McLEAN, VA — Freddie Mac (NYSE:FRE) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) in which the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 6.09 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending September 25, 2008, up from last week when it averaged 5.78 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 6.42 percent.
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Reversing Trend, Mortgage Rates Shoot Up This Week
TORONTO, ONTARIO– (Marketwire - Aug. 19, 2008) - The Greater Toronto Area (GTA) resale housing market remained stable throughout the first half of this month, Toronto Real Estate Board President (TREB) Maureen O’Neill announced today.
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GTA Resale Housing Remains Stable in August
by SmartMoney.com Staff
June 9, 2006
And keep in mind that the longer you hold on to your home after a remodeling project is completed, the less likely you are to recoup its value. That’s in part because design tastes can shift significantly over time. Remember when avocado green was all the rage? Also, there’s little reward for having the fanciest house on the block, warns certified financial planner Dee Lee of Harvard, Mass. A house that’s priced higher than its neighboring homes could be perceived as overpriced — even if it does have more value.
This section examines a few improvements that pay off more often than not — and some that rarely make a difference when it comes time to sell your home.
Kitchens Even a few basic improvements to your kitchen can pay handsome dividends, says real-estate agent Michael Murphy in his book “How to Sell Your Home in Good or Bad Times.” Murphy writes: “For most buyers, [the kitchen] is the heart of the house. Paint, wallpaper, and even refloor the room if necessary. Consider sanding, staining or painting dingy-looking cabinets. Replace old cabinet hardware — a low-cost improvement that makes a big difference in appearance.” Just be sure to go with a classic design and, if possible, use high quality materials, says Remodeling magazine’s Cory. After all, good taste endures.
The average amount spent on a major kitchen-remodeling job in the U.S. is $42,660 for a mid-range update; an upscale designer makeover averaged $75,206, according to Remodeling magazine. The mid-range kitchen overhaul nationally recouped 79% of its cost, the upscale makeover was valued at 80%.
Creating New Space As a rule, improvements that increase the functional space of a home hold their value longer than ones that just make a house look better. It’s also significantly cheaper than adding an addition to your home. Converting an attic into a bedroom suite, for example, usually costs about $35,960 and returns about 83% of its cost, according to Remodeling magazine. Turning your basement into a room for socializing will set you back, on average, $47,888, and allow you to recoup 76% of your costs.
An Extra Bathroom Adding an extra bathroom with all the trimmings — marble vanity top, molded sink, bathtub with shower and ceramic tile — almost pays for itself. At an average cost of $21,087 a full bath recoups 86% of its price tag.
Decks Installing a deck may be the most cost-efficient way to add square footage to your house, and of all the outdoor home improvements except painting, it may be the most reliable value. Decks average $6,917 and generally recoup 87% of their value. That may not sound terribly impressive, but other touted outdoor improvements fare much worse.
New Windows The savings on your utility bill might make up for the spotty resale value. Replacing 10 three-by-five-foot windows typically costs $9,273 and recovers 85% of its costs at resale, according to Remodeling magazine. “A good window arrangement, as long as they’re standard, will make money back,” says William Eccleston, a broker in Coventry, R.I. But, he warns, “as soon as you get into customizing, with fancy shapes, bays and bows you can’t see from the street, you’re throwing money down the drain.”
Swimming Pools It’s commonly agreed that a swimming pool has no resale value at all. “I’ve had clients spend $300,000 and fill in the pool,” says one agent. The main reason pools repel more prospective buyers than they attract is that they require expensive upkeep. Running a close second is the fear of liability: Pool accidents are a quick way to end up the subject of a negligence suit. “A lot of people don’t want the responsibility,” says Remodeling magazine’s Cory.
Manicured Gardens Fancy gardens — which will require time and money to tend — usually won’t add to the offering price. “Landscaping is for your own enjoyment,” says New Jersey agent Frank Dell’Accio. “It may be a $40,000 investment, but there’s no way it’ll add $40,000 to the value of your house.” The same goes for expensive fences and stone walls. They look nice, but buyers don’t pay up for them.
Basic Improvements It may not be all that enjoyable, but it’s the basic improvements that may have the greatest return on your home’s value. “You could have a beautiful new kitchen, but if your roof is leaking, you have a real problem,” says Cory. So if you’re thinking of putting your house on the market in the next year or so, be sure to tackle any problems with the home’s structure or mechanical systems before you, say, install that hot tub you’ve always dreamed of.
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Which Home Improvements Pay Off?
by Marcie Geffner
The age-old observation that “you never get a second chance to make a first impression” certainly applies when it comes to attracting buyers to a home for-sale. Making a good first impression can mean the difference between receiving serious offers for your home or being subjected to months of lookie-loos dropping by but never buying.
How can you ensure that your home will make the best impression possible? Here are six tips for savvy home sellers:
1. Focus on curb appeal. The outside of your house can be the source of a very good first impression. Keep the grass well-watered and mowed. Have your trees trimmed. Cut back overgrowth. Plant some blooming flowers. Store toys, bicycles, roller-skates, gardening equipment and the like out of sight. Have at least the front of your house and the trim painted, if necessary. Sweep the porch and the front walkway. After dark, turn on your front porch light and any other exterior lighting.
2. Clear out the clutter. Real estate agents say buyers won’t purchase a home they can’t see. If your home has too much furniture, overflowing closets, crowded kitchen and bathroom countertops or lots of family photos or collectibles on display, potential buyers won’t be able to see your home. Get rid of anything you don’t need or use. Fill up your garage or rent some off-site storage space if that’s what it takes to clear out your home.
3. Use your nose. Many people are oblivious to scents, but others are extremely sensitive to offensive odors. To eliminate bad smells, bathe your pets, freshen the cat litter box frequently, shampoo your carpets, dry clean your drapes, and empty trash cans, recycling bins and ash trays. Place open boxes of baking soda in smell-prone areas, and refrain from cooking fish or strong-smelling foods. Introduce pleasing smells by placing flowers or potpourri in your home and using air fresheners. Baking a fresh or frozen pie or some other fragrant treat is another common tactic.
4. Make all necessary repairs. Buyers expect everything in their new home to operate safely and properly. Picky buyers definitely will notice - and likely magnify - minor maintenance problems you’ve ignored for months or even years. Leaky faucets, burned-out light bulbs, painted-shut or broken windows, inoperable appliances and the like should be fixed before you put your home on the market. These repairs may seem small, but left undone they can lead buyers to question whether you’ve taken good care of your home.
5. Introduce lifestyle accessories and make your home as comfortable and attractive as possible. Set the dining room table with your best dishes. Put out your only-for-company towels. Make up the spare bed. Hang some fresh curtains. Put some logs in the fireplace. Use your imagination.
6. Get a buyer’s-eye view. Walk up to your home and pretend you’ve never seen it before. What do you notice? How do you feel about what you see? Does the home seem inviting? Well-maintained? Would you want to buy this home? Your answer should be an enthusiastic yes!
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Sellers Tips: Setting The Stage Sells Your Home
Written by: Lankarge/Nahorney for HomeInsight
Home prices nationwide have grown an average of 53% in the past five years - what does that mean to you? Simply put, brisk home sales help keep the economy humming - they have become one of the most important drivers in our consumer-based economy.
Since 1929, stocks have returned an average of 10 percent per year, making them one of the best long-term investments consumers can make. But the average homeowner has gotten that same 10% over the past five years on their primary residence, making them nationwide feel wealthy, and this in turn has fueled consumer spending. (Historically, homes have appreciated by about 2 percent per year.)
To see a market snapshot of current home values, click here. Interested in home values in your region and the future direction of home prices? See articles about the Northeast, South, Midwest, and West.
Job Growth
Not only do home sales help keep the economy humming but they are also responsible for job growth, and help to make increasing wages possible.
Consumer purchases continue to comprise a growing part of the economy, and home sales are a major driver in consumer purchasing. Home sales provide a pile of cash to the seller, enabling the purchase of another home, or of other goods and services, which also helps the economy.
New homeowners move into a home with energy and enthusiasm, spending money on everything from appliances, to furniture, window treatments, and rugs. New homeowners tend to want to make the home their own, and spend a great deal during the first two years in a new residence making improvements, from cosmetic changes such as a new coat of paint to major renovations such as room additions.
Piggy Banks
Home values also matter because homeowners are more likely than ever to use their homes as banks, extracting their growing home equity to make additional purchases such as a new car, major home improvements, or to pay down credit card debt. So when home values are either flat or declining, those who have recently purchased a new home may be shut out of this source of money, which can have a dampening effect on the economy.
And with the average homeowner moving every seven years, buying a home at the top of a market, and then looking to sell when the market begins to move down, can leave homeowners upside down on their mortgage, with more to pay on that mortgage than their home is currently worth.
There is also the psychological aspect to home values. Homeowners whose home values are increasing often are more positive about the future direction of the economy and are more likely to keep consumer spending on the rise, supporting the economy. Even though a decline in home values actually represents a “paper loss” unless the home is sold, homeowners whose homes are worth less that the purchase price are more likely to have a more negative view of the direction of the economy, and may spend less, depressing consumer spending and creating a drag on the economy.
Rising home values are important to the economy, but home values that increase at too rapid a rate can depress the economy, pricing out some consumers out of the market. Exceptions to this rule appear to be shorefront homes, desirable retirement communities, and states with vibrant, growing economies.
Massachusetts Leading the Way
Leading the nationwide growth since 1980 has been Massachusetts, according to OFHEO. While home prices rose “only” 70.70 percent in the five years ending June 30, 2005, Massachusetts homes have appreciated a whopping 607.07 percent since 1980. This dramatic increase has been driven by sales in Boston and its suburbs, as well as Barnstable County, which includes desirable retirement and second home communities of Cape Cod and the islands of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket.
Next in appreciation since 1980 is New York at 492.33 percent, followed by Rhode Island at 469.61 percent, a state whose desirable coastline has attracted many seeking a second, or retirement home.
Many economists have predicted that the housing “bubble” will pop in markets that have gotten overheated (see the states mentioned in the sidebar). But even though your state or region may not directly feel the effects of that bubble popping through lower home values, if enough of those bubbles pop, the economy as a whole will cool down, and you may feel the effects in the form of a slower job market, lower raises, or perhaps higher loan rates.
Keeping an eye on home values can help you make educated purchasing decisions. Check home values in your area by clicking here. To keep an eye on home values in your region, see up-to-date articles about the Northeast, South, Midwest, and West.
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How do Home Sales Affect You?
Keller Williams Realty grows to 72,303 associates in shifting market
Firm strengthens its lead as the fourth-largest real estate franchise in North America
AUSTIN, TEXAS (November 28, 2006) — Keller Williams Realty Inc., the fourth-largest real estate franchise company in North America, continues to attract associates despite shifting markets in cities across the nation. In October, the company reported having 72,303 associates and 591 market centers.
The latest tally widens the gap between Keller Williams Realty and the fifth-largest real estate franchise company, Prudential Real Estate Affiliates Inc., which reported having 64,000 associates in October of this year.
Keller Williams Realty CEO Mark Willis attributes the company’s steady growth rate in the midst of a shifting market to Keller Williams Realty’s agent-centric, learning-based business model and razor-sharp focus on technology and the Internet.
“Market trends are a non-issue at Keller Williams Realty, because no matter what the analysts say, our No. 1 mission has been — and will always be — to provide our associates with proven business tools, models and technology that get results in any market,” Willis says. “I think the associates who are choosing to be in business with us embrace our stance that you can leverage the marketplace to work to your advantage.”
In addition to adding Keller Williams University courses that address business tactics in a shifting market, the company has taken great measures to expand the Internet presence of Keller Williams Realty associates and their listings – targeting an ever increasing market segment of real estate consumers online.
“The National Association of Realtors® reports that 77 percent of today’s home buyers surf the Internet for properties prior to contacting an agent,” Willis says. “We want our associates to have an undeniable presence on the Internet, and we want them to have more control over where and how their listings are displayed.”
The recently introduced Keller Williams Listing System (KWLS) will enable associates to enter their listings data in one place and have that information displayed on Keller Williams Realty agent and office websites everywhere. Keller Williams Realty also is negotiating partnerships with some of the most popular search engines in the world, so associates can display their listings on those sites.
“The organic growth we’ve experienced in the past few years is a testament to our mission to build businesses worth owning and careers worth having,” Willis says. “Simply surviving a tough market is not enough; we teach our associates how to thrive in any market.”
About Keller Williams Realty Inc.:
Founded in 1983, Keller Williams Realty Inc. is the fourth-largest real estate franchise operation in North America, with nearly 600 offices and 72,303 associates in the United States and Canada. The company’s agent-centric culture emphasizes access to leading-edge education and promotes an economic model that rewards associates as stakeholders and partners. Keller Williams Realty, which began franchising in 1990, is growing by more than a thousand agents a month. Keller Williams Realty associates place high value on professional education and a full-time commitment to real estate sales. For more information, visit Keller Williams Realty online at (www.kw.com).
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Keller Williams Realty Grows
By Realty Times Staff
May 11, 2007
McLEAN, VA — Freddie Mac (NYSE:FRE) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) in which the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 6.15 percent with an average 0.5 point for the week ending May 10, 2007, down slightly from last week when it averaged 6.16 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 6.58 percent.
The 15-year FRM this week averaged 5.87 percent with an average 0.5 point, unchanged from last week when it averaged 5.87 percent. A year ago, the 15-year FRM averaged 6.17 percent.
Five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) averaged 5.89 percent this week, with an average 0.6 point, up slightly from last week when it averaged 5.87 percent. A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged 6.22 percent.
One-year Treasury-indexed ARMs averaged 5.48 percent this week with an average 0.7 point, up from last week when it averaged 5.42 percent. At this time last year, the 1-year ARM averaged 5.62 percent.
“Low employment growth in April — the slowest pace since November 2004 — and downward revisions to both February and March job growth tempered market concerns of future increases in the rate of inflation,” said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist. “As a result, mortgage rates were little changed this week.”
“Despite a slowdown in house price growth, borrowers continue to refinance their loans, extracting approximately $70.5 billion in cash from their home equity in the first quarter of 2007, down slightly from $77.0 billion in the fourth quarter of 2006. According to the Federal Reserve Board, homeowners had nearly $11 trillion in home equity at the end of 2006, an increase of 30 percent over the past three years.”
Source:
Signs of Low Inflation Keep Long Term Mortgage Rates Steady
By M. Anthony Carr
It’s probably one of the worst things you could imagine — a hurricane, tornado or earthquake occurs, without warning, and your home is severely damaged or absolutely destroyed.
One would hope that homeowners are covered in such instances, but we all know that not every insurance policy is created equal and some homeowners lose everything. Thanks to provisions at the IRS and Presidential-declaration of disaster areas, at least the homeowner is allowed tax relief for his or her losses.
The first place to go to after a natural disaster is to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s online listing of Federal Disaster Areas to see if your area has been declared as a disaster area. This announcement is what gets the ball rolling on whether you can declare deductions on your taxes from loss of uninsured property and for losses not covered by your homeowner’s policy.
There have already been 26 Presidentially-declared disaster areas in 2007. These are locales where damage to property and life exceeded the normal damage from natural disasters.
While the devastating tornadoes that hit Kansas made the national news and made all of us aware of that massive damage, many other areas are declared disaster areas for such disasters as severe winter storms, landslides, mudslides and flooding. Nevertheless, just because an area is declared a disaster area, doesn’t necessarily mean that the homeowners in that area will also receive tax relief. But it’s the first place to start.
Once you see if your county has been listed, then visit the Internal Revenue Service’s section on disaster relief. You’ll see on this page that the latest declared relief areas include:
May 2007 Kansas storm, tornado victims
April 2007 Texas storm, flooding victims
April 2007 Northeast storm, flooding victims
March 2007 New Mexico storm, tornado victims
If you go to this area and find that your area was declared a disaster area a while back (several years) you can always amend a past tax return if you believe that you should have received that tax relief. Be sure to look on the site or call the IRS to find out if there are limitations on the relief.
Not all damage is deductible. The largest deduction appears to be for people who have losses and have carried no insurance whatsoever. The Q&A area answers most questions for homeowners, such as how the deduction for uninsured losses would be counted. For instance, the way an uninsured loss is handled is, “ordinarily, to figure a deduction for a casualty or theft loss of personal-use property, taxpayers must reduce the loss by $100 and also reduce the total of their casualty and theft losses by 10 percent of their adjusted gross income. Only the excess over these $100 and 10 percent limits is deductible.”
As you’re researching on IRS.gov what is deductible and what’s not, you’ll be looking for items such as Notices, Forms, Tax Topics and Publications. These are all linkable items on the web site and very useful in your research on what deductions that area allowed following such losses.
Finally, “affected taxpayers in a Presidentially-declared disaster area have the option of claiming disaster-related casualty losses on their federal income tax return for either this year or last year,” according to IRS.gov. “Claiming the loss on an original or amended return for last year will get the taxpayer an earlier refund, but waiting to claim the loss on this year’s return could result in a greater tax saving, depending on other income factors.
Individuals may deduct personal property losses that are not covered by insurance or other reimbursements, but they must first subtract $100 for each casualty event and then subtract ten percent of their adjusted gross income from their total casualty losses for the year.”
Here are some of the Publications listed on the IRS site that help taxpayers looking for tax relief because of a natural disaster:
Publication 4492, Information for Taxpayers Affected by Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma: Provides information on tax law changes and relief provisions for victims of Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma. Download it (PDF 106.5K, 19 pages).
Publication 547, Casualties, Disasters and Thefts: Provides details on how to figure and claim a disaster loss. Download it (PDF 132KB, 16 pages), or read Pub. 547 online.
Publication 584, Casualty, Disaster, and Theft Loss Workbook. Read it online or download it (PDF 139KB, 24 pages).
Publication 584B, Business Casualty, Disaster, and Theft Loss Workbook. Read it online or download it (PDF 68KB, 8 pages).
Publication 2194, Disaster Losses Kit for Individuals (PDF 860KB, 100 pages). Attention: Publication 2194 is being updated with new provisions of the Katrina Emergency Tax Relief Act of 2005.
For information on these provisions, see News Release 2005-119, New Law Eases Loss Limitations for Katrina Victims.
Publication 2194B, Disaster Losses Kit for Businesses (PDF 943KB, 78 pages): Contains various IRS publications and forms related to claiming disaster losses.
Publication 3833, Disaster Relief: Providing Assistance through Charitable Organizations (PDF 507KB, 28 pages): Explains how the public can use charitable organizations to help victims of disasters, and how new organizations may obtain tax-exempt status.
The rest is here:
Tax Relief Available for Hurricane, Tornado Victims
