Another month of rising sales of existing home and higher median home prices in August has many in the Maryland residential real estate industry believing they have seen the market’s low point. “I think we’ve reached the bottom, and now it’s going up,” said Franco Saladino, an agent for Long & Foster Real Estate in… Read more »
Monthly Archives: September 2012
Las Vegas Home Sales Dismal in July, But Prices Creep Up
Home sales in the Las Vegas area remained dismal again during July, with sales at the their lowest level since July of 2008, but home prices continued to improve as fewer foreclosure re-sales pushed prices higher according to the latest data released from DataQuick. A total of 4,280 new and resale houses and condos closed… Read more »
Big Island Home Prices Rose Again in August
Home prices on the Big Island continue to rise with the median price of a single-family home in August up nearly 8% from the same month last year. According to Hawaii Information Service, the median price of a single-family home last month was $272,500 compared to August 2011 when the median price was $252,500. The… Read more »
Featured Gay Friendly Realtor: Roberta Stone, Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts
Periodically we’ll feature one of our real estate professionals here to let our readers know about some great Realtors, Mortgage Brokers, and Other Real Estate Professionals. When representing buyers and sellers of Boston real estate, an agent should be dependable, accountable, passionate, committed, and should provide great service. Roberta, a Boston area real estate professional… Read more »
Kauai Home, Condo Sales Increased in August
Single-family home prices on Kauai inched up nearly 3 percent in August, while the median price of a condominium jumped nearly 20 percent, according to statistics from Hawaii Information Service. The median price of a single-family home on the Garden Isle in August was $460,000, compared to $447,500 in August 2011 — a rise of… Read more »
Maui Home Prices Keep Climbing
Home prices on Maui continue to climb, while sales remain flat for homes and slightly up for condominiums, according to the Realtors Association of Maui’s report on August 2012 real estate sales. August home sales on Maui were level at 75 homes sold with 76 sold one month ago. August sales were down from 81… Read more »
US Housing May Not Regain Losses Until 2023
Home prices are showing signs of life, but have a long way to go to make up for losses from the housing bust. U.S. home prices dropped by a third from the start of 2007 to the start of 2012, according to Fiserv, an analytics firm. Fiserv forecasts prices will bounce back an average of… Read more »
Vermont Home Sales On the Rise Again
The local housing market remains a buyer’s market, but homes are holding their value and selling once again, according to local industry insiders. The economic collapse that began at the tail end of 2008 popped the housing bubble nationwide. Many homeowners soon found themselves underwater with their mortgages, meaning they owed more on their homes… Read more »
Texas Real Estate Market Showing Strong Signs of Recovery
They say everything’s bigger in Texas, including, it seems, the housing market recovery. Real estate agents in Dallas-Fort Worth sold almost 8,000 single-family homes in August, according to the Dallas Morning News, an 18 percent increase over July and the 14th consecutive month purchases have been higher than the year before. Another landmark: August sales… Read more »
New Interactive Graph Shows Changes in Houston Real Estate Values Over Last Six Years
How have property values changed since the top of the real estate market? Each map on this graphic represents one year and shows where home values went up (areas in red), where they fell (green) and where they stayed the same (yellow) since 2006. You may have to zoom in to see it, but notice… Read more »
Featured Gay Friendly Realtor: Donald Munro, Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii
Periodically we’ll feature one of our real estate professionals here to let our readers know about some great Realtors, Mortgage Brokers, and Other Real Estate Professionals. Don was born and raised in the highlands of Scotland, and served in a Scottish infantry regiment. He has lived and worked in West Africa, London, and New York,… Read more »
Selling Real Estate With a Speedo
Australian LGBT site Same Same points us to this video of Australian real estate agent Kieren Gray, who’s having some success with a sales technique that’s as old as humanity: “This property’s so hot, you’ve got to take your gear off before you get inside.” At Gay Realty Watch, we look for news to share… Read more »
10 Key Things to Consider Before You Remodel
Whether you are a homeowner who is ready to update a home you have lived in for years, or are looking to remodel a new property, remodeling can transform your space to meet your specific style and needs. There are very few decisions that can impact your home life and the value of one of… Read more »
Featured Gay Friendly Realtor: Rudy Molinet, key West, Florida
Periodically we’ll feature one of our real estate professionals here to let our readers know about some great Realtors, Mortgage Brokers, and Other Real Estate Professionals. Rudy Molinet is one of the leading gay Key West realtors. Rudy is a top producing Key West realtor who has sold nearly $30 million dollars of Key West… Read more »
Boise is the Most-Improving Real Estate Market in the US
The Boise-Nampa metro area is the most improving housing market in the U.S., according to a report from CoreLogic, a national real estate research company. To measure the area’s market improvement, the company used year-over-year changes in its monthly real estate strength metrics — number of sales, home prices and delinquencies — in which it… Read more »
Connecticut Home Price Drop Largest in US in Second Quarter
Connecticut is leading the nation in declining home prices, one of just eight states to lose ground in the second quarter of this year, according to a new federal report. And Fairfield County took a particularly strong hit, with prices down more than 8 percent from 2011, according to new numbers released by the Connecticut… Read more »
Featured Gay Friendly Realtor: Robert Guardigli, Hillsborough, New Jersey
Periodically we’ll feature one of our real estate professionals here to let our readers know about some great Realtors, Mortgage Brokers, and Other Real Estate Professionals. Robert is dedicated to his clients’ goals and overall satisfaction in the home buying and selling process. If you’re planning to buy or sell a home in the Hillsborough… Read more »
New Mexico Home Sales Up 9% in August
August home sales statewide rose more than 9 percent, according to the Realtors Association of New Mexico. There were 1,440 sales reported to RANM for the month. Median prices continue to be influenced by short sale volume. The August 2012 median of $169,773 is 3.5 percent higher than the August 2011 median of $164,000. At… Read more »
California’s Home Sales Up in August From July, Down From 2011
California pending home sales rose in August from July, but a continuing shortage of housing inventory sent pending sales lower from the previous year. Additionally, the lack of supply, particularly of REO properties, sent the share of equity sales to its highest level in four years, CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS(R) (C.A.R.) reported today. Pending home… Read more »
Featured Gay Friendly Realtor: Mark Yonkovich, Bellingham, Washington
Periodically we’ll feature one of our real estate professionals here to let our readers know about some great Realtors, Mortgage Brokers, and Other Real Estate Professionals. Buying and selling a home in Bellingham (or anywhere) can be stressful and complex – Mark can put his 15+ years of buying, selling, flipping and owning investment property… Read more »
Orange County Home Sales Up 23%, Prices Up 12% in August Over 2011
Orange County’s median price for existing, single-family homes took a dramatic leap in August, up by nearly 12% from August a year ago, the California Association of Realtors says. Local home prices also increased 3 percent over July. Sales rose 23 percent over last August in Orange County but were just short of a 2… Read more »
Home Sales Down, Prices Up in Riverside County in August
Home sales in Riverside County dropped by 3.4 percent in August, compared to the same month a year ago, while prices rose by 10.5 percent, a real estate information service announced today. A total of 3,520 homes changed hands in Riverside County last month, compared to 3,643 in August 2011, according to DataQuick. The median… Read more »
Low Inventory Driving Up Home Prices in Monterey
Scant inventories are driving up home prices in Monterey County’s recovering housing market, as investors snatch up what’s available and leave the leftovers to traditional home buyers. Still, with interest rates at record lows and prices less than a half what they were five years ago, it’s a good time to buy — if you… Read more »
Featured Gay Friendly Realtor: Stephen Sattler, Baltimore, Maryland
Periodically we’ll feature one of our real estate professionals here to let our readers know about some great Realtors, Mortgage Brokers, and Other Real Estate Professionals. If you’re relocating to the Baltimore real estate market from somewhere else, or if you’re a current Baltimore resident and would like to look at other places to live,… Read more »
New Hampshire Home Sales Up, Prices Down in July
New Hampshire home sales continued to rise in July while sale prices continued to slide, according to the New Hampshire Association of Realtors. A total of 1,260 homes were sold in the state last month, the group announced yesterday, compared with 1,052 in July 2011, a 19.8 percent increase, year-over-year. With 7,044 homes sold in… Read more »
Providence, Rhode Island Foreclosures Dropped in Second Quarter
Sales of previously foreclosed homes in the Providence-Fall River-New Bedford area dropped 22 percent in the second quarter compared with the same period last year, RealtyTrac said Thursday. Foreclosed homes made up 5.72 percent of all Providence area sales in the second quarter, down from 7.68 percent in the second quarter of 2011, the Irvine,… Read more »
Maine Home Sales Up 15% in August Year Over Year
All but two of Maine’s counties saw significantly more single-family homes sold this August over last year. The Maine Association of Realtors reported a statewide increase of 15% in home sales volume over last year and an increase in median sale price of 3% to $170,000. The statewide volume figures outpace the national numbers, where… Read more »
Featured Gay Friendly Realtor: Rudy Molinet, Key West, Florida
Periodically we’ll feature one of our real estate professionals here to let our readers know about some great Realtors, Mortgage Brokers, and Other Real Estate Professionals. Rudy Molinet is one of the leading gay Key West realtors. Rudy is a top producing Key West realtor who has sold nearly $30 million dollars of Key West… Read more »
Utah Housing Market Improving
Allison Barclay loved her house and neighborhood in Millcreek, but her husband, Ryan’s, commute to Orem was wearing on him. Saturday, the couple and their “little guy,” 17-month-old Max, moved in to their new house in Highland. Plans were delayed when the moving truck broke down, but new appliances were delivered in the morning and… Read more »
North Dakota – Strongest Real Estate Market in the US?
While national home prices turned positive for the first time in August, according to Case-Shiller, housing is a local story and many markets continue to perform worse than others. A housing recovery depends on a number of factors like job creation, foreclosure inventory, home prices, and so on. To address this CoreLogic has introduced the… Read more »
Sioux Falls Real Estate Shows Signs of Improvement
Real estate agents in South Dakota’s largest city say the housing market is improving, with homes selling faster and for better prices. The Argus Leader (http://argusne.ws/Q062dl) that the number of pending home sales in July was up 23 percent in Sioux Falls compared with the same period last year. Pending sales are up 17 percent… Read more »
Featured Gay Friendly Realtor: Chris Morton, Raleigh, North Carolina
Periodically we’ll feature one of our real estate professionals here to let our readers know about some great Realtors, Mortgage Brokers, and Other Real Estate Professionals. Co-Owner and Broker with rare Properties, a boutique real estate brokerage in Raleigh NC See Chris’s Expanded Listing on Gay Realty Network Here Gay Friendly Realtors and Real Estate… Read more »
Prospects Good for Biloxi/Gulfport Real Estate in Next Five Years
The average selling price of a home in South Mississippi in August was the highest since September 2010 and the prospects for the next five years are encouraging. The Gulfport/Biloxi metro area made the BusinessInsider.com list Best 15 Housing Markets for the Next 5 Years. The list is based on data from the latest report… Read more »
Philadelphia’s Gayborhood
Oh Philadelphia, you strange, wonderful city. You toy with our hearts. For every reason we adore you, there are four more things we despise. We love you even when we don’t love you and always try to see the good in you. Kaitlyn and Lynne grew up with you and learned how to handle your… Read more »
Delaware Home Prices Surged Over the Summer
Low interest rates, low prices and a rising sense of urgency among buyers are driving a renewed momentum in Delaware’s residential real estate market this summer, sustaining a sense that the long-awaited recovery of the housing market is now under way. Compared to August 2011, single-family home sales last month were up 14.9 percent in… Read more »
“Shadow Inventory” A Problem for Philadelphia Real Estate Market?
Is a shadow inventory haunting the Philadelphia real estate market? If so, what will happen to home prices in the area when these distressed properties are released onto the market? Let’s take a look. In much of the country, the number of homes for listed sale has declined over the last year or so —… Read more »
US Home Prices Posted Largest Quarterly Increase in 25 Years
The housing market has begun to recover in the first half of 2012. Unfortunately, the housing market might soon plateau if the rest of the economy doesn’t catch up. Home prices rose higher from March-May than they have in a quarter century, but economists from the real estate and mortgage data aggregator CoreLogic believe that… Read more »
Featured Gay Friendly Realtor: Ray Gernhart, Washington DC
Periodically we’ll feature one of our real estate professionals here to let our readers know about some great Realtors, Mortgage Brokers, and Other Real Estate Professionals. With my successful career of over twenty five years in real estate, I have personally experienced all the ups and downs of the Alexandria market. Since 1985, I have… Read more »
Omaha Housing Market Showing Signs of Improvement
“For sale” signs are still going up, but in the Heartland, they’re coming down faster. Bill Black is an Omaha realtor. He says now actually couldn’t be a better time to sell, especially when compared to previous years. He says home sales are up 15% from this July to the last, and not only are… Read more »
Tulsa Home Foreclosures Up in Second Quarter Over 2011
The number of metro Tulsa home sales involving foreclosed properties dropped during the second quarter compared with the previous three months, but the total was up nearly 9 percent from the same period last year, a real estate data service reported Thursday. The year-over-year rise locally contradicted overall Oklahoma and U.S. statistics showing significant drops… Read more »
Home Prices Improving in Arkansas
Opening the door to possible buyers for six years as a realtor in Arkansas, Tammy Tompkins has experienced his experienced first hand the changes in the housing market. “We’ve had some good times, and some pretty tough times,” said Tompkins. Negotiating the price of a home between the buyer and seller she said lately has… Read more »
Featured Gay Friendly Realtor: Christopher Rocca, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Periodically we’ll feature one of our real estate professionals here to let our readers know about some great Realtors, Mortgage Brokers, and Other Real Estate Professionals. For Santa Fe real estate sellers, Christopher offers innovative and comprehensive marketing programs that combine technology, (virtual property tours, wide web exposure and exciting visual presentations), with time-honored techniques… Read more »
Indianapolis Home Sales Jumped Again in August
Home-sale agreements in the Indianapolis area rose 5.4 percent in August, the F.C. Tucker Co. said Thursday. Purchase agreements for existing homes in the nine-county area totaled 2,151 during the month, helping sales contracts through the first eight months of the year to a 14.3-percent increase when compared with the same time last year. In… Read more »
Is it Time for Renters to Buy?
Crunching the number on renting versus buying, Jed Kolko makes the case for the latter: Based on asking prices and rents during the summer of 2012, buying is now 45% cheaper than renting in the 100 largest U.S. metros, on average – that’s a savings of $771 a month. If you plan to stay in… Read more »
Walkability is the New Real Estate Buzzword
“Walkability” has become a main priority for most people today who are looking for a home to buy or rent. This is a big shift from the old mindset of people moving out from the metropolitan areas into the suburbs, where you have to drive every time you want to shop, eat out or even… Read more »
Featured Gay Friendly Realtor: Virginia Ruffulo, Medford, Oregon
Periodically we’ll feature one of our real estate professionals here to let our readers know about some great Realtors, Mortgage Brokers, and Other Real Estate Professionals. Virginia been selling Medford real estate for over 12 years, and she is a lifetime member of the million dollar club. She lives on 20 beautiful acres, raises kids,horses,… Read more »
Des Moines Home Sales Up 27% Year Over Year in August
Des Moines-area home sales totaled 919 in August, a 27.1 percent increase compared with a year earlier and up nearly 11 percent from July’s figure, a report from the Des Moines Area Association of Realtors shows. Pending sales climbed to 897 in August, up 13.1 percent from a year ago, and were about 1 percent… Read more »
Foreclosures Were 21% of Oregon Home Sales in Second Quarter of 2012
The sale of foreclosed and bank-owned homes accounted for 21 percent of sales in Oregon during this year’s second quarter. RealtyTrac is an online marketplace for foreclosed properties. It finds the average price of a foreclosed home in Oregon was about $175,000 — between April and June. It says that’s a 27 percent discount on… Read more »
How Can Gay Couples Insure Real Estate Inheritance for Each Other?
Cohabitation of gay couples have yet to be recognized by America’s court system except in a few states that have legalized gay marriage. As this is so, guidelines for the dissolution of property between same sex couples is critical, and must be determined before the sickness or death of either person. There are a few… Read more »
Gay Couple Sues Bishop Over Real Estate Discrimination in Massachusetts
James Fairbanks and Alain Beret, married business partners from Sutton, had been searching for the perfect property for nearly two years when they discovered Oakhurst, an aging mansion on 26 beautiful acres in Northbridge. The former retreat center, which was affiliated with the Diocese of Worcester and had been on the market for some time,… Read more »
DC Real Estate – Like It’s 2005
The house goes on the market and within four hours an agent registers a contract. The calls continue and 36 hours later there are five contracts on the property allowing for a $25,000 escalation in price and the exact settlement date and rent back period the owners hoped to enjoy. Thinking it’s 2005? No, this… Read more »
Featured Gay Friendly Realtor: Gregg Klar, Austin, Texas
Periodically we’ll feature one of our real estate professionals here to let our readers know about some great Realtors, Mortgage Brokers, and Other Real Estate Professionals. Gregg is always available to give you personal, one-on-one help with the biggest decision you’ll make in your life. If you have any questions, please call! e-mail me! Buying… Read more »
Where Property Rights and Anti-Gay Discrimination Intersect
Recently, the fight for human equality founds itself coming to a head in the tourism industry yet again. In a recent case in British Columbia, the Human Rights Tribunal ruled that Les and Susan Molnar, a retired religious couple who own and run a bed and breakfast. The couple discriminated against two gay men by… Read more »
Least Affordable Housing Markets in the USA
Jed Kolko crunches the numbers to see how long the average worker would have to work in order to buy a home in different parts of the country: If you want more affordable housing, you might guess that moving to the suburbs is the answer. Not always! You’ll actually need to work longer – earning… Read more »
Mortgage Interest Rates at All-Time Low This Year
Although home mortgage rates continuously go up and down, they have been historically low over the last couple of years. This has enabled more buyers to afford a home. But this summer, the average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage fell again, this time dropping below 3.50 percent for the first time in recorded history…. Read more »
