Is Buying a Home a Good Idea?

troy — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 20:49:27 +0000

Williamsburg is an area that we sell homes in. I recently posted the following on a real estate website in answer to the question: Is buying a home in Williamsburg in the 23185 zipcode a good idea?

Written 6/24/2009: Williamsburg VA:

I completely agree that lending practices were far to easy before the economic problems. Overcorrection and making it very, very difficult to get a mortgage is not the answer either. Sales fall apart and sellers and buyers both are rightly unhappy about it. People can’t move to the new job or they do and let the house go into foreclosure. It has a very far reaching effect on people and the economy. We have been somewhat insulated from the worst of the economic crisis. Having a strong military and government job sector certainly hasn’t hurt us. The shipyard is still going strong and the College of William & Mary continues to be a large local employer.

Curious if the stats would bear this out, I went to the Williamsburg MLS and checked some figures.

Here’s the stats for the past three months in the 23185 zipcode from the Williamsburg MLS. Homes are selling for an average of 94% of list price. I don’t think 20-30% is going to be a realistic starting point.

3-24-2009 to 6-24-2009
103 homes, townhomes and condos sold over the last three months in 23185.
Average list to sale price is 94%
Average list to sold (days on market) 144 days
Average price (sold): $334,901
Average cost per sqft (sold): $145.46

Same period in 2007
Average list to sale price is 97%
Average days on market: 82
Average cost per sqft: $159.33

Same period in 2005
Average list to sale price is 99%
Average days on market is 61
Average cost per sqft is $149.04

Some distressed properties, usually foreclosures, can be had for less but they will generally require fixing up and the bank will rarely agree to do any repairs. Foreclosures are all in the Multiple Listing Service as well. The biggest variance on list to sale price is found in the high end market. Right now we are the market in homes under 300K is doing really well.

In the last month or so we’ve had multiple offers on a few homes under 225K, which I haven’t seen that in awhile. The $8000 down payment from the government may be helping. First time home buyers are not generally buying the 500K homes. The under 300K segment increase would make sense.

I heard today that some in Congress are trying to get the mortgage guidelines relaxed a bit. I believe the banks have the money to loan but the Fed credit requirements right now are pretty restrictive. Whether thats right or wrong I’ll leave to others to decide. The housing market is the engine of the American economy and it needs to get moving again for all of our sakes.

The ‘Days on Market’ at 144 is of concern but from what I’ve seen this year alone, I would say the tightening of the mortgage guidelines has a lot to do with it. Every week we see people who are otherwise well qualified be denied at the last minute by an underwriter who has once again been given new stricter federal guidelines.

“Bringing you Home to Williamsburg”
Licensed in the Commonwealth of Virginia
©2009 Troy Deierling

Virginia Offers $8000 to New Home Buyers

troy — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 13:47:45 +0000

If you are a first time home buyer or have not owned a home in the past 3 years, we have good news.

The Federal Government is offering an $8000 tax rebate to first time home buyers. The 8K is received after closing and filing a form with the IRS.

Here’s where it gets good! The Virginia Housing Development Authority (VHDA) has ‘monetized’ the tax rebate and is giving the $8000 up front so that it can be used as a downpayment. It will be carried as a second mortgage until you get the money back from the IRS and you can then repay it or continue to carry it as a second mortgage.

Time limits on closing and other details are involved so you’ll want to speak with a mortgage person and your tax advisor.

Any questions on this program, give me a call.

Troy Deierling, Realtor
EXIT Realty Deierling & Assoc.
Williamsburg VA 23185
(757) 715-4793
troy@williamsburgemail.com
www.realestatewilliamsburg.com

New website & design

troy — Mon, 18 May 2009 03:20:24 +0000

We are moving our www.VirginiaTeam.com website from it’s present server to this new one over the next several days. Pages may be a bit sparse to start with but will be fully up within a week. If you see something missing, drop us a note.

We serve real estate and home buyers and sellers in the Yorktown, Hampton, Newport News and Williamsburg areas.

Troy Deierling, ABRM, RDCPro, Realtor
EXIT Realty Deierling & Assoc.
(757) 564-3863
troy@exitrealtyda.com

VA Peninsula Homes

Is Buying a Home a Good Idea?

Virginia Offers $8000 to New Home Buyers

New website & design