5 questions every buyer should ask their agent

By Tara-Nicholle Nelson, Monday, July 30, 2012.

Inman News®

In this day and age, one can easily get educated about homebuying online, on your couch and in your pajamas -- and while watching "House Hunters International," no less! Yet there are still nuances and insights on the process that are best communicated one to one, from a human professional who has been through this process dozens or hundreds of times. Accordingly, first-time buyers are frequently given the sound advice to vigorously interview agents before hiring them, and lists of interview questions are all over the Web.

That said, in the Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers recently released by the National Association of Realtors, 81 percent of first-time buyers said the benefit of having an agent was that the agent helped get them educated about the buying process, and more than half of all buyers said their agent pointed out features or faults of a property that they would not otherwise have noticed.
So, I think it's time for a list of questions to ask your agent after you hire him or her, during the homebuying process, to max out the advantages you have from having this person on your side -- here are some starters:

1. Do you know a good mortgage broker, inspector, painter, etc.? The NAR survey showed that 46 percent of buyers thought they got a better list of service providers from their agent than they could have come up with otherwise, and 20 percent found their agent's mortgage provider referral to be a benefit. Local agents simply know people you don't, and they have worked with them enough to know who gets the job done, well, and who doesn't. To boot, vendors that work repeatedly with your agent may offer you faster turnaround times, discounted pricing or other VIP treatment you wouldn't get on your own, like doing an especially great job because they want to continue getting business from your agent.

2. What should I expect? Managing your expectations is essential to having a smooth homebuying experience, especially when it comes to the recurring themes of timing (e.g., how long something will take, when you need to do something, and when you can expect various milestones to happen) and cost. This particular question and its cousins, "What happens next?" and "What's the margin of error on this cost estimate?" are questions you can and should ask over and over again, from the day you first "interview" your prospective agent, to the moment you sit down at the closing table.

3. What are the different ways to look at this? This, too, is a question you might want and need to ask often. During inspections, you might need to turn over the inspection report and any issues that arise in your mind to get a sense for how to react -- do you ask for more money, ask for repairs, get more bids? A good agent will help you explore the possibilities. This can also be helpful in the realm of negotiations.  For example, your agent can help you understand what you should be asking for in your offer, as he probably has a better understanding of all the possibilities and the various contract terms than you do. In the same vein, if you and the seller are at a price deadlock, asking your agent how else you can look at this might get you more creative suggestions about counteroffers and deal structures to propose. While, ultimately, every decision is yours to make, if you have a good agent, you aren't all alone in trying to process the facts in front of you and factor them in. Related questions to add to the list: "What are the pros and cons?" and "What can I ask for?"

4. How do you buy a house? This one is pretty self-explanatory, but it bears stating that most of what you'll read in books and online about homebuying is neither customized to your local area nor is it tailored to your personal financial and lifestyle needs. The education your agent can give you is tailored in these two, really important ways.

5. What have I forgotten to ask? This wild card question really asks your agent to harness his knowledge of the market and his experience with buyers to position you to see what he sees. You're giving him carte blanche to be the expert (which agents appreciate!) with the result that you might be alerted to issues with the home, the financing or the transaction that you might not have otherwise. It's really just another way of asking the question, "What do you see that I don't?"

DFW real estate recovery may have legs this time

By Mitchell Schnurman

mschnurman@star-telegram.com

       

DFW Real Estate Recovery May Have Legs This Time

We could declare a seller's market, if only there were more sellers.
Bidding wars are breaking out for homes in pockets of North Texas because buyers are finally jumping onboard -- only to find that the supply of properties for sale is the lowest in a decade.
Last month, two houses near Texas Christian University -- one on Waits Avenue, the other on Tanglewood Trail -- attracted five offers each on the day they appeared on the listing service. Both sold for more than the asking price, $229,000 and $264,000, respectively, according to the listing company.
"The right house on the right street won't last a day," said Marshall Boyd, managing partner for Williams Trew Sotheby's International Realty.
Reports of multiple bids have become fairly common in other parts of North Texas, a sign that supply and demand has shifted markedly. In the past year, the supply of homes in Fort Worth has fallen from 7.2 months to 5.1 months. Several submarkets, including southeast Arlington, Grapevine, Allen and Richardson, have a three-month supply of homes, about half the ideal balance.
While local players remain cautious, the real estate recovery appears to have legs this time. In central Fort Worth, existing-home sales rose 42 percent this year through May, and median prices were up 9 percent, according to data from the Texas A&M Real Estate Center. Sales in Addison and far north Dallas rose 41 percent through the first five months, and Southlake, Colleyville and east Dallas increased more than 30 percent.
Hopes for a recovery have been dashed before. Tax credits lifted sales sharply in 2010, but the trend didn't hold. And residential real estate remains a neighborhood-by-neighborhood story, with some parts of north Fort Worth still overwhelmed by foreclosures.
But signs of strength dominate the picture. Last week, the S&P/Case-Shiller Index reported that Dallas-area prices rose in April, the second straight month of solid gains. Prices were 2.8 percent higher than a year ago and are now just 7.9 percent shy of their pre-bust peak.
Prices have recovered in Dallas more than in any other metro area, and the index for all 20 major cities is still 34 percent off the all-time high. All this is more evidence that Dallas-Fort Worth is clawing back faster than most of the country and that it wasn't hit as hard initially, either.
Home builders may have taken the worst blow, with starts falling 75 percent from the 2006 peak to the trough. Finally, they're getting a lift, too.
Midway through the year, many builders in DFW report that they've already hit their sales goals for all of 2012. For the first time in years, they've passed along price increases for entire floor plans, not just select items. And they're looking for lots, a sign of confidence that's been absent for half a decade.
"Everyone's still gun-shy, but it looks like we've turned the corner," said Scott Sandlin, adding that his Sandlin Homes is on pace to double sales this year.
After long resisting hiring, the Fort Worth company added four employees and several contractors. And it's not alone. Statewide, construction jobs had fallen 32 months in a row before the trend shifted last fall. The state has added building jobs every month since September, and the pace picked up in February.
David Brown, director of the DFW office of Metrostudy, said that "buyers just started to believe" during the latter half of last year. As they gained confidence in the economy, the housing deals looked better and better, thanks to low prices and the lowest interest rates ever.
New-home inventories are low, too, so it doesn't pay to dally. Metrostudy estimates that DFW has 2,700 new vacant homes, the fewest since 1994.
"Higher sales and lower inventories are a recipe for higher prices," Brown said.
Case-Shiller prices are a lagging indicator, and the latest numbers don't include May and June. So DFW may be percolating even faster than the index indicates.
Brown projects a 15 percent increase in starts and a 5 percent increase in prices by the end of the year. James Gaines, an economist at the Texas A&M Real Estate Center, expects a bigger price bump in 2013 as long as financing can be secured.
Borrowers with blemishes on their credit may have trouble getting loans, so builders often must help customers repair their credit scores. They advise them on which debts to pay first, including student loans, and how to improve key ratios.
Ron Formby, CEO of Antares Homes, said he worked with a couple for two years before they could finally close on a house this week. It can be slow sledding, but it's the way to build sales today, especially with first-time buyers.

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/07/04/4079227/dfw-real-estate-recovery-may-have.html#storylink=cpy

Housing Market Turns Corner; U.S. Home Values Post First Annual Increase In Nearly Five Years

forbes.com - Zillow's second quarter Real Estate Market Reports, released today, show home values increased 2.1% from the first to the second quarter of 2012 to $149,300 (Figure 1). On an annual basis, home values rose 0.2% from June 2011...

Home prices are on the rise and intrest prices are decreasing.  Have you been thinking of making a move a buying a larger home?  This is the time to buy.  You can not only get more for your home than you could last year year but you can get your new home at a lower interest rate (so you can buy more than you could have last year).  This is the ideal market to sell/buy in.

Mortgage rates drop again, Freddie Mac says; 30-year at 3.53%

The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage hit another new low this week, dropping to 3.53% from 3.56% last week, according to Freddie Mac 's survey of what lenders are offering to well-qualified borrowers.

5 tips for moving with young kids in tow

By Kelly Herdrich | Yahoo! Contributor Network – Wed, Jun 6, 2012 8:01 PM EDT

When my daughters were 3 months old and 21 months old we said goodbye to our home and took a leap of faith. We leaped all the way to England, where we lived for three years before returning to America. Though our destination was something different, we aren't unique; the recent census reports that 12.5 percent of Americans age 1 and older moved in 2010 -- approximately 37.5 million people.

Now I consider myself a master of all things moving with infants and toddlers. My experience isn't just specific to overseas relocation -- what I learned about moving with wee ones is as relevant to families moving down the street as those moving cross-country.
1. Pack your child's room last. Unpack it first. Children of all ages crave stability and comfort. Make your child's bedroom a safe place for them in your old home and recreate that same sense of ownership for them in their new bedroom. Older children may not want their new bedroom to be identical to the old (in fact, new furniture or decor could help dull the loss of school friends and activities), but younger children will benefit from a room nearly identical to the one they left behind. Make the moving disruption as minimal as possible by packing your child's room last and unpacking it first upon arrival.
2. Know (everything) before you go. Have the information handy for the local hospital, a new pediatrician, a dentist, your closest pharmacy, the grocery store, and the nearest chain restaurant that the kids love before you depart and arrive at your new home. If your infant gets an ear infection en route (I had it happen twice), your toddler chips a tooth and gets a bloody lip on that new front step (also happened), or your last bottle of infant pain reliever runs out on your first night in the new house (don't even ask me how many times this has happened when moving or traveling) you'll want to know where to go for help. Moving is a completely different experience with children; move prepared.
3. Enlist help with the kids for moving days. Your moving days are going to be incredibly hectic. Don't subject an infant or a toddler to the chaos. While older kids might want to be around, and may get closure seeing their house empty and their things all packed up, that isn't the case for younger children. We attempted to keep my infant daughter with us on moving day. The result was that I couldn't help or participate, and I actually got in the way more often than not. If you can't find childcare, consider splitting you and your spouse splitting up for the day and entertaining the kids away from the house.
4. Try to keep your cool. Trust me -- I know that moving can be a stressful time. However, if you're moving with infants, toddlers, or both, effectively managing your stress is absolutely essential. There's plenty of evidence to suggest that kids feel their parents' stress, and infants aren't excluded. A calm mom and dad may equal a calmer, less colicky baby. There's already going to be plenty of reason for your baby to be feeling the effects of the move, so try to focus on staying calm and avoiding extra stress when you're relocating.
5. If it's important to your child, it should be important to you. Never make the mistake of letting the movers pack your toddler's favorite toy or special blanket. Keep these items with you at all times. This will help ease any separation anxiety your child may experience from the changes, and minimize your stress when you arrive if you can't put your fingers on it right away. If it's important to your infant or toddler, it should be just as important to you -- don't let it out of your sight when you're moving.

Multiple Offers Return as Buyers are Back

By Steve Cook

RISMEDIA, Monday, July 09, 2012— Record tight inventories are making it increasingly difficult for growing numbers of buyers, who are creating multiple-bid environments in markets that haven’t seen buyers battle over homes in six years. Buyers are back but sellers aren’t, especially in Western markets recovering from large volumes of foreclosures. The result is that inventories are still tightening as the spring buying season ends. Buyers are fighting over what’s available, often to the benefit of those sellers who took a risk in this year’s evolving marketplace. Prices are reported to be on the uptrend with 62 percent of REALTORS® reporting constant or increasing prices compared to the same time a year ago, according to the National Association of REALTORS’® (NAR) REALTOR® Confidence Index for May29 -June 8, 2012 that was released recently. Buyer demand is reported to be growing faster than supply, and many REALTORS® are reporting multiple offers. However, buyer foot traffic slowed in May compared to last year, perhaps as buyers grew discouraged by slim pickings. However, buyer traffic is still well above the moderate level, but seller traffic is flat, according to the NAR survey. First-time homebuyers accounted for 34 percent of total buyers. Normally first-time buyers are in the neighborhood of 40 percent of total residential sales, according to NAR’s Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers. A majority of the 145 markets monitored by NAR Research experienced slower foot traffic in May of this year relative to the same time in 2011. The data, provided by SentriLock, LLC., is based on the total number of visits to properties as recorded on electronic clock boxes. Foot traffic was lower over the 12 months ending in May in 60 percent of the markets, while 35 percent expanded and 5 percent were unchanged. This moderating pattern suggests a broad based decline in the late spring following an equally broad-based expansion in the late spring/summer of 2011 and early spring of this year. Multiple bids are changing the playing field in a number of markets this spring and summer. Many agents new to the business who have little experience with them are dealing with a sudden and unexpected competition for homes brought about by inventors more than 20 percent below those of a year ago. “Remember the “Roaring ’90s?” Those days when you could list your house on Friday and on Saturday people would be parked in your driveway writing offers and good faith checks on the hood of their cars? Multiple offers were the norm and offered sellers a generous selection of offers from which to choose. Believe it or not. we are experiencing a trend toward multiple offers even in this still difficult market and there is evidence that this trend will continue as buyers compete in a market with limited inventory,” reported REALTOR® Noel Crider of Auburn, Calif. “The Phoenix Metro Area Housing Market faces multiple offers even in the higher end and luxury market as buyers try to snag homes before the market rises further. We have seen multiple offers for quite some time in the lower price ranges, but now as the market is returning, and returning strong, we are seeing multiple offers in the higher price ranges. We are now seeing multiple offers on homes in the move-up and luxury home market. We are seeing offers that are $50,000 over asking that are not the winning bid. This is causing quite a bit of frustration as buyers are trying to get into a home before the market prices go up further,” reported Brenda & Ron Cunningham, real estate professionals in Arizona. In Seattle, multiple offers on beginner houses in Seattle are common again reports Phil Leng of Kirkland, Wash. and in Austin, broker Gwynn Teal Carpenter reports, “It’s happened again! We are in one of those real estate markets where we are seeing homes with multiple offers. In Austin Texas, the market is so sizzling hot that it isn’t unusual to have more than 2 offers on a fantastic priced and conditioned home.”