Also you can follow us on Twitter by clicking HERE & add us as a friend on Facebook by clicking HERE! Home prices slow their decline According to the S&P Case-Shiller home-price indexes, U.S. home prices decreased at a slower annual rate in October, but prices were flat compared to September. The indexes showed prices in 10 major metropolitan areas fell 6.4% in October from a year earlier, while in 20 major metropolitan areas, home prices dropped 7.3% on the year. However, both indexes were flat in October compared with the previous month. All 20 major metropolitan areas again posted declines from a year earlier, the 19th time in a row. Las Vegas continued to be hit the hardest, remaining the one market that has not seen a glimmer of hope so far this year. Prices have declined there for... 12/30/2009

Also you can follow us on Twitter by clicking HERE & add us as a friend on Facebook by clicking HERE! WSJ - time is right to buy Brett Arends of the Wall Street Journal has an interesting argument he pulled together using the latest Case-Shiller data, and double checked against Census data. In short, now is a good time to buy a home. Real estate has now fallen 30% from its 2005 peak, at the same time as mortgage rates have also plummeted. In 2006 you had to pay an average of about 6.4% on a 30-year fixed loan, according to the Federal Reserve. Right now you can get deals for about 5%. On average, buying a home now is as cheap as it was in the mid-1990s, when houses were an absolute steal. But what about waves of mortgage resets coming in the next two years? What about all the unemployme... 12/30/2009

Today I thought I would take a look at the Fishers foreclosures market and see what is happening with bank owned homes, short sales, etc. as compared to the rest of the market. First some stats about all Fishers real estate: - 569 homes on the market in Fishers Indiana - Average asking price is $291,230 - Average price per square foot is $107 - Average square feet is 2,478 Now let’s look at some numbers for foreclosures: - 73 homes on the market (includes bank owned, short sales, HUD owned, and VA owned) - Average asking price is $287,381 - Average price per square foot is $91 - Average square feet is 2740 - 65 homes sold since 9/1 /2009 with average selling price of $177,836 - Average selling price to square foot 97% - 31 pending homes Overall, the “distressed” market currently represe... 12/28/2009

Also you can follow us on Twitter by clicking HERE & add us as a friend on Facebook by clicking HERE! S&P Downgrades Five Mortgage Insurers Standard & Poor’s downgrade the credit ratings on five mortgage insurance companies. The credit ratings agency said continued losses on insurance claims exceeded previous expectations, as low-risk books of business are starting to experience greater losses. “The lower-risk books of business within the mortgage sector (such as those with higher FICO scores or lower loan-to-value ratios) have been and will be more adversely affected than we had anticipated and U.S. mortgage insurers’ losses will continue to be greater than previously expected overall,” S&P analyst Ron Joas wrote. “If the US economy were to experience another setback, prolonging the ex... 12/28/2009

Also you can follow us on Twitter by clicking HERE & add us as a friend on Facebook by clicking HERE! New home sales down We mentioned yesterday that new home sales were expected to have gone up in November, but it turns out they unexpectedly plunged instead. According the Census Bureau report, the seasonally adjusted annual rate of new home sales plummeted 11.3% to 355,000 in November compared to the prior month. The November rate was the lowest since April, when new homes sold at an annualized rate of 345,000. According to Ian Shepherdson, chief U.S. economist for High Frequency Economics in Valhalla, N.Y., the November decline can be attributed in large part to changes to the $8,000 home buyer's tax credit. Buyers who were rushing to make a purchase ahead of the tax credit's Nov. 30 ... 12/27/2009

Living in Fishers Indiana (edit/delete) Fishers, Indiana is a great place to live.  Fishers has won many awards including, but not limited to #10 out of a 100 Best Places to Live in the United States(source- Money Magazine 2008).   Fishers has a median age of 30 years old, and Fishers has a median home price of $149,700.  Fishers has over 60% of its population with at least a bachelor's degree.(source-CNN)   The schools are always ranked highly as well.    Fishers has a beautiful downtown with restaurants and bars.   There are many outdoor activities to do in Fishers including numerous golf courses(Gray Eagle Golf Club, Ironwood Golf Club, River Glen Golf Club, and Hawthorns Golf and Country Club), Numerous Fishers Parks, and Geist Reservoir(Boating, Fishing, Etc.)  There are many Fishe... 12/27/2009

Also you can follow us on Twitter by clicking HERE & add us as a friend on Facebook by clicking HERE! 40% of recent buyers used FHA loans According to the National Association of Realtors' (NAR) Realtor's Confidence Index, 39 percent of recent buyers purchased a home with a Federal Housing Administration (FHA) insured loan in November. The survey also reported that the number of first-time home buyers climbed to 51%. The RCI results also indicated that distressed sales increased to 33% of all home sales last month, and that both investors and first-time home buyers are competing for these properties. The preponderance of distressed properties on the market has also influenced buyers’ perceptions of other homes for sale, with many realtors report that many buyers have pricing expectation... 12/24/2009

Also you can follow us on Twitter by clicking HERE & add us as a friend on Facebook by clicking HERE! Home sales rise to highest level in 3 years The National Association of Realtors' reported today that existing home sales rose 7.4% to a seasonally adjusted rate of 6.54 million in November from 6.09 million in October, and are 44.1 percent higher than the 4.54 million unit pace in November 2008. But the rise was expected. Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said “This clearly is a rush of first-time buyers not wanting to miss out on the tax credit, but there are many more potential buyers who can enter the market in the months ahead.” Of course, much of November's increase may have to do with the original expiration date of the $8000 tax credit, and now that the deadline pressure has li... 12/23/2009

Also you can follow us on Twitter by clicking HERE & add us as a friend on Facebook by clicking HERE! New Home sales up? The Commerce Department's report on November's new home sales -- due out today -- is forecast to show a 2.3 percent increase to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 440,000, from 430,000 in October, according to economists polled by Thomson Reuters. First-time buyers will still be able to save up to $8,000, and now homeowners who have lived in their current properties for at least five years can claim a tax credit of up to $6,500 if they relocate. To qualify, buyers must ink a deal by the end of April. Still, some analysts don't think the new deadline will have an immediate impact on sales, because many buyers won't act until the 11th hour approaches. "Buyer traffic i... 12/23/2009

Merry Christmas to my Fishers Real Estate readers; I wanted to provide a one stop listing of various Christmas Eve services of some of the Churches in Fishers.  As you worship this week; I pray that the true meaning of Christmas brings you joy knowing that the greatest gift, that being Grace, is yours. All services are Christmas Eve, unless otherwise noted: Life Connections at 11616 East 126th is at 5:00 St Lukes United Methodist Church at 100 West 86th has a Family Service (perfect for youngsters who are too excited to sit still!) at 3PM, or has Candlelight Services at 5, 7, 9 & 11PM Fishers United Methodist Church located at 9690 East 116th Street will have services at 3:00 and 5:00 for Families with music by The Three Wisemen and Guitars and a Candlelight service at 7:00 with music b... 12/23/2009

There are currently 725 homes for sale in Fishers and of those 90 over over 10% are a distressed property.  More than likely, most of the homes that are distressed have sellers with "negative equity".  As a reminder distressed property is a bank owned, foreclosure, short sale, or a property where a bank is likely involved. Many of you reading have probably read a little bit about this Fishers Realtor and know that I was an Accountant turned Realtor in 2001.  As an Accountant, equity is an important concept to understand.  Equity is the difference between the assets of the company (cash, receivables, equipment, etc) and the liabilities of the company (the payables, notes, etc).  Without getting into Income Statements and Balance Sheets...if equity is positive it is good, if it is negativ... 12/19/2009

Also you can follow us on Twitter by clicking HERE & add us as a friend on Facebook by clicking HERE! 4 mortgage giants on the ropes At the same time as the biggest banks are repaying their government loans, four giant mortgage backers remain on government life support. American International Group, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and GMAC, are not only unable to repay the government, they are still in need of infusions. They appear at risk of getting onto a debt merry-go-round, where they have to draw new money from the government just to keep up with their existing government debts. Fannie Mae recently warned, for example, that it could not pay the dividends it owes the Treasury, so “future dividend payments will be effectively funded with equity drawn from the Treasury.” Both Fannie Mae and... 12/18/2009

Also you can follow us on Twitter by clicking HERE & add us as a friend on Facebook by clicking HERE! Only 4% get help under foreclosure prevention According to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Office of Thrift Supervision, nearly 80% of all loan modifications resulted in lower payments in the second quarter (the latest figures available) -- up from just over 50% three months earlier. When loans are made affordable, borrowers are less likely to default. The trouble is that only about 4% of troubled borrowers have received long-term help under the Obama administration's foreclosure prevention program. The report, the first comprehensive tally of permanent modifications made, shows that loan servicers have converted 31,382 people from trial adjustments to long-t... 12/18/2009

Also you can follow us on Twitter by clicking HERE & add us as a friend on Facebook by clicking HERE! Foreclosure backlog at 1.7 million About 1.7 million homeowners were on the verge of foreclosure in the fall, a looming "shadow inventory" of homes that will be put up for sale in the coming years and weigh down prices, according to a report from First American CoreLogic. The number, up from 1.1 million a year earlier, is likely to keep rising through the middle of next year or later, said Mark Fleming, chief economist of CoreLogic. The foreclosure backlog isaAlready equal to nearly half the 3.8 million unsold new and existing homes currently on the market, First American said. "We're going to be dealing with high levels of distressed (sales) in the marketplace for at least a couple of ... 12/18/2009

Also you can follow us on Twitter by clicking HERE & add us as a friend on Facebook by clicking HERE! Interest rates to stay low? The Federal Reserve is expected to leave interest rates at a record low this week. The big question is whether Chairman Ben Bernanke and his colleagues will hint about when they will reverse course and start boosting rates. The Fed is expected to announce its policy decisions on Wednesday afternoon and experts don't think it's likely to raise rates for the foreseeable future, perhaps not until 2011. Last week, Bernanke warned that the economy confronts "formidable headwinds." They include a weak job market, cautious consumers and tight credit. Against that backdrop, the Fed is all but certain to keep the target range for its bank lending rate at zero to 0.25 ... 12/15/2009

Attention Realtors! Do you just flat out hate short sales with a passion? I've got a solution for you if you'd like to hear about it... It involved never speaking with another bank again! Just click HERE or click the link to the right or below http://www.cash4yourhomeindiana.com/contact! Also you can follow us on Twitter by clicking HERE & add us as a friend on Facebook by clicking HERE! Florida takes second place in foreclosures Florida edged out California for the second place in the national foreclosure rate, lagging behind only Nevada in the percentage of home mortgages in default. Florida’s November figure was 7.6 percent higher than November 2008 and 2.0 percent higher than October 2009. One out of every 165 homes was in some stage of foreclosure proceedings, according to a nation... 12/14/2009

YOU need to watch the below video if you haven't already! 12/14/2009

The Fishers Real Estate Market has turned the corner?  Last month we saw the 2009 monthly totals beat the 2008 monthly totals by 4 houses, this month we see the 2009 number 18 better than 2008 November. Let's have a look at the graph and talk about November.  For November 2009, there were 113 homes that sold and 16 (14%) of those were distressed properties.  Last year for November, there were 85 homes that sold and 9 (10%) were distressed properties. Of the 113 that sold this month; the average days on the market were 66; this compared with 92 a year ago and that is a storyline!  The homes are selling quicker in a month that typically is slow.  Here's my theory on that; there were a lot of people who went under contract BEFORE the first time buyer credit extension was announced.  So, we... 12/13/2009

Attention Realtors! Do you just flat out hate short sales with a passion? I've got a solution for you if you'd like to hear about it... It involved never speaking with another bank again! Just click HERE or click the link to the right or below http://www.cash4yourhomeindiana.com/contact! Also you can follow us on Twitter by clicking HERE & add us as a friend on Facebook by clicking HERE! 4% get mortgage help Treasury officials, in the first comprehensive tally of permanent modifications made, say that loan servicers have converted 31,382 people from trial adjustments to long-term assistance as of Nov. 30, but 30,650 people in trial modifications have been denied. That means that only about 4% of troubled borrowers have received long-term help under the Obama administration's foreclosure... 12/11/2009

Attention Realtors! Do you just flat out hate short sales with a passion? I've got a solution for you if you'd like to hear about it... It involved never speaking with another bank again! Just click HERE or click the link to the right or below http://www.cash4yourhomeindiana.com/contact! Also you can follow us on Twitter by clicking HERE & add us as a friend on Facebook by clicking HERE! Foreclosure filings fall as loan modifications slow judicial process According to RealtyTrac, an online marketer of foreclosed properties, there were 306,627 foreclosure filings last month, making November the fourth straight month of decline (3% drop in October, 4% in September and 1% in August). Nearly 307,000 households received a foreclosure-related notice in November, and banks repossessed about 77... 12/10/2009