Fort Wayne Real Estate Agents

This information is graciously provided by a colleague of mine in Colorado.

Luther Benson - Broker/Owner
Access Real Estate Professionals Inc.
21 Years of Experience
For a Free List of Distressed Homes go to:

http://www.freedistressedlistings.com

For a list of all available homes on the MLS go to:

http://www.Homes4SaleCo.com

Learn the 7 costly mistakes buyers and sellers make on my web site:

http://www.lutherbenson.com

Email: lutherbenson@comcast.net

Direct 719-528-2406
Toll Free 877-528-2406
Cell 719-310-2404
CPV, CRS Sales were up compared to last January with an increase of 3%. There are currently 3157 active single family listings on the market in the Pikes Peak region compared to 4326 last year in December, which is a 27% decrease. New listings on the market were down by 15.3%. With supplies down and demand up for several months in a row the market is improving.

The median single family sales price was down 4.3% in January 2012. Last year's median number was $180,000 and this year's January stat was $172,500.  The average purchase price was down in January compared to last year by 2.9% to $204,814 from $210,879.

There are currently 360 active condo/townhomes listings on the market compared to 607 last year in January, which is a 41% decrease. Sales were up in January by 8.6% compared to Jan 2011 and down 18.3% compared to last month. The average purchase price for condo/townhomes was up 1% to $130,822 compared to Jan 2011 stats.

With demand increases and sale prices low this is a great time to jump into the market. If demand keeps up the prices will begin to rise.

REALTORS® RELEASE INDIANA REAL ESTATE MARKETS REPORT FOR DECEMBER 2011
Report closes door on 2011, shows it better than 2010 with regard to activity and prices

(INDIANAPOLIS, IN) – The monthly Indiana Real Estate Markets Report today released by the Indiana Association of REALTORS® also provides year-end data which shows that 2011 was better than the year before with regard to activity and home prices.

Statewide, there were 220 more homes sold in 2011 than in 2010. The median price of all 57,985 homes sold in Indiana last year was $112,900, which is 0.8 percent more than the median price of all homes sold in 2010. The average price of all homes sold last year was $135,183, which is a 1.7 percent increase over 2010.

“Local housing markets are making some progress,” said Karl Berron, Chief Executive Officer. “This is good news even if we’d like to press the accelerator.”

Statewide, when comparing December 2011 to December 2010:

• The number of closed sales increased 7.1 percent to 4,592;
• The median sale price of homes increased 0.9 percent to $110,000; and
• The average sale price of homes decreased 3.3 percent to $128,422.

“For 2012 to realize growth or just continue this slight, but steady progress, four things need to happen,” continued Berron. “One, Hoosiers must be working. Two, they must be confident in their prolonged employment. Three, qualified buyers must have access to available financing. And four, the foreclosure inventory must decrease so as to relieve that downward pressure on prices.

“Regardless, it is difficult to ignore that home prices here in Indiana have historically held their ground and interest rates are at the lowest in most memories. Anyone looking to buy or invest should start with the sortable county tables of this report and then talk to a local REALTOR® who can give the most insight into what’s happening in a neighborhood, city or school district,” concluded Berron.

More about the Indiana Real Estate Markets Report

Established in May 2009, the Indiana Real Estate Markets Report was the first-ever county-by-county comparison of existing single-family home sales in Indiana. In March 2010, IAR added statistics on other types of existing detached single-family (DSF) home sales – condominiums, duplexes, townhomes, mobile homes, etc. – to the report.

The report became even more robust in August 2010.  It now tells how the statewide housing market is performing according to eight different indicators, each with one-month and year-to-date comparisons, as well as a historical look. It also provides specific county information for 91 of Indiana’s 92 counties in a sortable table format, allowing for consistent comparison between local markets. IAR obtains the data directly from and releases this report in partnership with 26 of the state’s 27 Multiple Listing Services (MLSs), including the Broker Listing Cooperative® (BLC®) in both central and southwestern Indiana.

IAR represents approximately 15,000 REALTORS® who are involved in virtually all aspects related to the sale, purchase, exchange or lease of real property in Indiana. The term REALTOR® is a registered mark that identifies a real estate professional who is a member of America’s largest trade association, the National Association of REALTORS®, and subscribes to its strict Code of Ethics

This information is graciously provided by a colleague of mine in Colorado.

Luther Benson - Broker/Owner
Access Real Estate Professionals Inc.
21 Years of Experience
For a Free List of Distressed Homes go to:

http://www.freedistressedlistings.com

For a list of all available homes on the MLS go to:

http://www.Homes4SaleCo.com

Learn the 7 costly mistakes buyers and sellers make on my web site:

http://www.lutherbenson.com

Email: lutherbenson@comcast.net

Direct 719-528-2406
Toll Free 877-528-2406
Cell 719-310-2404
CPV, CRS

Sales were up compared to last December with an increase of 3.5%. There are currently 3285 active single family listings on the market in the Pikes Peak region compared to 4327 last year in December, which is a 24.1% decrease. New listings on the market were down by 21.4%. With supplies down and demand up for several months in a row the market appears to be improving.

The median single family sales price was down 6.8% in December 2011. Last year's median number was $198,500 and this year's December stat was $185,000.  The average purchase price was down in December compared to last year by 9.6% to $210,688 from $232,939.

There are currently 373 active condo/townhomes listings on the market compared to 612 last year in December, which is a 39.1% decrease. Sales were up in December by 12% compared to Dec 2010 and down 38.8% compared to last month. The average purchase price for condo/townhomes was down 13.3% to 157,514 compared to Dec 2010 stats.

The average single family home price is down 4.9% in 2011. New listings were down by 16.3% and sales were up 3.3%

The average Condo/townhome price was down in 2011 by by 14%.

With sales up and prices down, even if you have to sell this could be the right time to get in the market! Check it out on our web site. www.lutherbenson.com

This is a re-post of information provided by: 

Copyright @ 2012 MBSQuoteline During the first week of the new year, mortgage rates continued to be influenced by the same factors as in 2011. Stronger than expected US economic data roughly offset continued concerns about Europe, and mortgage rates ended the week nearly unchanged.

Friday's Employment report provided further support that the US economy is gaining strength to begin the new year. Against a consensus forecast of 150K, the economy added 200K jobs in December. The Unemployment Rate unexpectedly fell to 8.5%, the lowest level since February 2009, from 8.7% in November. The decline was partly due to the increase in jobs and partly due to people dropping out of the labor force. Average Hourly Earnings, a proxy for wage growth, increased 2.1% from one year ago. This was an encouraging report in nearly every area.

While prospects in the US appear to be picking up, signs of improvement in Europe have been frustratingly slow to emerge. Bond yields in troubled countries remained at elevated levels, and European banks had to pay higher than expected costs to raise additional capital. Investors are still demanding very large premiums to lend money to European countries which are considered risky, making recovery efforts even more costly. Relatively safer assets, such as US mortgage-backed securities (MBS), continued to benefit this week from the lack of progress in Europe.

Next week, the Fed's Beige Book will come out on Wednesday. Retail Sales will be released on Thursday. Retail Sales account for about 70% of economic activity. Import Prices, the Trade Balance, and Consumer Sentiment will come out on Friday. In addition, there will be Treasury auctions on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

Copyright @ 2012 MBSQuoteline

November 2011 Quick Facts

Home prices are one of the most popular barometers of market vitality, yet they

only tell part of the story. Soft prices may accompany improvements in other

indicators such as purchase demand, absorption rates, seller concessions or

market times. Regional, market-wide prices fall short by not recognizing the mix

of homes that close each month, be it weighted toward single-family, lendermediated

or new construction addition movements often lag mediated construction. In addition, price changes

elsewhere in the marketplace. Let's see what the preferred market yardstick has

measured for November 2011.

• New Listings decreased 0.4% to 671.

• Pending Sales were up 16.9 percent to 456.

• Inventory levels grew 2.5 percent to 3,851 units.

• The Median Sales Price declined 7.0 percent to $92,500.

• Percent of Original List Price Received increased 0.4 percent to 94.0.

• The rate of inventory absorption slowed as Months Supply of Inventory was

up 3.9 percent to 8.0 months.

Not only do forces beyond supply and demand affect home prices, but other

factors outside of housing serve as inputs into the equation. New job growth

and consumer confidence drive household formations which in turn fuels

purchase demand and pressures prices. Similarly, when real incomes rise,

families can afford more house and move-up buyers become increasingly

motivated. To that end, the jobless rate fell from 9.0 percent to 8.6 percent in

November – the lowest in 2.5 years.

- 7.0%

Change in

Median Sales Price

+ 2.5%

Change in

Inventory

+ 14.3%

Change in

Closed Sales

This report contains information compiled by the Indiana Association of REALTORS®, may contain content from sources other than the Upstate Alliance of REALTORS® Multiple Listing Service and may not reflect all real estate activity in the market. Statistical data is based on residential property listings and sales from the Indiana counties of Adams, Allen, DeKalb, Huntington, Noble, Wells and Whitley. Powered by 10K Research and Marketing.

Heating and cooling systems are some of the most important investments you'll ever make in your home. Heating and cooling accounts for 44% of your home's energy use. Various systems include electric, gas, propane, oil, and even wood-fired.

Some of the methods of distribution can be forced air, under floor boilers and pipes, tankless hot water, baseboard, zonal, gravity, heat pumps, ceiling wires and, of course, wood stove and fireplace. Some have higher purchase prices, while others cost more to maintain or operate.

The more energy efficient an appliance is, the less it costs to run and the lower your utility bills. Use this knowledge to evaluate the asking price of any home. You'll be money ahead as you factor its heat source into any offer! More information on heating is available right here.

Hello everyone.........

Well, it's that time again where all those home estimates and foreclosure reports, etc. come out and we are told the sky is either falling still or the rain is finally stopping. Ultimately, being a Realtor® myself in the Northeastern Indiana area I can only attest to what is happening in my markets.

Am I seeing things improving a bit?.....sure.

Do I see HUD homes and foreclosures and short sales littering the marketplace still......yup.

Are actual homeowners who have a mortgage to meet still suffering because of the continued glut of foreclosures and empty homes still available on the market bringing down their home values?.....uh-huh.

So where is the bright future?

Ultimately, in my deepest and most honest opinion.....I have no idea. I am busy as always in helping people buy and sell Real Estate but the majority of the buyers are bottom-feeder investors scooping up the HUD homes and foreclosures then re-selling them. Those who are actually selling their homes and have a mortgage payoff to meet are suffering extremely. They have to compete with a foreclosed home almost identical to their own but is priced more than 50% less.

As a Buyer client of mine which home do you think I am going to advise you to buy?
Unfortunately for that Seller with the payoff needed it won't be their home. 100% of all Real Estate Agents if doing their job well in representing the best interest of their client....the Buyer...will advise them to buy a home for $50,000 instead of the $112,000 home the actual seller needs to meet their bank's payoff.

And as the Buyer I assure you this is exactly what you want myself, your agent, to be assisting you with and the advice to give.

Now as we move into 2012 will this change? In my opinion I hope so and the sooner the better! My heart goes out to each and everyone who has to or wants to sell their home due to this rotting market condition. The banks had a blast gambling away all that funny Real Estate money yet our Federal Government doesn't seem to have an issue with allowing them to continue to bust the backs of everyone who got screwed by their misgivings.

Until the housing market and mortgage process is completely re-vamped and re-structured to benefit the homeowner this mess, in my opinion, will never be resolved.

Do I have a suggested solution?

I thought you would all never ask............

My solution, as rediculous as it sounds, now give this some thought everyone..........
but let's just "HIT THE FINANCIAL RE-SET BUTTON" globally.

ZERO all debt out across the globe and start over.

Seriously......everyone immediately owes nothing, to anyone, anywhere.
Zero it all out and start over. It effects everyone so their is NO issue of who to pay for what was just provided or delivered. No one owes anything, we start accumulating debt all over again only this time no one is allowed to take advantage of the homeowner any more.

It's brilliant indeed and would work. Of course, who is the one institution that would scream about this?......you guessed it, the banks! My gosh, how absurd should such a suggestion be, right? How would the banks get all their money that they of course earn from interest on money owed if indeed no one owed anything anymore?

Well, let's just see for a minute shall we? Of course the banks will make their money from interest.....they will just have to wait a month or two while the world charges up their debt again. And gee-whiz they must actually wait a month or 2!

In the mean time, globally everyone goes out and buys all new stuff again because after all, they have zero debt right? Thus the global economy explodes all over again and we get jump-started into the new era of 2012.

I am sure many of you think this is stupid, but of course this is just my opinion. If you have a better one then please email it to me and I will be happy to post it here. But c'mon everyone, enough with the thoughts that any government program solution can be actually implemented and achieved! This country and globe has been trying to do it since the invention of currency and paying for things......it ain't gonna happen any time soon unless something drastic is considered.

So, if anyone here is for my solution of "RE-SETTING THE GLOBAL DEBT BUTTON" please pass this blog post on and share it with the world.

WE own this country not our government!

We all need to stand up and say "PUSH THE RE-SET BUTTON"!!!!!

Sales were up compared to last November with an increase of 19%. There are currently 3667 active single family listings on the market in the Pikes Peak region compared to 4746 last year in November, which is a 22.7% decrease. New listings on the market were down by 10.2%. With supplies down and demand up for several months in a row the market appears to be improving.

The median single family sales price was down 6.6% in November 2011. Last year's median number was $198,000 and this year's November stat was $185,000.  The average purchase price was down last month compared to last year by 6.5% to $218,230 from $233,286.

There are currently 415 active condo/townhomes listings on the market compared to 733 last year in November, which is a 43.4% decrease. Sales were down slightly in November  by 1.5% compared to Nov 2010 and down 15.2% compared to last month. The average purchase price for condo/townhomes was down 2.4% to 148,264 compared to Nov 2010 stats.

The average single family home price is down 4.5% YTD and sales are up 3.4% YTD.

With sales up and prices down, even if you have to sell this could be the right time to get in the market!

Call me for a confidential private market analysis.

Luther Benson - Broker/Owner

Access Real Estate Professionals Inc.

21 Years of Experience

For a Free List of Distressed Homes go to:

http://www.freedistressedlistings.com

For a list of all available homes on the MLS go to:

http://www.Homes4SaleCo.com

Learn the 7 costly mistakes buyers and sellers make on my web site:

http://www.lutherbenson.com

Email: lutherbenson@comcast.net

Direct 719-528-2406

Toll Free 877-528-2406

Cell 719-310-2404

CPV, CRS

Smartphone Apps to Soothe the Savage Time Beast.

Copyright© 2011 RISMedia, The Leader in Real Estate Information Systems and Real Estate News. All Rights Reserved.

We’re all busy, pulled in many directions during our typical day-to-day routine, and more and more our days blur between work-life and home-life. Following are a few good smartphone applications that can help you save time while increasing your productivity:
 
Check It!
Professionals like you get the job done because you are organized, and one way to stay organized is with lists. Check it! is simple, easy-to-use and will keep you organized. Buy it for just 99 cents at the App Store (open iTunes) where you will find all of the apps mentioned in this column.
 
Documents to Go
With this app you can edit, create and view Word, Excel files, PowerPoint, PDF, iWork and other files. It is even capable of sending and receiving attachments. While this app is $9.99, it is highly functional for professionals who are constantly on-the-go.
 
HomeBase
Are you big into social media? This app allows you to send your announcements with pictures and links to all of your social media outlets. It blasts the announcement for you. And now you can add multiple accounts for all of your social networks. HomeBase costs $1.99 and takes your communications to infinity and beyond.
 
HootSuite
This is a great social media tool for Twitter, Facebook and Foursquare. This app lets you send and schedule Twitter, Facebook and Foursquare updates from anywhere, and also offers monitoring. HootSuite is free.
 
Instapaper
How many times have you wished you could save Web pages for later reading? With this app, priced at just $4.99, you can do just that.
 
LiveProfile
This app is a fast, cross-platform (iPhone, BlackBerry, Android) messenger that allows you to communicate, send photos and videos, post status updates, customize your profile and a lot more. LiveProfile is free.
 
Mashable
Mashable is the largest independent news source dedicated to covering the digital culture, social media and technology. This app is free.
 
There are hundreds of thousands of smartphone applications. These are just a few innovative, time-saving suggestions. Remember, whatever you may be trying to accomplish, there’s probably an app for that!
 
Copyright© 2011 RISMedia, The Leader in Real Estate Information Systems and Real Estate News. All Rights Reserved.