half of this year.

Ryan Luechtefeld

Midwest Mortgage Capital

Phone:  618-624-0066

LOOKING FOR HOMES?

WHY RE/MAX???

WINDERMIRE RIDGE, O'FALLON IL YEAR END UPDATE 2008

2008 saw 5 homes close in Windermire Ridge.

Prices ranged from $298,000-$370,000. Included in this group is one foreclosure.

Total sales volume: $ 1,658,750.

Average days on the market: 58

Average sales price: $331,750.

_____________________________________

Currently there are 3 homes for sale in the subdivision.

List prices range from $329,900-$359,900 and average days on market has jumped to 188.

"Stimulus Plan"

This term is being tossed around quite a bit as of late with some very large numbers attached to it...to the tune of 820 BILLION.  But the question locally is: How does this affect O'Fallon?  If you drive, walk or run around town you no doubt have a list of things you think need to be addressed.  For example those of us in the "Historic District" of town have been clamoring for storm sewers and curbs. So we are pleased to see it on the list of possibilities.

Below is a list of what the city has ready to go should some of this money trickle down our way.  I would be interested in your thoughts on what you think needs to be added to this list. There are other projects needed to be done but these meet the criteria that they must be "shovel ready" in order to receive funding.   A big thank you to Walter Denton for providing this data:

 Looking for Real Estate info?

cllick here :O'Fallon IL ,Scott AFB IL ,Shiloh IL

A common question...

Why should I talk to a lender BEFORE I look at homes?

There are several reasons why this is a GREAT idea. Here are just a few:

•1.)    You'll know what you can afford.  Most folks "think" they know, but with requirements for loans changing on an almost daily basis, the truth - is most don't. Many Lenders can tell you over the phone in a matter of minutes.

•2.)    Makes you a much stronger buyer.  Again, the mortgage industry is fluid right now. If a reputable lender has put their stamp of approval on you, you're in a better negotiating position.

•3.)    Time saver, talk to a lender first.  If there is a problem that needs correcting the time to do it is BEFORE you try to buy a house. 

•4.)    Agents "should" have all their buyers pre-qualified BEFORE showing homes.  What is the point of dragging a buyer through your $300,000 home that you just spent all day cleaning,  then loading up the little ones and leaving. Only to find out those buyers only qualify up to $150,000. 

•5.)     Nothing worse than falling in love with a home only to find out it is out of reach.

These are 5 very good reasons, however this list could continue.  Stay tuned as we will have a Mortgage industry update very soon.

Greetings!
Right now O'Fallon has a fantastic selection of homes in a wide variety of price ranges.  As of today (Jan. 31 2009) there are 231 homes for sale in the 62269 zip code.  Interest rates are still low and the first time home buyer $7,500 tax credit make this an excellent time to be shopping for a new home.
______________________________________________

TOTAL HOMES FOR SALE= 231

Of the 231 on the market:

NEW CONSTRUCTION = 36.  Average price $242,404

and Days on Market is 313.

RESALE HOMES= 195.  Average price $211,672
and Days on Market is 143.
______________________________________________

HOMES UNDER CONTRACT =13 (01/01/2009-01/31/2009)

Of the 13 with a contract: 

NEW CONSTRUCTION= 2. Average price $226,450
and Days on Market is 261.

RESALE HOMES= 11. Average price $195,164
and Days on Market is 144.

______________________________________________

CLOSED HOMES= 10 (homes closed 01/01/2009-01/31/2009)

Of the 10 that closed last month:

NEW CONSTRUCTION =1. Average price $285,340
and Days on Market is 99.

RESALE HOMES = 9, Average price is $107,380
and Days on Market is 150.

_________________________________________________

We have information available for other areas as well.  If you would like this data just let us know.

Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed.  Data pulled from SIRMLS.

Regards,

AND, BY THE WAY...IF ANYONE NEEDS A DOG, THEY REALLY NEED A HOME!

6 black lab (mix) puppies were rescued out of the middle of the road on
Saturday. PLEASE help me find them homes - otherwise, it's Animal
Control - which means they only have 5 days.  We've bathed them, sprayed
them for fleas and wormed them....but we can't keep them. They are
currently in a kennel in my basement since I  don't have a fence. I've
lost count of the number of rescue groups that I've contacted, only to
be turned down due to no room. Please check with every dog person you
know to see if they need a puppy