Archive for June 2013
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Door knobs are cool again! |
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 Brinks Home Security seems to have re-invented the door knob. Click here to learn more via Universal Design Partners. | |
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Putting rising interest rates in context |
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 Several of you asked me to put yesterday's news (average rates increased by 0.5% in a week) in perspective. As you can see above, we are still working with ridiculously low mortgage interest rates (4.46%) from a historical perspective. | |
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Lock in your interest rate! |
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 These are still amazingly low interest rates (4.46%) compared to what we've seen in past years, but the rates are certainly starting to rise. If you're buying soon, you may want to act soon to lock in before rates go up further. | |
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Who Represents The Buyer? |
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 In the past year there have been 941 home sales in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County. In those 941 sales, the same Realtor represented the buyer and seller 156 times. Thus, 16.6% of the time, the buyer and seller are represented by the same Realtor. | |
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If you want your home to sell faster, you may need to reduce the price |
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In selling most homes, there are four factors at play:
If you're tired (as a seller) of waiting (time) for your house to sell, then we need to talk about price. Reducing the price of your home can....
We don't have to adjust the price of your home, but if we don't, and we have already optimized condition and marketing, then we'll just be waiting it out as we continue to market your home and await the "right" buyer. | |
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2012 was not the year to (try to) sell an expensive home |
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 Last year was the worst year in the last 10 years to try to sell a home for more than $600K in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County. This year is shaping up quite nicely. It may not be a blockbuster (10+ or 12+) year, but it won't be nearly as bad as last year. Looking for that perfect $600K+ home? Don't miss this one: photos | web site | |
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Impact of Interest Rate Changes on a $250K Home Purchase |
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Interest rates are increasing. It's not the end of the world, but buying soon will likely be more affordable than buying later.....  The payments shown above only reflect principal and interest, not taxes and insurance.  | |
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Sign up for the Harrisonburg Rockingham Emergency Alert System |
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 The City of Harrisonburg-Rockingham County encourages all residents and businesses within the boundaries of Harrisonburg and Rockingham County to provide contact information so that you may be notified in the event of an emergency or life threatening weather event (tornado, flash flood warning, etc). If you are a resident, employee or student in either community, you may choose to provide e-mail addresses and/or phone numbers that would be used to notify you if any of the situations listed above occur. You may choose to "opt out" of this notification at any time. Providing your contact information is strictly voluntary and your information will be kept confidential. Your contact information will not be released to any other agency, entity, or organization. Click here to sign up for the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Emergency Alert System. | |
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Inventory of single family homes shows greater seasonal fluctuations than townhouses, condos |
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 There are more homes for sale in the summer than the winter, right? Well, yes, that is true --- but those shifts in inventory are seen much more so in single family homes than in townhouses and condos, at least in Harrisonburg and Rockingahm County. As shown above, there are distinct summer highers and winter lows in the single family home inventory levels, whereas townhouses and condos do not show those same seasonal fluctuations. | |
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What actually sold in May 2013? |
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 As previously mentioned, there were a record number of contracts (143) in May 2013. Above, you'll see a break down of the price range where these buyers purchased. Click here to see further details on which properties went under contract. If you'd like further details on any of these properties, just let me know. | |
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Mortgage interest rates just barely under 4% |
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 Interest rates have increased from 3.35% to 3.98% over the past six weeks. A 30 year fixed mortgage interest rate below 4% is still fantastic (even below 5% is great) but if you're buying soon, you should consider finalizing those details ASAP to try to get a 3.something% interest rate if you can. | |
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Local home prices have still not increased |
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 The pace of home sales are up --- 26% YTD. Contracts are up --- 18% year over year. Inventory is down --- 15% over the past year. But home values are still not yet increasing. You can likely sell your home for about the same price now as you could have a year ago. So, when will we see prices start to edge up? Late 2013? 2014? | |
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Foreclosures slowing in Harrisonburg, Rockingham County |
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 Based on Jan 1 - May 31 data (78 recorded Trustee Sales) the foreclosure rate seems to be slowing in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County. This is good news for the local housing market, as foreclosures (and bank owned properties) can have a negative impact on home values. | |
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June 2013 Local Housing Market Report: Sales Increasing, Prices Stable. |
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I have just released my June 2013 monthly market report covering the Harrisonburg and Rockingham County housing market. Click here to download the full report as a PDF, read on for some highlights, or click here to view more details on the cover home, 2694 Eversole Road.  Some of the most exciting news in this report is that buyer activity continues to be strong, both in closed sales, and properties going under contract. Below we can see that both April and May were very strong months of closed transactions which have lead to a 26% year-to-date improvement in the pace of sales in this area.  In addition to strong sales (closings) over the past two months, we have also seen record numbers of buyers signing contracts in recent months. Last month, 143 buyers signed contracts to buy residential properties in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County --- well more than than any other recent month.  So, as home sales have increased, and contracts have increased, what have we seen as far as home values? For almost two years now, median home prices have hovered right around $175K in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County.  In further good news, foreclosure have been declining thus far in 2013 as compared to the overall number of home sales.  Read more, lots more, in my full monthly market report. Click here to download the full June 2013 Harrisonburg and Rockingham County Real Estate Market Report. And as always, if you're interested in talking to me about buying a home in Harrisonburg or Rockingham County.....or if you are interested in selling your current home.....just drop me a line by email (scott@HarrisonburgHousingToday.com) or call me at 540-578-0102. | |
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143 Contracts Signed in May 2013 (most contracts per month in at least six years!) |
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 I have been tracking contract activity over over six years and I have never seen contract levels this high in a single month. Over the past six years, we never saw any more than 121 contracts signed in a single month. Last month, there were an astonishing 143 contracts signed! | |
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Local unemployment levels hit 4.5 year low in April 2013, but.... |
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 If the past five years are any indicator, the local unemployment rate will start increasing again in May. As shown above, April has consistently been a low point for unemployment rates in our area, followed by increases in May, June, July. Can anyone offer any insight or guesses as to why this happens so consistently in this area? | |
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Scott Rogers
Funkhouser Real
Estate Group
540-578-0102
scott@funkhousergroup.com
Licensed in the
Commonwealth of Virginia
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