$8000 Tax Credit Extension is Approved

Grand Rapids Real Estate Market Update

The $8000 First Time Home Buyer Tax credit was approved and is now on the President’s desk for signatures. This current extension does have a few changes, for the better in my opinion. For first timers, the $8000 tax credit is extended until April 30th, 2010. The major addition is a $6500 Tax credit for existing home owners. Effective the day of the signing, this gives current homeowners, that have owned their current home for more than 5 years, a credit and incentive to move up or sell their home.This is nice for homeowners to help with their closing costs. Income limits have also been increased to $125,000 single or $225,000 married and you can claim this credit on any home up to $800,000 in price.

Many people have used this tax credit to help with their home purchase and it has helped the market recover, so this latest extension is welcome. Here is a list of Tax Credit Highlights.

For more information about the Grand Rapids real estate market, visit my website at GRRealEstateInfo.com or contact me any time.

Grand Rapids Real Estate – June Market Update

 

Grand Rapids Home Sales up 26.2% From a Year Ago

 The Grand Rapids housing market continues to show signs of life as home sales were up 26.2% compared to June 2008. For the third consecutive month, single family homes have seen an increase in the average sales price (up to $119,923) from $97,073 in April 2009. This number does show improvement and is encouraging, but it is still down 12.5% from last June. These figures were prepared by the Grand Rapids Association of Realtors. This portrays a 19.9% increase in the home sale price from the beginning of 2009, where home prices were $95,010 for the month of January. The number of active listings in the Grand Rapids real estate market continues to remain steady at slightly over 9000. Sales year-to-date for single family homes was up 10.9% compared to one year ago.

These are good signs for our market. Especially when you take into consideration the amount of distressed homes such as short sales and foreclosures which are hurting and dragging down the overall Grand Rapids housing market.

Other positive indicators which show a good market trends are the average days on market, which is going down while the average selling price, median sales price and the percentage of the listing price compared to sales price, all continue to show improvement.

For more information about the Grand Rapids Real Estate market or to search for homes online, visit my website or contact me any time.

Grand Rapids Real Estate Prices Have Hit Bottom

 

Grand Rapids Real Estate Market Projections and Speculations

 A recent Homegain survey of Realtors from around the country speculates that house prices have hit the bottom, or will in the next 6 months. But this is Michigan so I will wait on my own observations before I jump the gun. The Grand Rapids real estate market is showing more activity but it is still too soon to tell if home prices have stopped dropping. I think it’s clear though that prices will not be rebounding at the same pace that they dropped. Once the Grand Rapids market stabilizes I expect to see a slow and gradual increase in house values … and that is fine with me.

About half of all real estate agents surveyed expect home prices to stay the same in the next six months, 29 percent expect them to drop, and 22 percent believe they will increase. *84% of agents surveyed believe their clients’ homes lost value last year, while 12 percent say values had stayed the same. Only 3 percent believe homes had gained value. Interestingly, 69% of sellers disagreed and thought their home was worth more than the agent suggested. 35% thought their home was worth 10 – 20 % more than suggested. In the end, market value is established by what the buyer is willing to pay for a home.

In the current Grand Rapids Real Estate housing market, I have been busier than I have ever been with many inquiries from all over. The beauty of having one of the top websites in town is that I have a great opportunity to see what buyers are looking for as many local and out of state buyers come through my website first. It puts me in the unique position of offering something extra to my clients who are looking to sell their home.

 On of my recent listings sold in 7 days. That was a combination of aggressive pricing and good marketing. As always in this type of market, where there are many similar listings, buyers will be price shopping. So your listings needs to be priced aggressively, marketed well with good internet exposure, professional quality photos and it must be in showroom condition. Showroom condition does not mean all new appliances and furniture. What it means is clean, uncluttered and a fresh coat of paint won’t hurt either.

For more information about the Grand Rapids real estate market and to search for homes online, visit my website or contact me any time. If you have a home or condo to sell, click here for more information.

Grand Rapids Real Estate Market Trends From March

 

Grand Rapids Home Sales Increase in March

The Grand Rapids real estate market had a good month in March which saw a 19.5% sales volume increase compared to the same period last year. Additional good news shows that the percentage of foreclosure sales has dropped for the third consecutive month. This could be that more people are selling their Grand Rapids home as a Short Sale, instead of letting their home be foreclosed.

These foreclosure and short sales will continue to depress the market as they typically sell below market value how ever the number of “regular” single family home sales also increased  in March, over the same time last year. 970 single family homes sold last month versus 812 a year ago.

The average Grand Rapids Home Sales price is up 2% from February however it is still down 20% from one year ago. The average sale price of a home today is $97,351. Active listings remain stead at slightly under 9000 listings which is close to February’s numbers.

So while the market remains slow, there is a slight uptick in activity which is a good sign as we are entering our typically busy season. From personal experience, I have been quite busy this first quarter and am excited for what the rest of the year holds.

For more information on the Grand Rapids market, visit my website at GRRealEstateInfo.com or contact me any time.