Real Estate Blog

It’s no secret that home values fluctuate widely across the country.  What you can get for “X dollars” in one market differs widely in another. As usual in real estate, it’s all about “location, location, location.” With the Q3 U.S. median home value at $202,966, we thought it would be fun to see just how much home you can get for around $200,000. Scanning for-sale listings on Zillow, we found a one-room apartment in Brooklyn, New York, to a sprawling 1.3 acre farm (barn included) in Redford, Michigan. Take a look at these 5 homes for sale for around $200K:

Brooklyn, NY
645 E 26th St, Brooklyn, NY 11210
For Sale: $199,000

What you get: Space and location at the right price. 1,110 sq ft, 1 sizable master bedroom, 1 bathroom, large living room/dining area combo, office room, laundry room and storage on the premises.
Notable facts: Co-op, sublease OK after two years, only 10% down.

See Brooklyn real estate and Brooklyn home values

Riverside, California
44505 Samilin Cir, Temecula, CA 92592
For Sale:$200,000

What you get: 1,294 sq ft, 3 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, hardwood floors, crown molding, stainless steel appliances, Corian counters.
Notable facts: Recently upgraded home in a great family neighborhood. No HOA dues, low taxes.

See Temecula real estate and Temecula home values

Florida Panhandle
5404 Appledore Ln, Tallahassee, FL, 32309
For Sale:$200,000

What you get:1,835 sq ft, 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, eat-in kitchen, granite counters, tile floors, lots of cabinet space. Living area has vaulted ceilings, wood flooring, and gas fireplace.
Notable facts: Open floor plan. Estimate given for wood floors installed in bedrooms. Enclosed garage can be a 4th bedroom.

See Tallahassee real estate and Tallahassee home values

Redford, Michigan
24400 Schoolcraft, Redford, MI, 48239
For Sale:$200,000

What you get: 1,885 sq ft, 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, 1.3 acres.
Notable facts: Fenced yard, in-ground swimming pool and pole barn.

See Redford real estate and Redford home values

Phoenix, Arizona
4724 N 95th Ln, Phoenix, AZ 85037
For Sale: $199,000

What you get: 2,663 sq ft, 5 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, new paint, and new blinds.
Notable facts: Recently updated home close to shopping, dining, and freeway.

See Phoenix real estate and Phoenix home values

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Bang 4 Your Buck: $200,000 Homes

There are lots of creative stories emerging in this down real estate market such as the woman in Florida who is using a word jumble contest to try to sell a handful of homes and now, a video story on CNN that highlights a guy in Haslett, Michigan, who is trying to swap his lakefront house for a “metro Detroit home,” or get his asking price of $379k. Chris Recktenwald is using Craigslist to advertise the home with a link to the details of his swap idea. His home is right on Lake Lansing and is close to Lansing, Michigan State University, and the hub of auto manufacturers.

He loves his home on the lake (who wouldn’t), but would like to relocate to Detroit for job reasons. “I thought it would move fast, but there’s lots of uncertaintly in the market. People are interested, but can’t do it because their house can’t sell.” He is willing to trade up or trade down for a Detroit home.

In comparing Detroit home values to Lansing home values, Detroit has a Zillow Home Value Index of $85k, while Lansing is $107K. It’s not every day that you see someone who wants to move back into Detroit from a pristine, lakefront home in Lansing. Good luck, Chris.

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Michigan Man Using House Swap Idea

“Defaulting on the Dream: States Respond to America’s Foreclosure Crisis” is a must read for home owners struggling with their mortgage.

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States Step Up Foreclosure Relief

The housing market’s problems have seeped into many homeowners’ doors. Stories about foreclosure and mainstream America are abundant.

What about when mainstream America is a military family?

What happens to a military family’s income and ability to pay for normal bills like gas, food, electricity and a mortgage when their soldier ships out? What if their beloved soldier, in the line of duty, becomes a casualty of war? How does that family pay the mortgage?

There is help out there and I am gonna tell you how to find it.

There’s a volunteer-led nonprofit organization, Soldiers’ Angels, whose motto is, “May No Soldier Go Unloved”. It provides support and comfort for deployed soldiers and their families at home. I met Nevada State Coordinator Lizz Phillips, who was happy to dish on the details of the organization, at the BlogWorld & New Media Expo in September.

Phillips shared that sometimes soldiers don’t want to burden their families with requests. She also shared there are so many needs, and sometimes the need is just a kind word and a (distant) shoulder or ear, which makes all the difference. Other needs are more tangible - toiletries or financial aid for the families.

I asked Phillips if they help with housing needs. She stated that has been an increasing need and they do get calls from family members who need help with their mortgage payments. Phillips said not everyone realizes there is financial help available and the Soldiers’ Angels organization will work with the family to point them in the direction of the right resources for housing financial assistance.

There are 20 different teams and programs that offer assistance to soldiers and their families on the Soldiers’ Angels website. To contact them directly,

• Write: Soldiers’ Angels, 1792 E. Washington Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91104
• Call: Monday-Friday, 8-5 PST, (626) 529-5114
• Email: soldiersangels@gmail.com

Do you know of any housing resources for military families in need? Connect2Agent wants to hear from you. Please comment below.

Posted by Rebecca D. Levinson

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The Age of Empowerment Series (Lesson III)

Real estate has gone through many changes during the last 30 years. In “Back to the Future … a time travel through real estate”, Connect2Agent member Steve Osmar led a time travel voyage from handshakes to Internet-powered real estate deals. Osmar dished about real estate times past, when real estate systems were starting to evolve and documents for real estate resembled handshake-type deals.

Fast forward to the Internet-empowered consumer and the present. The iron curtain has been lifted and real estate information is flooding homes across America. Home buyers - 8 out of every 10 - are researching the heck out of listings, communities, schools and house values. They crave real estate knowlege and e-commerce is quick to dish it up.

What will the future hold for real estate? I spoke with Connect2Agent member Deborah Rubley, who sells real estate in Austin Texas, and she was willing to give a preview on the future of real estate.

Housing will be greener. A healthier environment and a smaller utility bill equals a win/win for homeowners. 

“If consumers spend less because of energy-saving appliances, they can save money to pay higher bills. … Many times a city has interest-free loans available that allow homeowners to upgrade their homes to green standards.”

Real estate agents will be better. A more educated and concerned agent equals a win/win for home sellers and home buyers.

“I am a certified real estate instructor and I have seen the attrition of real estate agents in Austin Texas. Many people are not being able to survive. It is costing a little more money to do business than it did the last few years where deals fell into laps. … I teach real estate agents that it doesn’t take much to be better than the next real estate agent. … I think we will see more dedicated, responsible agents that take care of their clients.” 

Mid-size brokerages may become extinct.

“Brokers are downsizing because the cost of overhead far exceeds their profit margins. We’ll see mom and pop brokerages and mega brokerages as the survivors.”

The Internet’s role in the real estate industry will increase.

“If real estate agents aren’t up with technology, they’re done; they’re toast. Pretty soon you’ll be able to walk through a home virtually.”

What’s your prediction? What does the future of real estate look like? Share your preview by commenting below.

Posted by Rebecca D. Levinson

Original post:
Agent preview: The future of real estate

It’s easy to dismiss the foreclosure crisis as one big, sad mess that you can’t do much about. But instead of pooh-poohing the crisis, one Flint, Michigan woman is turning to Winnie the Pooh. (No, she’s not hitting the honey barrel.) Since August, 20-year-old Kristina Pringle has been painting Winnie the Pooh characters on the boarded-up windows of a vacant foreclosed home on her street. She hopes the characters — first came Eeyore, now she’s working on Tigger — will help brighten her struggling neighborhood.

Pringle was encouraged to start the murals by Art Wenzlaff, community relations director of a nearby school. Wenzlaff has set out to beautify local neighborhoods by cleaning them up and creating murals (with permission by the city), outfitting Pringle and other volunteers with art supplies. In the spring, Pringle has plans to recruit local children to add their own artwork to her murals. She’s also hoping that once the foreclosed home is torn down or sold, the boards will be put to use on another home.

Photo courtesy The Flint Journal

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Michigan Woman Brightens Foreclosure With Her Paintbrush

I write this post as I sit on a Sunday evening enjoying time with my family, each of us engaged in separate activities, but all of us together and united.

I am reflecting on a blog post I just read, “Beneath the financial crisis waits a nastier beast”, which explores the last domino of the financial crisis. The blogger, Waleed Aly, discusses what might happen with social politics as a result of the economy. Aly’s belief is that government intervention and the new marketplace cannot help but alter social politics.

Aly’s words are sobering:

“This is what happens in times of great insecurity. As the foundations of our lives erode, we search for an anchor, and social politics very often provides it. When all else fails, we may still rally around old certainties: nation, culture, religion, race. We crave strong authority figures that can imbue us with certainty and articulate for us a sense of self. That often involves fabricating a scapegoat who becomes a mortal enemy.”

I have great hopes that the lessons of the past have taught us that fear-controlled decisions are usually led by sheep in wolves’ clothing.

Realize this:

• If your property values decline, understand that in most cases they appreciated unrealistically and were overvalued.
• If your company starts layoffs or downsizing and outsources overseas or hires cheaper labor, that is the decision of the company, not the end laborer.
• If you look to blame the subprime mortgage crisis on a race or ethnicity, you are blinding yourself to the source.

In the end, the blame does nothing to improve your situation. Empowerment lies in finding a solution by working together and looking inside ourselves. People in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones. We all live in glass houses.

We can flip the switch from the age of entitlement to the age of enlightenment.

Get past the blame and get on with the solution.

Posted by Rebecca D. Levinson

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Get past the blame and get on with the solution

One of the most important decisions you will make in your lifetime is to sell your home. And getting your house ready for resale is vital to a quick and successful sale, especially when many parts of the country are experiencing a buyers market. In addition to the remodeling projects and staging that you re preparing inside the home, remember that the very first impression a prospective buyer gets is the moment they drive up. A lackluster lawn can cost you in the end.

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Fall Lawn Care

Like many homeowners around the country, Gerry and Cindy Mann have struggled to sell their house during the past year.

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Buy $169K Michigan dollhouse, get real home ‘free’

If you’re looking for affordable houses that will produce solid rental cash flows for long-term holds, check out the Midwest. That’s the word from the latest national “investment affordability” rankings by Port Real LLC (Port Reel) — an advisory firm that provides risk-reduction statistical profiles on 379 U.S. market areas for Wall Street and small investor clients.

Credit:
Investor Report: Investment Affordability

<span class=”field_caption”>Full Description</span>:&nbsp;Two storey 3 bedroom country house, solidly built, located in a very green and unexplored area.<br />
The property has three rooms on each floor and corridors.<br />
With its unspoiled nature and good communications the village of Slivovik provides great opportunity to find your holiday or permanent home in one of the loveliest regions in Bulgaria.<br />
The village benefits from local school, post office, banks, park, horse–riding range, shops and regular public transport. Five km from the center of the village is the train station that provides link with the capital city of Sofia(160km). The nearest county town of Montana /20 km/ is great place for shopping and going out with its good range of shops, supermarkets and restaurants.<br />
The area of Montana is also very popular with its lakes, dams and rivers, providing great opportunities for fishing, hiking, mountain-biking, horse-riding, etc. <br />
The nearest SPA centre is around 50km away. <br />
The river of Danube is 30km away and daily boat trips are available. <br />
The property needs attention inside and out. The second building in the garden may be easily transformed into guest house. The estate is electrically and water supplied. Its garden is 1560 sq/m. <br />
Free hold.<br />

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Country estate (16k) in a picturesque & unexplored area in the county of Montana

With home sales and prices down and unsold inventory up in many areas, the real estate market could use a jolt of good news — and Congress just provided it.

Original post:
Real Estate Outlook: Housing Bill Approved

Washington is still buzzing over Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson’s blunt, tough-love comments about the home foreclosure crisis and the real estate market last week.

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Washington Report: Foreclosures Fact of Life?

In real estate, the traditional mantra was always location, location, location. In today’s world of value-based purchasing, it’s price, price, price. Around the country, prices have hit a psychological floor for buyers who now believe now is the time to get off the fence and get into the game of buying homes. Thus, slowly, prices and sales volume are starting to swing upward nationally.

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Hot Market: Glacial Move In Prices, Sales Signaling Turn Around

The national economy keeps plodding along, but even that slow pace is better than what the experts predicted last year — that we’d be knee-deep into a serious recession by now.

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Real Estate Outlook: Inflation and Mortgage Rates