A Daily Shot of News

A suburban community near to the city of Phoenix, the Fountain Hills, Arizona, community is home to about 25,000 in Maricopa County. The community neighbors two Native American nations, and it was the eighth-fastest growing community in the state in the previous decade. It real estate market is varied and has suffered along with many others since 2008, when the U.S. began to experience financial problems that eventually spread to nearly every housing market nationwide.

In March, the Fountain Hills real estate saw sales activity spike, to 65 homes sold, a more than 50% increase from February, when there were just 31 sales, and up from just 40 sales one year ago. In addition, inventory was beginning to clear out, as the number of active listings fell. There were 359 active listings in April, down from 379 one month prior and down from 477 one year ago.

Sales prices of Fountain Hills homes for sale per square foot have taken a mostly steady course, with only slight increases and decreases over the past year. In March, the average price per square foot of a home for sale was $238, only slightly changed from February’s $239 and down from $282 from a year earlier. The average price per square foot of sold homes in March was $165, up from $164 in February and down from $166 a year ago.

Despite some of these signs of progress, foreclosures are still plaguing the Fountain Hills real estate market. In March there were 31 foreclosure notices filed, the highest figure since June and constant with last year’s 30. There were 19 foreclosure trustee sales in March, up from 13 a month earlier and matching January’s mark for the highest figure in a year. In March 2009, there were only six   foreclosure trustee sales in Fountain Hills.

Despite continuing declines in median sales prices in New Haven, Connecticut, recent months have offered optimistic views of the future of the New Haven real estate market due to increasing home sales topping the previous year’s level during the same period.  Many real estate experts have attributed the federal tax credit for first-time homebuyers to the increase in sales.  However, realtors are also quick to point out that it is only the homes in the lower price ranges that are selling.  The luxury home market continues to struggle as it has experienced extremely sluggish activity over the past months.  With the federal tax credit about to expire though, many real estate experts are concerned whether the real estate in New Haven will continue to show the improvements it has made over the last few months.

The New Haven Register has reported how successful the federal tax credit for first time homebuyers has been in spurring activity in the New Haven real estate market.  Over the past few months, New Haven has experienced an increase in home sales, a 9 percent increase compared to that of the same period the year before.  1,517 homes sold last quarter in New Haven, an increase from the 1,390 sold during the same quarter in 2008.  Realtors have noted that most homebuyers are coming onto the market with more confidence and the desire to take advantage of the tax credit.  However, the median sales price in New Haven has declined to $299,297, a 13 percent decline from $344,175 a year before.  Almost all of the home sales consist of less expensive homes catering to first time, entry-level buyers.  Realtors continue to note that the more expensive homes are still struggling to find buyers.

On another note, the New Haven Register has also reported the recent improvements seen in the commercial real estate market.  New Haven has posted a vacancy rated of 10.6 percent, down from the 13.7 percent posted in the third quarter of 2008.  Realtors have reported an increase in the number of tenants looking for office space in New Haven over the past few months.  New Haven is known for having a fairly stable commercial real estate market due to a number of well established businesses and institutions such as Yale University.  However, just outside of New Haven, vacancy rates for commercial real estate have increased slightly, as most businesses tend to stay only in the business sector in the center of the city.

Although the Anchorage real estate market has declined as a result of the economic recession that began in 2008, the declines are not nearly as large compared to that of the rest of the nation.  Foreclosure rates are up and home sales are down, but many real estate experts still consider Anchorage to have a real estate market filled with prosperity.  However, subprime loans are not considered to be the cause of the economic struggles in Anchorage, but it is rather job security that is the major concern.  Most mortgages that ended in foreclosure were caused by a previous job loss rather than the loan being risky.  Nevertheless, many experts still believe that the Anchorage real estate hasn’t hit bottom yet and most likely won’t be ready for a full rebound until 2010 or most likely 2011.

According to the Anchorage Daily News, Alaska foreclosure rates have risen by 36 percent, but experts are quick to point out that that is only relative, with 0.88 percent being the percentage of homes actually foreclosed on.  0.88 percent ranks Alaska with the third lowest foreclosure rate, compared to the 7.32 percent foreclosure rate in Florida.  Almost all of the foreclosures were in Anchorage and the most populated areas of the valley.  Currently, real estate experts are unsure of the future of the Anchorage real estate due to the high volatility of the region’s economy.  Job security continues to be the major concern in the area.  So far, home prices have remained stable and declines in employment rates have slowed.  Although signs of bottom have not been verified yet, most experts believe that the real estate in Anchorage won’t fully recover in the near future.

The Anchorage Daily News also reported that the commercial real estate in Anchorage is also faring significantly better than other real estate markets across the nation.  The Anchorage office vacancy rate is only 7 percent, compared to the 12.7 percent posted for the national commercial property vacancy.  The Anchorage retail vacancy is only 4 percent compared to the national average of 7.5 percent.  The industrial vacancy for Anchorage is 3 percent, significantly lower than the 9.6 percent average for the nation.  Although these numbers are high compared relatively to past Anchorage levels, Anchorage has not suffered as much as most other real estate markets throughout the nation.

When you want to buy or sell a property, it is important to have a real estate agent. But why should you hire a real estate agent? Basically, you are able to buy or sell a property without the help of an agent. But most people who do not hire a real estate agent when they buy or sell a property ends up getting the wrong side of the deal. Real estate agents can help you make the right decision. Here are seven reasons why you should hire an agent:
1. A real estate agent has more experience and is well educated in real estate than you are. You wouldn’t have to know everything about buying or selling real estate if you have an agent with you. You hire them simply because they are smarter and way more experienced than you in terms of real estate selling or buying.

2. A real estate agent is able to prevent you to negotiate with others who are not serious about the business. If you are a buyer, your real estate agent will prevent builder’s agents to get to you. If you are a seller, your real estate agent will filter your callers so that you need not talk to buyers that are not serious and talk only to those that really want to buy a real estate.

3. A real estate agent can bring you the information that you need. They can give you a similar list of sales and data on demographics, crime and schools on the locality.

4. A real estate agent can guide you to make the right decision. For example, there is a listing that is at 7%, which means that an agent has 7% interest while the client gets a 93% interest. A real estate agent will be able to use all the information they have and help the client make the right decision. He/she can also work out his own negotiation strategy that is based on demand, conditions and market supply.

5. A real estate agent is able to relate market conditions to help you sell or buy real estate. Many aspects on the market establish how you should continue on buying or selling real estate. Real estate agents gather information on the average of both the days on market and the square foot cost of similar homes. They also get information on median and average sales price. These data are important for you to make a wise decision.

6. A real estate agent can help you work with other professionals that will then offer their service for you to buy or sell real estate. They can give you information on different vendors that has a good reputation for competency, competitive pricing and efficiency to help you make a good choice.

7. A real estate agent has a good negotiation skill that will help you buy or sell properties. You need their skill in order to buy or sell real estate. Furthermore, they can make the client’s information confidential.

Investing in real estate is definitely one of the best and most significant investments you can make in your lifetime.  Aside from the obvious fact that this investment would be the place where you will hopefully build a family or share with loved ones, investing in a house would also entail a great sum of money that you have worked very hard for.  As such, careful planning, thinking and researching are needed before finally deciding on which real estate property to get.

Buying a property may be stressful.  As earlier mentioned: a lot of time, effort and money are needed to make such a purchase.  Getting your hopes up or setting your expectations too high may also give you a lot of disappointments when investing in real estate.  To avoid such setbacks, it would be helpful to really look into what you are buying or even consult professionals.  Here are a few tips or some reminders you have to keep in mind when buying a house.

With the state of the economy today, most people would probably say that investing in real estate is a bad idea.  Nevertheless, one can argue that a house is still a good investment at this point.  Securing shelter for your family or yourself can’t be a bad purchase after all.

The real question is how to get your money’s worth.  Investing in real estate, as earlier mentioned, entails a great amount of money.  If you are planning to avail of loans from banks, they also need to see that you have a good credit history and that you can be a good candidate for a loan.  If you do get approved, this could mean that in the next ten years or so, you will have to pay for amortization, interest rates and whatever else there is that the bank or the financing company requires.

First of all, consider the number of people who are going to live in the house.  If you are still planning a family, think of how many children you plan to have.  Of course, there is a possibility that you don’t exactly get to follow such plans.  Nevertheless, planning and reflecting about what you want for the future can give you an idea on what you need now.  If you are buying a house that has already been built, check if there is room for expansion.  Have an expert check the plumbing and the overall land area.  Brand new house and lots could be more expensive too.  You might want to check on house and lots that are for re-selling.

The location of the real estate property you are planning to get is also crucial.  This of course affects the price.  Consider if you really want a property in the city or something in a suburban neighborhood.  Security, facilities near your residential area and the overall neighborhood feel should also be considered before finally making the final decision.

It could also be very helpful if you make a list of the things that are very important to you.  By doing so, you are sure to avoid mistakes and disappointments in investing on this real estate property.