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.”

By By Richard Taylor, Zillow

 

Two demons wait for unsuspecting homeowners, hoping for their chance to gobble up time and money on new home and remodeling projects. The are called The Ripple Effect and Project Creep.

• The Ripple Effect lurks quietly in the background. Just like the movements on the pond surface for which it's named, The Ripple Effect starts out small and grows, expanding until it engulfs the entire project.
• Project Creep is a silent menace, staying out of sight until it's too late to avoid and putting the whole job at risk.

The Ripple Effect is the remodeling budget's worst enemy and can wreak havoc on small and large projects alike.
A window replacement is a simple, isolated project, right? But the interior and exterior trim must be replaced and painted, and the exterior siding may have to be reworked, especially if the new window isn't the same size as the old one.
And that's just the beginning. Once that window is replaced and the new window trim painted, the rest of the trim in the room looks bad by comparison, and so you decide to paint that, too. A pebble has been dropped in the pond, and the ripples have begun to spread.
What started out as a simple window replacement ends up as the refinishing of an entire room.
In new home projects, The Ripple Effect is more pronounced in open plan designs. With fewer walls to separate spaces, it's difficult to make flooring transitions from one room to another so more expensive flooring materials often cover more of the house. The lack of interior walls also requires a more expensive structural system and makes the placement of duct work and plumbing more difficult.

Don't Make Waves

But The Ripple Effect can be controlled if you take a moment to consider the impact one project can have on other parts of the house. The root of the problem in the window replacement example is that a new standard-sized window won't exactly fit the existing opening, necessitating the replacement of the trim.
But a custom-sized window, carefully installed, might allow you to reinstall the existing trim inside and outside, and avoid The Ripple Effect entirely. Sure, you'll spend more on the window, but you'll save everywhere else and avoid The Ripple Effect.
And in a new home project, careful planning of the room layouts and space adjacencies allows flooring and other finishes to "break" where you want them to.

Project Creep

Project Creep is a close cousin to The Ripple Effect. Project Creep happens when the extent of the work begins to grow, creeping along at first, until no one seems able to control the spiraling costs.
Older homes, for example, often require building code upgrades when they're remodeled — upgrades that may have little to do with the project itself. When structural loads are changed in any way, for example, the existing structure must be rebuilt or retrofitted to meet updated code requirements. And moving structure usually means reworking the wiring, duct work and plumbing that's been routed through the area.
Project Creep can attack new home projects, too. Sometimes the causes are almost impossible to predict, such as when the excavation of the site uncovers poor soil conditions. Sometimes the cause is an outside force — an architectural review board, for example. But mostly, Project Creep is a result of a difference in expectations between homeowner, builder and architect.

Plan ahead to avoid Ripple and Creep

On any project, start with a clear idea of the level of finish and quality you expect. Don't assume that the architect and builder are in tune with your ideas about finishes. Discuss your expectations in detail and, whenever possible, see the actual finishes and fixtures.
If you're not the detail-oriented type, hire a professional interior designer.
Poor quality drawings cause additional unplanned work during construction and always end up costing homeowners money and time. My firm has been hired many times to correct drawings done elsewhere that contained glaring errors, omitted necessary structural steel or just plain didn't work.

Sloppy drawings are an open invitation to Project Creep

On a remodeling or room addition project, evaluate the feasibility of the project in terms of the impact it will have on parts of the home that you're not intending to remodel. Often, room additions can easily be designed to minimize the effect on the existing structure.
Finally, always have realistic expectations about your project budget and communicate that budget to your architect and builder. When everyone understands the project's financial goals, the chances for success are greatly increased.

Is your home on the market or in the market??  Watch this short video to determine where you are.

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