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Halloween Surprise, Mortgage Interest Rates Drop Nearly 0.5% |
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This is certainly a TREAT, not a TRICK. Perhaps we'll see 3.something% interest rates again soon??? | |
The Hidden Benefits of Homeownership |
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For decades, homeownership has been an American ideal and sought after by many people as a sign of stability, success and independence. There are many benefits of purchasing a home instead of leasing, starting with the much wider selection of homes that will be available to you as a buyer as opposed to as a tenant. Furthermore, as a homeowner, you will be able to make improvements to your home to make it a nicer place to live, all of which will actually benefit you - the homeowner, as opposed to solely benefiting your landlord. There are, however, some benefits of homeownership, particularly in our current housing market, that are not as readily apparent. Today's extraordinarily low 30-year fixed mortgage interest rates (currently hovering around 4.25%) give home buyers the opportunity to lock in their housing costs for the future. If you are purchasing a home in today's market, you can secure a fixed housing cost for years to come at some of the lowest mortgage interest rates we have seen any time in the past several decades. Purchasing a $250K house with a 20% down payment and with current interest rates (4.25%) will result in $984/month in principal and interest. When rates increase to 5.25%, that payment will increase $120 to $1,104/month. When rates eventually increase to 6.25%, that payment will increase $247 to $1,231/month. Purchasing a home (now or soon) will allow you to lock in low monthly housing costs on into the future. When deciding whether to purchase a home or rent a home, it is also important to remember that one dollar of a mortgage payment is not equivalent to one dollar of a rent payment. The interest that you pay on your mortgage is tax deductible, making a $1,000 rental payment more expensive than a $1,000 mortgage payment once tax time comes each year. Your $1,000 per month mortgage payment is likely to include around $7,200 of interest paid in the first year ($215K purchase price, 20% down payment, 4.25% interest rate). If you are in the 25% tax bracket, then paying this $7,200 of mortgage interest will result in tax savings of $1,800 over the course of the year. That then means that your $1,000 mortgage payment is only an effective payment of $850 per month – much more affordable than the supposedly equivalent $1,000 per month rental payment. Given the option of paying $1,000 per month towards your own mortgage or in a rental payment, it is also important to note that you can either be contributing to your own retirement (or savings) plan or to that of your landlord. Over the first five years of this $1,000 per month mortgage payment ($215K purchase price, 20% down payment, 4.25% interest rate) you would have paid over $15,000 towards the principal balance of your mortgage. Thus, just by paying your mortgage payment each month, you have accumulated $15,000 of savings. Looking at the first ten years of this mortgage, you would have accumulated over 35,000 of savings. Of note – this does not even account for the potential increases in the value of your home over time. Homeownership is not for all people at all times in their lives, but there are many benefits of owning (and thus purchasing) a home both in the short term and long term. Many of those benefits are immediately apparent, but some require a closer look at the overall financial impact of making a home purchase. | |
Beautiful Home with 2 BR Apartment on College Ave |
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This beautiful home on College Ave, near Eastern Mennonite University, offers gorgeous Western views and a 2 bedroom in-law suite. You could also continue to rent the in-law suite, offsetting your mortgage payment by $650/month --- giving you a $300K mortgage payment on this $425K home! More details can be found here: http://www.1897CollegeAvenue.com | |
$600K+ home sales bouncing back |
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Admittedly, there are still quite a few (38) homes for sale in this price range compared to the number that are selling (perhaps 9 or 10 per year) but it is encouraging to see buyer activity bouncing back in this price range. | |
Updates sales trends on HarrisonburgTownhouses.com |
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HarrisonburgTownhouses.com has been updated with sales data from 2013-Q3, and many townhouse communities are (finally) starting to see median prices increase again. So, are you wondering about property values in your townhouse community? Or considering purchasing an investment property? Whatever the reason for your interest in townhouses in Harrisonburg, you will likely find the information you need at HarrisonburgTownhouses.com, including (for each townhouse community):
The townhouse communities featured on HarrisonburgTownhouses.com include:
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Halloween on the Square, Saturday, 10a-2p |
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Don't miss it --- this Saturday, from 10 AM - 2 PM --- in downtown Harrisonburg. This year's event will include....
Find out more on the HDR Blog. | |
Unemployment down 10% year over year in Harrisonburg Metro Area |
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Harrisonburg Cyber Integration Center |
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As reported in the Daily News Record last month, the large data center on North Main Street in Harrisonburg was sold to DBT-Data for $35M last month. Here is the history of the property....
A recent press release offers further insights on the facility....
It will be interesting to see if DBT-Data can now make good use of this data center, and bring in government and private sector clients for their data storage needs. | |
Neighborhoods near Rockingham Memorial Hospital |
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These neighborhoods (shown above) are all conveniently located close to Rockingham Memorial Hospital, and offer a variety of housing options. Click on a link below to browse currently available homes for sale: Barrington Battlefield Estates Bridlewood Crossroads Farm The Glen at Cross Keys Highland Park Lakewood Estates Madison Village Magnolia Ridge Preston Lake Spring Oaks Taylor Spring | |
The government shut down did not seem to affect mortgage interest rates |
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Mortgage interest rates have stayed relatively stable over the past few weeks, despite the shenanigans going on in Washington. The current average rate for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage is 4.28%. | |
JMU enrollment continues to grow, but does not indicate a need for more off campus student housing |
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JMU just published updated enrollment projections as recently approved by the State Council of High Education for Virginia. There are plenty of different figures that can be used to understand JMU enrollment, but the most pertinent relative to our local housing market is the "Total On-Campus Headcount" as shown in the graph above. This figure is the best reflection of the number of students who will need housing, either on JMU campus, or off campus. These figures, and their changes over time, are the best numbers to be using when analyzing the need for off campus student housing in Harrisonburg. First, as you can see, JMU is still growing and intends to keep growing for years to come. This is good in many ways for JMU, our local economy, our community, etc. The question that is of interest to me, however, is how this all relates to Harrisonburg's off campus student housing market. A lots can happen in 5 short years (2008-2013)....
Over the past five years, there has been an increase of 1,445 students needing housing....and during the same time frame, housing was built for 3,792 additional students. This has led to a significant oversupply of student housing, with real world implications such as....
And yet, at the same time....
Why did it all happen? So, we apparently have a tremendous oversupply of student housing in Harrisonburg -- many wonder why it happened. Read my theories here. Looking forward.... Given this new data (at the top of this post) about increases in JMU enrollment (Total On-Campus Headcount) what can we say or know about the future?
This is a lot of information -- if you have questions, feel free to email me at scott@HarrisonburgHousingToday.com. | |
Help break a World Record this Saturday! |
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Have you ever wanted your name in the Guiness Book of World Records?? Mark your calendar for October 19 for your chance & bring your kids! Come join The Roberta Webb Child Care Center and JMU's Fraternity and Sorority Life attempt a World Record for the most people dancing the hokie pokie with hula hoops! The following outlines the itinerary for the day! 11:00am-2:30pm: Day-of RegistrationDemonstrations and practice of the routine will be available on the top of every hour. Each participant will receive a t-shirt, a commemorative bracelet, hula hoop, and box lunch for the first 1,200 to register and registered for the World Record. Directions to the James Madison University Field Hockey Field can be viewed in the link below. http://www.jmusports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=14400&ATCLID=785433 Learn more at n2Hoops.com. | |
New Park in Bridgewater, VA to Feature Skating Rink, Farmers Market, Restaurant |
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As reported in the Daily News Record today, the Town of Bridgewater is moving forward with the development of a new park on Main Street that will feature a skating rink (in the colder months), a farmers market (in the warmer months), and if all goes well, a restaurant. Click here to read more via the DNR. | |
Paired homes proving popular at The Glen at Cross Keys |
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The Glen at Cross Keys, Harrisonburg's first paired home community, is located just east of Harrisonburg on Cross Keys Road. The latest floor plans are the Sycamore and Paired Sycamore model (pictured above) that feature an open first floor plan with a two story great room. Click on the image below to view a photo set from a recent Sycamore home at The Glen at Cross Keys. Click here to view available homes at The Glen at Cross Keys. | |
Sellers Negotiating Less As Sales Pace Improves |
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As home sales have improved over the past several years, sellers have negotiated less on their sales price. Of note....
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Local Foreclosures Likely to Decline 19% in 2013 |
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Local Home Sales Rise to New Heights |
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Featured Home: 880 Mockingbird Drive, Harrisonburg, VA I have just released my October 2013 Real Estate Market Report for Harrisonburg and Rockingham County. Click here to download the 28-page PDF, or read on for some highlights. Let's start with the big news.... The annualized pace of home sales has been steadily increasing over the past several years, but we have now passed the 1,000 home sales per year mark -- which we last experienced in October 2008! In all of 2012, there were only 864 home sales, so this is an indicator that home sales might surge past 1,000 for 2013 in its entirety. Above you will note that after declining for several years, home prices are now heading back up. After a 1% increase between 2011 and 2012, we have seen a 2% increase thus far in 2013. Buyers will be glad to note that mortgage interest rates have (remarkably) started to head back down again. We may not see any rates below 4%, but it does not appear that we're headed up to 5% yet either. There is a LOT more the full report, so click here to download the full October 2013 Harrisonburg & Rockingham County Real Estate Market Report. An Important Caveat: Yes, our overall housing market is improving. But no, that does not apply equally to all price ranges, locations and property types. We can chat about your specific property to see whether that segment of the market is performing better or worse than the overall market. 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. | |
News from Heritage Estates, an active adult community located in Harrisonburg, Virginia |
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click here for a larger version of this image Heritage Estates is an active adult community located in Harrisonburg, Virginia featuring superb French Country architecture with flowing interior floor plans that are wonderful for entertaining. You'll also enjoy spectacular views of the Blue Ridge Mountains, the golf course immediately beside Heritage Estates, the community swimming pool, and a maintenance-free lifestyle. Updates at Heritage Estates....
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Tomorrow, Dayton Days |
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Dayton, VA has a population of a little over 1,500 yet on the first Saturday in October this small town erupts with energy during The Dayton Autumn Celebration also known as Dayton Days. Streets are blocked off days before and vendors locally and from all over the country start arriving set up their booths for the event that will last all day. Cars will line up route 42 and at times people will walk shoulder to shoulder to the event. Dayton Days is officially open from 8:30am – 4:00 pm, the food is incredible, the artists are creative, and the prices are right. Read more at the Funkhouser Real Estate Group Blog. | |
Amazon.com Home Automation Store |
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Check out Amazon.com's new Home Automation department for lots of fun products including these items and more:
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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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