U.S. Home Prices Decline For Third Straight Month

U.S. home prices declined 3.9 percent in October compared to a year ago and they were down 1.3 percent from September, the third straight monthly decline, according to CoreLogic’s Home Price Index.

“Home prices continue to decline in response to the weak demand for housing. While many housing statistics are basically moving sideways, prices continue to correct for a supply and demand imbalance. Looking forward, our forecasts indicate flat growth through 2013,” says CoreLogic chief economist Mark Fleming.

Including distressed sales, Nevada, Illinois, Arizona, Minnesota and Georgia posted the greatest home price depreciation in October. But other states showed improvement, including West Virginia, South Dakota, New York, the District of Columbia and Alaska, which posted the highest home price appreciation in October, including distressed sales.

Cool Runnings

Chances are, you fight the same fight as I do, the Battle of the Bulge. I say “chances are” because according to getfitamerica.org, 8 out of 10 Americans over 25 years of age are overweight and 78% of Americans are not meeting basic activity level recommendations. So, there’s an 80%ish chance I’m speaking directly to you today.

In the past, one of my problems with dropping weight and keeping it off was of course the holiday season. I come from a family of great cooks, but that’s where I’ll end the food part of the problem. My bigger problem was that I let the cold weather be an excuse for why I didn’t get out and exercise. This year I hope will be different as it’s become obvious to me that I can’t let the weather dictate my exercise routine.

Did you know the caloric intake recommendation is roughly 2500 for men and 2000 for women? That means to maintain your weight, you should burn that many calories a day. Lucky for us, most of our calories are burned through daily activities and while we are sleeping, but not enough to maintain a healthy weight even if we do stick to the recommended intake of calories. Running/jogging/walking is an effective weight management exercise. A simple rule of thumb is for every mile walked a person burns about 100 calories. Think about that the next time you eat a fun size Snickers bar (about 80 calories). Jog that mile in 10 minutes and it’s about 130 calories. The more you weigh and the faster you go, the more you burn.

Taking all this into account, I decided I would try to get outside more often even when the weather cooled. My wife bought me some running pants (look for them on Ebay) and I threw on my WCU hoodie and starting jogging in the cold. The first 2 minutes are tough, but something amazing happens after that. You actually almost get hot! Of course your face and anything else not covered will be cool, but that almost helps as the rest of your body warms up. Breathing the cool air becomes easier too! After my trial run, I decided to join a running group in town at the Black Mountain Running Company – a running appearal store on State Street. Running in a group pushes you and breaks up the boredom. They go as fast as the slowest person can go (usually me).

I encourage everyone to fight the weather this winter and get outside and walk or jog. I feel there is no more perfect place in the world to exercise outside. Beautiful mountain scenery all year long, off road trails, sidewalks and slow neighborhood streets. If you’re local, come join us at 5 o’clock on Wednesdays. If you’re not, I’m sure there is a running group somewhere close by. The important thing is to stay active. The more you stay active now, the more active you’ll be later in life.

Cool Runnings

Chances are, you fight the same fight as I do, the Battle of the Bulge. I say “chances are” because according to getfitamerica.org, 8 out of 10 Americans over 25 years of age are overweight and 78% of Americans are not meeting basic activity level recommendations. So, there’s an 80%ish chance I’m speaking directly to you today.

In the past, one of my problems with dropping weight and keeping it off was of course the holiday season. I come from a family of great cooks, but that’s where I’ll end the food part of the problem. My bigger problem was that I let the cold weather be an excuse for why I didn’t get out and exercise. This year I hope will be different as it’s become obvious to me that I can’t let the weather dictate my exercise routine.

Did you know the caloric intake recommendation is roughly 2500 for men and 2000 for women? That means to maintain your weight, you should burn that many calories a day. Lucky for us, most of our calories are burned through daily activities and while we are sleeping, but not enough to maintain a healthy weight even if we do stick to the recommended intake of calories. Running/jogging/walking is an effective weight management exercise. A simple rule of thumb is for every mile walked a person burns about 100 calories. Think about that the next time you eat a fun size Snickers bar (about 80 calories). Jog that mile in 10 minutes and it’s about 130 calories. The more you weigh and the faster you go, the more you burn.

Taking all this into account, I decided I would try to get outside more often even when the weather cooled. My wife bought me some running pants (look for them on Ebay) and I threw on my WCU hoodie and starting jogging in the cold. The first 2 minutes are tough, but something amazing happens after that. You actually almost get hot! Of course your face and anything else not covered will be cool, but that almost helps as the rest of your body warms up. Breathing the cool air becomes easier too! After my trial run, I decided to join a running group in town at the Black Mountain Running Company – a running appearal store on State Street. Running in a group pushes you and breaks up the boredom. They go as fast as the slowest person can go (usually me).

I encourage everyone to fight the weather this winter and get outside and walk or jog. If you’re local, come join us at 5 o’clock on Wednesdays. If you’re not, I’m sure there is a running group somewhere close by. The important thing is to stay active. The more you stay active now, the more active you’ll be later in life.

Tis the Season!

Well, Happy Holidays! It’s hard to believe they are here is full blast. One benefit of being in real estate (or at least this is what I tell myself to keep my sanity) is that the holiday season is the slow season so I have more time to spend with my family, specifically my wife and daughter. But just because the slow period is here doesn’t mean it’s not a good time to get your home ready for the busier times.  In fact, this is the perfect time to ensure your home will sell once the holidays are over. Here’s how…

First, there’s no better advice I can give than to have your home uncluttered. Most people will be seeing their family twice in about a month. What a perfect time to see if anyone wants the clothes you’ve outgrown the last couple of years or the DVD’s you’ve watched a thousand times. Getting things out of your home that you do not need or want any longer is a great way to improve the looks of your home and thus increase the chance that it will sale.

Here’s another idea. With the temperatures dropping and guests coming over to visit, what better use of time than to stay inside and putty holes in the walls or paint that hall bathroom you’ve been meaning to get to for 3 years. Also, a cheap tube of caulk can go a long way in improving the looks of doors, windows and molding while possibly even saving you a little money on the heating bill. A home in good cosmetic condition will sale much faster than a home in disrepair.

And finally, when we do get a couple of days of nice weather, now is a great time to access trees and shrubbery to cut the dead limbs out. There’s no leaves to get in your way or make a mess when you haul the branches away. When the blooms show up in Spring, there’ll be no dead limbs taking away from the beauty of the fresh foliage.

By doing a little clean-up, maintenance and landscaping during the slow season, your home will stand out against your competition whether it has been listed for a while or if you are planning on selling in the future. Just like anything else in life, the harder you work toward a goal, the easier it is to achieve it.

Home Ownership… Never a Bad Idea

We all know the real estate market has been tough the last couple of years, but over time there is still no better investment than owning a home. The following link is an article detailing 5 Great Things about Home Ownership. It’s a great time to make the leap!

Article – 5 Great Things about Home Ownership

Regional Housing Market Trends

I just read an article about the hottest and coolest metropolitan areas in the country (link below) as far as fewest “Days On Market” (DoM).  I was suprised to see that 8 of the top 10 areas in the country are out west. The two lone exceptions are Shreveport-Bossier City, Louisiana and believe it or not, Detroit, Michigan! Detroit of course is the Motor City and was probably the biggest loser in the country when it came to the recession and unemployment. I’m taking their spot on the list as a great sign the city, and the rust belt of the mid-west, housing markets are making a comeback. As for why the west and more specifically, California is doing so well, I would assume because the technology industry has managed to push through the recession in pretty good shape. I haven’t heard about Apple or Microsoft haveing finanacial difficulties lately, have you? Or maybe everyone’s moving as far away from the insame asylum known as Washington D.C. as possible. Whatever the reason, the California housing market looks to be leading the country out of our bad housing market. Also good, 7 of these 10 markets seen their average DoM drop from last year indicating their markets are only getting better.

As good as all this sounds for the West, the South and more specifically Florida have the worst markets in the nation when it comes to median DoM. I didn’t find this too surprising as selling real estate in the western North Carolina mountains, I work with a lot of Floridians buying and selling second homes. Or, should I say “worked” with a lot. While this area is still a favored vacation spot for the Deep South, many people from the region simply don’t have the money or confidence to buy a second home because their upside down on the mortgage of their first home. Retirees who have dreamed to move to the cooler climate once they retired are finding they can’t sell their home, if they can sell, they don’t have enough money to buy a new one here in the Appalachians. While the NC mountains have been holding thier own as far as property values, we need the Florida markets to pick up to push our market along. 7 of the top 10 worst markets are in Florida and the other 3 are coastal cities in the Southeast, and 7 of the markets have also seen their DoM increase since last year. A notable exception is Savannah, GA at number 2 on the list. Their DoM decreased by 44% from last year! Maybe their successes will spread across the border to Florida. It’s only about a hundred miles or so. Comments?

http://www.inman.com/news/2011/08/23/11-fastest-moving-real-estate-markets-in-july

Existing-Home Sales, Prices Fall in July

Existing-home sales fell 3.5 percent in July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.67 million from 4.84 million in June, but they were 21.0 percent above the 3.86 million units sold in July 2010, according to the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. The national median price of an existing-home was $174,000 in July, down from $182,600 a year ago. Some 3.65 million existing homes were available for sale at the end of July, representing a 9.4-month supply at the current sales pace.

Distressed sales accounted for 29 percent of all sales during the month. First-time buyers purchased 32 percent of the homes sold in July while investors accounted for 18 percent of purchase activity and repeat buyers accounted for the remaining 50 percent.

Regionally, sales gains in the Northeast and Midwest were offset by declines in the West and the South. Existing-home sales in the Northeast rose 2.7 percent in July and were 19.0 percent higher than July 2010. The median price in the Northeast was $245,000, down 6.8 percent from a year ago.

In the Midwest, existing-home sales increased 1.0 percent in July and were 31.3 percent above a year ago. The median price in the Midwest was $146,300, down 2.9 percent from July 2010.

Existing-home sales in the South declined 1.6 percent in July, but were 19.5 percent higher than July 2010. The median price of an existing home in the South was $152,600, down 2.2 percent from a year ago.

In the West, existing-home sales fell 12.6 percent during the month, but were 16.9 percent higher than a year ago. The median price of an existing home in the West was $208,300, down 7.1 percent from July 2010.