While you may hear in the news that home prices have fallen drastically and are continuing to fall, I wanted to share with you an interesting statistic. When comparing Maryland home prices from 1999 to 2009 home prices actually INCREASED a total of 83.9% over the 10 year period.
According to the Maryland Association of Realtors, in 1999 the average sales price in Maryland was $162,018. In 2009 the average sales price was $301,270.
Through determination and hard work, the Creig Northrop Team of Long & Foster achieved incredible results in 2009. The Northrop Team took home top honors ranking # 2 in Sales Volume by a Team. The Northrop Team retained their spot for the fourth year in a row, only $6 million off the # 1 spot held by John McMonigle of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage based in Newport Beach, CA
Creig Northrop, President of The Northrop Team says, “I am amazed and impressed for what we all achieved in what I believe was the toughest year in real estate. Teamwork makes the dream work, and this is exemplified by these results. I could not be more proud of everyone on this team and give a heartfelt thank you for all their loyalty and dedication.”
The Wall Street Journal/LORE Top 400 is based on a survey of over 7,000 brokerage firms, associations of Realtors® and hundreds of other sources to determine the top real estate professionals in the United States. Now in its 4th year, this ranking is the only independent study of its kind where all of the results from individual submissions are independently verified through third party sources. The definition of what constitutes an individual sales professional and a team has been developed from input from dozens of industry professionals.
Congress has passed an extension of the Homebuyer Tax Credit closing deadline, the Homebuyer Assistance and Improvement Act (H.R. 5623).
The extension applies only to transactions that have ratified contracts in place as of April 30, 2010 that have not yet closed. The legislation is designed to create a seamless extension. The new closing deadline for eligible transactions is September 30, 2010.
There will be no gap between June 30 and the date the President signs the bill into law. Extending the Tax Credit Closing deadline will help provide additional stability to real estate markets across the nation.
The extension was necessary to help an estimated 200,000 home purchasers qualify for the government tax credits because many are involved with transactions that are lasting over 60 days. These transactions include short sale and bank-owned (REO) properties.
Everywhere I go, people ask me, “How’s the market?” I’m happy to say, April was fantastic! Our team sold 121 homes in the month of April. That’s great news, not just for us as a team, but also for you, our clients! We are starting to see an increase in activity. Homes that are priced well, and in good condition, are selling quickly. We are seeing homes sell in under a week and in a few cases, multiple offers. 119 of our listings have sold in under 30 days since the beginning of the year. 43 of those listings have sold in 10 days!
The condition of the home is certainly dictating how quickly it’s selling. That’s why we focus so much on staging your home properly. We are proud to announce we have two new Home Marketing Consultants on our team, Debra White and Dervon Hampton. They bring an incredible amount of experience and savvy design know-how to the table, and are already receiving rave reviews from our sellers. According to stagedhomes.com, 94.6% of staged homes sell on average in 33 days or less!
We are all pleased to see signs of recovery in this region and we are hopeful this trend continues during the summer selling season.
On May 20th, Governor Martin O’Malley signed hundreds of bills into law. Summaries of several real estate bills he signed are listed below, including three MAR priorities: legislation prohibiting the taxation of forgiven debt in short sales; legislation giving small businesses the ability to pay property taxes semiannually; and legislation regulating real estate teams.
Contrary to reports and newspaper articles circulating widely on the Internet, there is not a “sales tax” or “transfer tax” on the sale of a home included in the recently signed health care reform bill. The analysis underlying these reports is incorrect.
Beginning in 2013, the health bill imposes a new 3.8% Medicare tax on “net investment income” earned by taxpayers with Adjusted Gross Income of more than $200,000 for individuals or more than $250,000 for married couples. Since capital gains are included in the definition of net investment income, a tax obligation might result from the sale of real property. In the case of the sale of a principal residence, the existing $250,000/$500,000 exclusion from capital gains on the sale of a principal residence remains unchanged. Therefore, even when the AGI limits are met, the new tax would apply only to the gain realized on a home sale in excess of the $250K/$500K existing primary home exclusion that pushes the filer’s AGI over the $200K/$250K adjusted gross income limit.
You are Invited to Celebrate a night of The Finer Things
A benefit for Cystic Fibrosis
At the home of Tim Evankovich and Jamie Coles
Saturday, May 22, 2010 6 – 11 PM
13037 Hall Shop Road
Highland, MD 20777
GRAND SHOWCASE OF LIFE’S FINER THINGS BY OUR SPONSORS:
Wine Tasting by Salvestrin Wines
Art Exhibit by World Renowned Artist, Thomas Arvid
Private Dinner featuring Culinary Delights by Chef’s Expressions
Silent Auction featuring the finest selection of exquisite jewelry by J. Brown Jewelers and Rolex
Sunset Cruise on “Suzie’s Choice” by Stuart & Suzanne Amos and Aris Melissaratos
Dinner for Two by bistro blanc
Introduction to The Ritz Carlton Residences at the Inner Harbor Baltimore
Explore the new Mercedes-Benz MAYBACH
Enjoy Premium Chocolates by GODIVA Chocolatier
Live Music & other delights!
Tickets are $100 each – proceeds benefit The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
You have no doubt seen or heard the press mention that the ‘Affordability’ index is at or near record levels. The NAR’s Housing Affordability Index (HAI) rose to the range of 160-170 this year, setting record high levels.
Housing Affordability – Whichever Index You Look at, The Value Story is Great for Buyers
First, there are actually several indexes out there from various sources. For example, the NAHB (National Association of Home Builders) has one they call the Housing Opportunity Index or HOI and the NAR (National Association of Realtors) publishes the Housing Affordability Index or HAI.
While both indicate we are at or near record levels, I want to focus on the NAR index as the topic of today’s note.
The NAR Housing Affordability Index – What is It?
Essentially, the index is a measure of the financial ability of U.S. families to buy a house.
In the simplest terms, an index value of 100 means that a family with the median income has exactly enough income to qualify for a mortgage on a median-priced home.
An index above 100 signifies that a family earning the median income has more than enough income to qualify for a mortgage loan on a median-priced home, assuming a 20 percent down payment.
The NAR Housing Affordability Index – Trending Higher
The current index at the end of 2009 stood at 171.6 – 56 points above where it was at the end of 2007!
What this shows is that the relationship between home prices, mortgage interest rates and family income is very favorable right now.
The NAR has said that it is the most favorable since tracking began in 1970!
