Frederick Housing Market Update

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Todays update we will take a quick look at the inventory levels in Frederick County over the last six months. The inventory is still up over last year at this time by almost 400 homes. Interestingly, the number of Condos have decreased while everything else has continued to climb. They have been seeing about 15 sales a month on average. (Here my latest on the Condo market in Frederick County.)

Housing count by types

Date	Condos	Town Homes	Single Family	Total Homes
8/9/2007	183	527	1521	2310
8/20/2007	185	542	1525	2332
8/28/2007	182	553	1513	2334
9/10/2007	190	544	1508	2326
9/17/2007	191	555	1509	2338
10/3/2007	188	550	1480	2302
10/15/2007	175	543	1470	2272
11/10/2007	162	536	1387	2166
11/26/2007	164	516	1347	2108
12/10/2007	154	497	1308	2039
12/31/2007	153	478	1241	1952
1/7/2008	143	453	1167	1840
1/20/2008	145	468	1196	1879
1/30/2008	143	493	1212	1915
2/11/2008	145	502	1230	1944

February has historically been the beginning of the Spring Market lately. Last year I feel our Spring Market was in February and March and then dwindled off from there. This year seems a little slower start in the activity than last year. However, the activity is picking up. There are homes that have picked up in scheduled showings and actually contracts are being written on homes now too.

Sellers continue to show your home in the best light as possible and Buyers talk to your lenders. The changes in lending requirements have really shut down the 100% financing. Chances are today you will need at least 5-10% as a down payment. That’s why you really need to be talking to your lender. If you need one I have a list of Preferred Lenders in Frederick that will gladly assist you.

Also if you need assistance finding the right home…you can call me.

Have a great day.

February 11, 2008 · Filed Under Frederick Market Conditions, Market Condition

2 Comments

Friday Foto - Move that House - Move that house

Wait, isn’t it “Move that Bus?” No, we aren’t watching the Extreme Makeover. These guys are serious. They are actually moving this house. Not only are they going to move one…they are going to move another. As part of Illiano Properties new plaza going in behind Bank of America in Mt Airy, they are shifting around a couple houses. This was the first I had seen this, so obviously more pictures will come as they actually move the house. I keep my eye on it.

February 8, 2008 · Filed Under Frederick MD Real Estate, Frederick Misc, Friday, Fun

6 Comments

A call for [Help] reaching out to the Tornado victims

[Blog]

The blogosphere is reaching out to our readers to help with the devastation that occurred over night in mid America. As my part, I am adding the Fundraiser button to my [blog] in my Helping Others section.

[Help]

This week, thousands of people lost their homes and over 54 lost their lives. The destruction is devastating and over five states have a long road ahead in rebuilding after these massive destruction. Help raise funds for the reconstruction efforts by going to Bloodhound Blog to download one of the buttons connected to a PayPal account (thanks to Jay Thompson) to promote the fundraiser.

Read the rest on Agentgenius.com

[Thanks]

February 7, 2008 · Filed Under Frederick MD Real Estate

1 Comment

What’s all this talk about Short Sales

Short Sales, Bank Owned, Foreclosure, Bankruptcy…all start with one problem; Finances or the lack of funds to overcome the current and future expenses. Who hasn’t had some type of financial issues in your life? Unfortunately, these are some of the more extreme financial solutions. With foreclosures on the rise, short sales have become an option to relieve some of that burden.

Disclaimer; I am not a tax expert, CPA, financial planning expert, nor a lawyer. I suggest before you decide if a short sale is right for you, that you seek professional advice from your CPA, tax expert and lawyer. What I am giving you here is a peek into what could happen if this is the right choice for you.

Foreclosure is the final action that a bank takes to recover assets to cover the mortgage at which a homeowner promised to pay. There are other alternatives to foreclosure. One of the biggest problems with deterring foreclosure; Homeowner denial.

How many empty promises were made to the collection agency?

How many times has the phone rang and you didn’t answer it?

How many notices from the bank went unopened into the garbage?

For some reason it is our human psyche to ignore it and it will go away. THIS IS THE WORSE THING YOU CAN DO. Let me tell you a secret; Banks don’t want to own real estate. Now the catch-22, they don’t realize that either. You would think that they would want to help you before you start to have problems in today’s economy and housing situation. I have heard many stories that the bank wouldn’t even talk to the homeowner until they were at least one month behind on their payments. So, I guess you have to hurt your credit to fix your credit. (that is not my advice, that is just my reasoning.)

What is happening quite too often now is that homes have depreciated anywhere from 5-15% since 2006. (prices are actually that same now as they were in 2005 according to the January 2008 Housing report for Frederick County) What you have now is a mortgage that is worth more than the property is actually valued. This is creating problems with refis too. Some are looking to refinance their mortgage to help lower the payments which is great. The interest rates haven’t been this low for a long time. But now the problem, the appraisals are not matching up with what is owed on the property. In some cases you have homeowners that bought their home with no money down which means after all the charges, the loan was more than the purchase price. Simple banking math; you don’t pay much on the principal to lower your debt for the first few years only interest (even on 30 yr fix loans.) Now, if the homeowner tries to sell the property, the amount they owe is more than the market will pay. Hence the birth of the short sale. What happens now, the bank has to approve the sell of your property, because now they are looking to take a loss on your mortgage. This can be a tedious and nerve racking process for all involved. In the end the bank still might to decide on foreclosing on the property. They might feel this will yield them more money.

Now a shortsale doesn’t always relieve you of your financial burden. Banks might request that you pay back the difference between the sale price and the mortgage price or they may not. If you are relieved of the difference, it is still considered as income by the government and could be subject to taxation. Either way, it is much less than having the whole mortgage hanging over your head. This might not be the right choice for you or the only solution that is out there for you, but there are solutions. You need stop avoiding the banks…that is the worse thing you can do. A REALTOR educated on short sales can help show you options.

I will be back next week to talk about what to expect in a short sell as the seller and as the buyer.