Feb

28

Long Island Real Estate Market: Sales Update, January 2009

Filed Under Sellers, Sellers & Buyers | Leave a Comment

As 2008 ended, January of this new year told the story of how we closed out 2008. It’s important to know that a real estate closing is developed over time. What closes in one month, is a demonstration of where the buying market was one to three months ago. Remember, whatever sells in January, was in contract in November or December, because it takes anywhere from 30 to 90 days to close a real estate transaction.

One of the better bits of data that came our way from January was a marked decline in homes for sale. Inventory declined by approximately 6% from the previous month. If we compare December, 2008 sales to January of 2009, this is the unfortunate news, for homeowners, as we saw a 33% decline in sales.

From this slide, we see a marked decline in sales, starting before December, 2008 and falling from there. But if we take a closer look at Long Island real estate market sales from August, 2008 to January, ‘09 - we see a dramatic fall in prices of 18.6%.

For homeowners looking to sell, you really must weigh what you want from your life at this point. I know that sounds over the top, but there are many people with great equity in their properties who still think that the market is going to “bounce back” within a year…while they lose about 1% on the average, every month.

This slide shows the sales numbers for January, throughout the Long Island real estate market. These are those numbers that are both good and very bad at the same time. A marked decline in inventory (over 6% less homes for sale) is good but what is bad is a 33% decline in homes sold, indicating a decreased buyer interest from previous months. Now February and March closings will let us know how January actually was in terms of sales.

For now, remember to check back soon, as I will be doing a full spread on foreclosures and short sales throughout the entire real estate market here on Long Island and abroad. The numbers are going to shock you as we all start hearing terms like, “alt a” and “option arms” like we’ve heard about the “subprime” for the past 2 years. The next wave is coming and we might just find ourselves only half the way through this.

Feb

27

Long Island Unemployment And How It’s Going To Impact The Real Estate Market

Filed Under Sellers | 3 Comments

Strange thing. I hear on the news about all this unemployment and it slowly creeps into your backyard. I know several friends and some family members who have lost their job. So I started to pay closer attention to what’s going on in our backyard here on Long Island. I decided to write about the Long Island unemployment rate to inform my reaqders of what is about to happen to the Long Island real estate market.

First I must state that I am personally concerned about what is going to happen with our local economy.

I am doubly concerned about how this economy is going to impact the Long Island real estate market in general.

As a Realtor, I see it as my personal mission to help educate the public not only about this or that house, but about the overall picture of what is going on and the unemployment rate increasing by 36% in one year in Suffolk county is something that raises my eye brow…alot.

Pearl Kamer, while I don’t know her personally, I have been told that Pearl has a reserved tone when it comes to making statements about things of this nature, so the word Pearl uses, “alarming”, send a red flag high in the air for me.

While I believe that now is such a fantastic time to buy, my main concern for this article is to show sellers that they really should consider calling me right this split second and getting their home on the market. I will be adding a few new articles about foreclosures, the subprime (Part II), and our sales numbers for January (scary stuff).

Now you may ask how unemployment will affect your home value. My answer would be quite simple. A further shrinking of the buyer pool is not good (less people with jobs means less people with money to buy homes). Secondly, unemployment lends to higher mortgage interest rates and the main ingredient for keeping the decline of home values from free-falling is the low mortgage interest rate.

The trickle-down effect of high unemployment rate is endless. Through this entire process, one thing is clear; the buying opportunities are only going to get much…much better.

FOR A COMPLETE MARKET ANALYSIS OF YOUR HOME’S VALUE - PLEASE CALL ME AT 631.831.9048.

Feb

20

Long Island Real Estate Market: Foreclosure Update, February 2009

Filed Under Foreclosure Info, Long Island Foreclosure Stats, Sellers & Buyers | 1 Comment

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This is a foreclosure update for the Long Island real estate market. This report features the number of homes that are in the foreclosure process or currently bank-owned throughout a sample of the Long Island real estate market.

Suffolk County Foreclosures

West Islip = 63
Deer Park = 156
Babylon = 30
West Babylon = 173
Lindenhurst = 190
Patchogue = 16
Miller Place = 46
Riverhead = 5
Huntington = 91
Port Jeff = 20
Sayville = 27
East Hampton = 4
Smithtown = 5
Hauppauge = 29
Manorville = 36

Total = 891 (nearly a 7% decrease since last report in December, 2008)

If you want information on a specific town, leave me a comment or call me at 631.831.9048.

All this information was gathered from RealtyTrac. The information is a combination of lis pendens filings with local county offices, public notices of foreclosure sales, and real estate owned properties (properties currently owned by banking institutions).

The average loss of equity from a foreclosure on Long Island is about $8000. So the fewer foreclosures in your area, the better!

A closer look at short sale listings in these same towns above indicates another challenge. According to the Multiple Listing Service of Long Island, there are over 250 homes listed that include the term “short sale” in the towns focused in this article. A short sale is where a homeowner is attempting to sell their home for less than what is owed on the mortgage. A short sale occurs when the value of the property (what the buying market will pay for it) is lower than what a homeowner owes on the property.

Towns from above with the most amount of short sale listings include Lindenhurst (31), and West Babylon (18). Now these short sales may or may not be legitimate opportunities. Consulting a Real Estate Agent who knows what they’re doing, can save a buyer time and effort. For sellers, the same can be said. Imagine trying to sell your home, having 50 or 60 people drudge through your home, only to find that a short sale is not a viable option!

I will continue to report on the Long Island foreclosure situation and see how things change from month to month. Please continue to come back. If you have any questions on a specific town, please feel free to contact me.

For the previous foreclosure updates, www.tommcgiveron.com/category/foreclosures/.

Feb

18

Bernanke On The State Of The Federal Reserve

Filed Under Sellers & Buyers | Leave a Comment

Fed Chairman spoke today about the state of the Federal Reserve and it’s role in the economic recovery of America.

Feb

16

Frequently Asked Tax Credit Questions

Filed Under Buyers, Mortgage Matters | Leave a Comment

Here are some more Frequently Asked Questions. Please note that the answers may change as the Senate bill changes:

If I bought a home and used the $7,500 home buyer tax credit, can I retroactively receive $15,000 credit if it becomes law? No.

Are there any income restrictions on the tax credit? The Senate version currently has no income limits. The current $7,500 tax credit phases out on buyers with incomes exceeding $75,000 for individuals and $150,000 for married couples.

When will the new tax credit go into effect? The Senate version would take effect when the bill is signed by the president into law, and it would last for one year.

Can I take the tax credit this year? Yes. The Senate proposal would allow buyers — even those who purchase in 2009 — to claim the credit on their 2008 taxes. The proposed tax credit is nonrefundable. What does that mean? You can only receive the credit to the extent that you owe federal income taxes. The Senate proposal would give home buyers two years to claim the credit, so buyers could claim a $7,500 credit in 2009 and a $7,500 credit in 2010. A family of four that makes less than $82,000, for example, could have a tax liability of less than $7,500 and they would not receive the full value of the credit.

Are there any repayment requirements on the tax credit? No. The Senate proposal does not require the credit to be paid back. The House proposal eliminates a 15-year repayment provision on the existing $7,500 tax credit.

If I am eligible for the current $7,500 credit, am I also eligible for the $15,000 credit? While the $15,000 credit has fewer restrictions than the existing credit, there is one big difference: because the credit is nonrefundable, if you have a low federal income tax liability, you could end up receiving more money with the current credit than the larger, proposed credit.

Are there any increased down payment requirements on the proposed tax credit? No. A separate measure has been introduced in the House that would expand the tax credit to $15,000 but would require a 5% down payment on mortgages. The Federal Housing Administration currently requires a minimum 3.5% down payment.

Can I use the tax credit to buy a second home? No.
How long do I have to live in my home after I purchase it with the tax credit? The Senate version requires buyers to pay back the credit if they sell the house less than two years after they buy it.

Tony Auffant
www.tonyauffant.com
Senior Mortgage Consultant
Continental Home Loans Inc.

Feb

3

Long Island Real Estate Market: Home Depreciation

Filed Under Sellers | 2 Comments

In my previous article, Home Pricing Update, January 2009, I commented on depreciation and how Long Island would be affected by the high months of supply. I wanted to revisit the slides for a closer look at the number one, most important aspect of the real estate market.

This slide shows the breakdown of the months of supply in Long Island and down state area of New York. Between Queens, Nassau and Suffolk counties, the months of supply is over 15.

But what does this mean? The months of supply is simply the amount of months it would take for every listing to sell at the current rate of home sales. Nationally, it has been reported that December saw a spike in home sales. On Long Island, a “spike” might mean 50 more homes were sold in the month of December than November.

While every bit helps, that’s what represents the small improvements that will eventually help the Long Island real estate market stabalize. As the supply of homes decreases and the demand remains steady, the depreciation of homes will cease and correct back to a modest appreciative value.

When I sit with homeowners, these are the statistics I share with them.

As you can see, a 9+ months of supply in any given area, automatically equates to double-digit depreciation. Combining this slide with the map of the Long Island area clearly indicates that 2009 and into 2010, Long Island home values will continue to decline.

Click here for a free comprehensive market analysis of your home or feel free to call me at 631.831.9048.

by Thomas McGiveron, Licensed Salesperson

Feb

28

Long Island Real Estate Market: Sales Update, January 2009

Feb

27

Long Island Unemployment And How It’s Going To Impact The Real Estate Market

Feb

20

Long Island Real Estate Market: Foreclosure Update, February 2009

Feb

18

Bernanke On The State Of The Federal Reserve

Feb

16

Frequently Asked Tax Credit Questions

Feb

3

Long Island Real Estate Market: Home Depreciation

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