Real Estate info- buying, selling and everything in between

Hello!

So... not much change from 30 days ago.  There are now 5 (there were 3) homes for sale in Windermire Ridge.  And nothing has closed (yet) this year.  Of the five homes for sale the average price is $334,820 and the average days on the market is 128.  If you are interested in the February 2009 Market Conditions Report for O'Fallon IL it can be found here.  Interest rates remain low and inventory is high so the time is still right to be shopping for a house.  Additional info on the First Time Home buyer Tax Credit is available by clicking here : Tax Credit.

Regards.

Your Market update for February 2009.  Activity is increasing from January!
Right now O'Fallon IL has a fantastic selection of homes in a wide variety of price ranges.  As of today (Feb. 25^th 2009 there are 240 homes for sale in the 62269 zip code.  Interest rates are still low and the first time home buyer $8,000 tax credit make this an excellent time to be shopping for a new home.
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TOTAL HOMES FOR SALE= 240 (slightly up)

Of the 240 on the market:

NEW CONSTRUCTION = 35.  Average price $238,435 (down from $242,404)

And average Days on Market is 316.

RESALE HOMES= 205  Average price $224,637 (Up)
and Days on Market is 138 (Down)
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HOMES UNDER CONTRACT =23 (02/02/2009-02/25/2009) UP almost 50%!

Of the 23 with a contract: 

NEW CONSTRUCTION= 5 Average price $236,873
and Days on Market is 181.

RESALE HOMES= 18 Average price $156,850
and Days on Market is 130

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CLOSED HOMES= 11 (homes closed 02/01/2009-02/25/2009)

Of the 11 that closed last month:

NEW CONSTRUCTION =3. Average price $241,333
and Days on Market is 168

RESALE HOMES = 8, Average price is $194,588
and Days on Market is 101

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So, not all bad news. There are a few bright spots with the homes going under contract in the last 25 days jumping from 13 to 23!

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.

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Why use a RE/MAX Agent?

So the weekend is once again upon us. 

This Saturday is the Mardi Gras parade.  However, if the idea of standing around, in the cold with 200,000 of your closest friends does not appeal to you, there is another option.  Actually, there are hundreds of options but we promised to discuss the new stimulus plan earlier.

 Energy Efficent Housing tax credits and grants

Stimulate the economy.  And get a tax credit.  As part of the stimulus package (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009) there are some perks for becoming more energy efficient.  If you buy a new furnace, windows or insulation you are eligible for a 30% tax credit.  This is a significant jump over the 10% offered last year.

If you elect to go to Soulard:

Stay warm, stay safe and have fun!

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The Stimulus Plan!

If you want to buy a house what does it mean?  Well, if you are a first time homebuyer...read on!

A First Time Homebuyer is defined as someone who had not owned a home in the last 3 years.  Before anyone gets any bright ideas...this includes your spouse.  So if you are on the Title and not your spouse you DO NOT get the credit.  Had several calls about this already today.

If you meet the above requirement, you are eligible for an $8,000 tax credit. Simple, right?  There are some income limits, $75,000 or $150,000 if a joint return.  The big change is that this does not have to be paid back, stay in the home for three years and no re-payment.  Must be purchased between January 1^st 2009 and December 1^st 2009. AND... It must be your principal residence.  

For full details contact us.  There are some more items attached to the bill including but not limited to:

Neighborhood Stabilization

FHA, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac loan limits

Energy Efficent Housing tax credits and grants*****A PERSONAL FAVORITE OF OURS******

Over the course of the next few days we will highlight several other points of the package to expand on.

Stay tuned.

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.

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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

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