Housing market signals its recovery is going strong

Two pieces of data released Tuesday show that the recovery in real estate continues to be a bright spot in the still somewhat sluggish economic rebound. New-home sales leaped in January versus the previous month to the highest level in 4-1/2 years, government data showed, as steady job creation and record-low interest rates spurred buying. In the meantime, single-family home prices picked up in December, closing out 2012 with the biggest yearly gain in more than six years, a closely watched survey showed on Tuesday. The S&P/Case Shiller composite index of 20 metropolitan areas rose 0.9 percent in December on a seasonally adjusted basis, topping expectations for a gain of 0.5 percent. On a non-adjusted basis, prices were up 0.2 percent. "Home prices ended 2012 with solid gains," David Blitzer, chairman of the index committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices, said in a statement. "Housing and residential construction (led) the economy in the 2012 fourth quarter." Prices in the 20 cities jumped 6.8 percent year-over-year, ahead of expectations for 6.6 percent and the best yearly gain since July 2006. For the final quarter of the year, prices gained 2 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis. The Commerce Department said Tuesday that new-home sales rose nearly 16 percent in January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 437,000. The percentage increase was the largest in nearly 20 years. And December's sales were revised higher to 378,000 from 369,000. The number of previously occupied homes for sale is at a 13-year low. That shortage creates more demand for new homes. Builders began construction on the most homes in four years last year. Though new homes represent less than 20 percent of the housing sales market, they have an outsize impact on the economy. Each home built creates an average of three jobs for a year and generates about $90,000 in tax revenue, according to data from the National Association of Homebuilders The increase in home building has helped boost construction hiring. The industry has gained 98,000 jobs since September, the best stretch since the spring of 2006. Still, the increases in new-home sales are coming from depressed levels. Sales plummeted to a record low in 2011. And sales are still well below the 700,000 annual level that economists consider healthy. Original Article Ken Keegan Real Estate Broker

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Housing to drive economic growth (finally!)

From CNN: The bursting of the housing bubble plunged the economy into a recession from which it has yet to fully recover. But economists say this could finally be the year that housing lifts us out of the doldrums. Just over half of economists surveyed by CNNMoney identified a housing recovery as the primary driver of economic growth this year. The rest were split fairly evenly between consumer spending, increased domestic energy production and stimulus from the Federal Reserve as major growth drivers. "Homebuilding activity will likely remain the strongest growing component of the economy in 2013," said Keith Hembre, chief economist of Nuveen Asset Management. "After several years of excess supply, demand and supply conditions are now in much better balance." Home sales rebounded to the strongest level in five years in 2012, as home building bounced back to levels not seen since early in the recession. Near record low mortgage rates, rising home prices and a drop in foreclosures have combined to bring buyers back to the market. The economists surveyed also forecast that there will be just under 1 million housing starts this year -- roughly matching the 28% rise in home building in 2012. Moody's Analytics is forecasting much stronger growth -- a 50% rise both this year and next year, which it estimates will create more than 1 million new jobs. "There's a lot of pent-up demand for housing, and very little supply," said Celia Chen, housing economist for Moody's Analytics. "As demand continues to improve, home builders have nothing to sell. They'll have to build." She said that growth in building will mean adding not just construction jobs, but also manufacturing jobs building the appliances and furniture needed in the new homes, which in turn drives overall consumption higher. And economists say the tight supply and renewed demand for housing should lead to higher home values -- about a 3.7% increase according to the survey. "One of the most significant indirect effects from the housing recovery is the 'wealth effect' on consumers due to the recovery in home prices," said Joseph LaVorgna, chief U.S. economist of Deutsche Bank, who said better home values can affect both consumer psychology on spending as well as their actual finances. "Even small moves in home prices can have large effects on consumption, because housing comprises such a significant share of household assets," he said. Ken Keegan Real Estate Broker

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Home building surges 12%

From CNN: The pace of home building surged in December, as the market bounced back from the impact of Superstorm Sandy. Builders started construction at an annual pace of 954,000 home last month, the Census Bureau reported, up more than 12% from November's pace. That's a nearly 37% leap from December of last year. The reading smashed the 889,000 that economists surveyed by Briefing.com were expecting. The Northeast saw a 19% increase in housing starts from November to December, as construction picked back up again after the storm put a halt to new building activity. Single-family housing starts also boosted December's strong reading, rising more than 8% from November. Applications for new building permits, which are seen as an indicator of builders' confidence in the market, were little changed from November's rate. But the annual rate of 903,000 reported in December is up 28.8% from last year's level. Thursday's reading is yet another sign of the housing market picking up steam, as record-low mortgage rates have spurred demand for homes. A recovering job market and a tapering off of foreclosures have also given the market a boost. As distressed homes leave the market, that means that there are more buyers interested in purchasing fewer available homes. Home prices, in turn, have continued to rise, posting the biggest percentage gain in more than two years last month. Ken Keegan Real Estate Broker

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WWAY Report on St. James

Report from WWAYTV3.com:

A Brunswick County golf community is experiencing a boom in home sales. In fact, the leaders at St. James Plantation say 2012 was their best year yet.

"We welcome a new family every 27 hours to St. James, and that's unbelievable," General Manager Bob Duffy said.

Through the many struggles in the housing market, St.James Plantation has survived and even thrived.

"Last year we welcome over 275 families and closed over $40 million worth of property," Duffy said. "In addition, we constantly have well over 150 homes under construction in the community at any given time."

The 6,000-acre golf community is constantly building new homes to try and keep up with the demand. And it is no average neighborhood.

"We're our own town," Marketing Director Katie Campbell said. "We have a mayor. We have an EMS and fire department. What they give back to the community, I think, sets us apart."

Campbell says she believes the main attraction is it offers something for everyone

"We have 81 holes of golf, a full-service marina, private beach club on Oak Island, tennis and 4,500 owners, so they keep us all very busy," she said.

Campbell says the residents love the sense of community and are there to help one another.

 

Ken Keegan Real Estate Broker
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Make your old house look new again

If you own a prewar home, it's probably chock-full of charming period details -- and persistent headaches.

Quirky old-house nuisances are just a fact of life when your home has served many generations, even if it's been well maintained.

The key to trimming the cost of fixing these annoyances is finding someone who can repair, rather than replace, antique parts.

"Only kitchens and bathrooms need gut remodeling," says Les Fossel, an Alna, Maine, contractor specializing in 18th-century homes. "Most everything else is fixable."

Find seasoned pros at tradwebdirectory.com -- or test any contractor's proposed solutions for these common problems.

Cracked plaster walls

Fissures and chips don't mean you have to replace the handmade plaster with prefab wallboard (at $500 or more a room). That usually destroys the original wood trim, says David James, a contractor who works on old homes in Edenton, N.C. Instead, a restoration-minded pro can reattach the old plaster using special washers and then apply a plaster-like skim coat over the top, saving up to $200 a room -- and your trim work.

Drafty windows

Old windows rattle, are hard to operate, and let in icy drafts. Sure, you could replace them for a few hundred each, but for units that maintain the character -- and value -- of an older home, you'll pay $1,000 or more a pop.

Related: Low-cost ways to put off pricey home repairs

Have problem windows overhauled instead, for around $100 to $200 each. A carpenter will remove built-up paint, replace hardware, wax the rails, and weather-strip gaps, making the windows easier to open and close, and about 80% as efficient as new ones.

Squeaky wood floors

Time -- and multiple refinishings -- takes a toll on old floors, sometimes leaving them deafeningly creaky.

Related: Home repairs -- Which jobs come first?

A good woodworker can stop floorboards from rubbing together for about $200 to $500, usually by sinking micro-head screws through them and into the framing below.

The screws don't require putty, says Fossel: "When you wash your floor, the wood will expand and hide the holes."

Loose stair banister

Don't let a hack replace a rickety handrail. Spindles can be tightened at each step, and there's often a hidden pocket in the "newel" post at the base of the stairs. Inside is a nut that will firm up the post, strengthening the whole banister.

"Like so many old-house issues," says D.C. contractor Stephen Ortado, who has worked on the White House, "this is a simple $200 fix for someone who knows what he's doing."

Original Article

Ken Keegan Real Estate Broker
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Real estate: Find opportunity next year

In Money magazine's Make More in 2013, you'll learn what's contributing to a rosier outlook for economic growth, how to get more investment income at a time of super-low rates, and how you can start exploring and how you can start exploring job opportunities again. This installment: Why, as a prospective home seller or buyer, you need to stop sitting on your hands.

After five years of tumult, order and opportunity are finally being restored to the housing market.

Home prices are expected to rise a modest 1% from the fourth quarter of this year to the end of 2013, according to the real estate research firm Fiserv. David Stiff, Fiserv's chief economist, notes that after some choppiness early on, prices should increase 3.4% from the second quarter of 2013 to the second quarter of 2014. In hotter regions out West, you can expect bigger gains.

"Housing is finally turning the corner," Stiff says. "There is no reason to be fearful of further large price declines."

This creates a new playing field for homeowners, who are finally able to sell, as well as would-be buyers who've been delaying a purchase in anticipation that prices would keep falling.

The Mortgage Bankers Association forecasts that more and more house hunters will start coming off the sidelines, with new-home loans for purchases expected to jump 55%, based in dollars, in 2013.

With that increased competition, "the days of buyers sticking it to sellers are over," says Salt Lake City real estate agent Tracie Peay.

Sellers: Don't get too excited just yet. You don't have a viselike grip on this market either. Indeed, for many, it still makes sense to wait to get better prices. This is especially true if you know that you won't be able to break even on your investment by unloading your house now, once you factor in the sales commission and other costs.

That said, don't assume that prices will be off to the races again in a year or two.

Fiserv forecasts that between now and 2017, homes will gain 3.3% a year in value. That's hardly red-hot. But at least the market isn't frozen anymore.

THE ACTION PLAN

Sellers

The price still has to be right

Homes in many markets are selling in a matter of weeks, often attracting multiple bids -- but only the ones that are properly priced. Take San Francisco. Although the city is one of the strongest sellers' markets right now, the average home there goes for 103% of list price, not 120%.

"Buyers aren't going down the road that got so many people in trouble during the bubble," says Dallas real estate agent Mary Beth Harrison.

Focus on the appraisal

Whoever bids on your home will probably finance the purchase. That means any deal is still beholden to a third party.

"You can take the highest offer, but at the end of the day the appraiser has the final say on the value of the home," says David Howell, chief information officer at McEnearney Associates, a real estate agency in the D.C. metro area.

Related: 25 Best Places to Retire

With so much riding on the appraisal -- it can kill an agreement or require renegotiation -- your agent should be present. Harrison has a tip for making sure this happens: "The minute we have an offer, we take the keys off the door to make sure the appraiser has to meet us to get in."

Your agent should also prep a package of pertinent information for the appraiser, says Chicago real estate agent Fran Bailey. That includes the latest comparable sales data and documents detailing any upgrades or renovations to help the seller's cause. "It's part of my job to make sure the appraiser has the correct information," she says.

Buyers

Be ready to deal

With competition heating up, casual house shopping isn't going to cut it anymore. If you are serious about making a move, be prepared:

Three months out. Despite housing's green shoots, getting a mortgage remains incredibly tough. The average FICO credit score for recently denied applications on conventional purchase loans was 729. The score on approved mortgages was 762, with a 21% down payment, monthly payments equal to 21% of household income, and total debt that did not exceed 33% of income.

Related: 10 most affordable cities for homebuying

On the bubble with any of those requirements? Now's the time to burnish your finances. And if you plan to house hunt in the spring, watch your holiday spending.

Deal time. "If you want to buy, you have to be ready to make an offer," says Howell. Plus, your first offer should be very close to your best. "If the house has been on the market for three months or longer, you can be more aggressive," says Bailey. "But if it's a new listing, a low-ball bid will get you ignored."

The Money tracker: What can upset the forecast in the year ahead...

Ben runs out of ammo. Fed chairman Ben Bernanke is lifting housing by buying bonds to keep mortgage rates low. How much longer can he keep that going?

The loss of mortgage deductions. Should the tax break on mortgage interest get cut, that would throw cold water on the real estate recovery.

Sellers sit on the fence. Homeowners could remain on the sidelines as the ranks of buyers grow. In that case, the inventory of homes would shrink even more, lifting prices faster than expected.

Homeowners get bullish. A spate of home construction is already taking place in several major markets. In those regions, the housing stock is likely to stabilize, keeping price gains modest.

Banks loosen their grip. If tight lending standards return to historical norms, realtors argue, the market could see an additional 500,000 to 700,000 home sales next year.

Employer confidence rises. Since jobs are the engine of the housing market, a pickup in hiring later in the year, which economists are predicting, could accelerate a real estate rebound in the second half of 2013.

Original Article

Ken Keegan Real Estate Broker
(910) 523-0903 mobileEmail Mewww.KenKeegan.com Click here for more information on Brunswick, County Real Estate St. James Plantation

Charles Dickens Christmas Festival to ring in holiday season

When Brunswick Arts Council president Jeanette Serens shared her idea to hold a local Charles Dickens festival with member Sue MacCallum last year, MacCallum felt a sudden charge of energy.
That is because, MacCallum said, Dickens is in her DNA.“It was like a light bulb went off inside me,” she recalled. “This is in me.”
MacCallum, who has become co-chairman of the council’s Charles Dickens Christmas Festival, has a connection to the beloved author, and to his homeland of England, that spans generations.
The premier event, organized in cooperation with the City of Southport, Brunswick County Schools and area venues, churches and organizations, celebrates the 200th birthday of the beloved English author on Friday, November 30, and Saturday, December 1.
The two-day celebration in downtown Southport will feature a variety of family-friendly activities in a number of local venues, including a kick-off parade, a Christmas tree lighting, band and choir concerts, costume contests, literary readings and theater performances.
Southport itself will be turned into a Victorian-era village complete with actors and volunteers in period costume, carolers and street performers.
The momentum for the festivities began about a year ago when Serens began brainstorming about ways to raise funds to support the Brunswick Arts Council’s mission.
Founded in 1981, the non-profit organization relies on public funding and private donations to help support visual and performing arts countywide, including the schools. The council annually gives scholarships and grants in an effort to fulfill its mission to advocate for the arts and provide residents and visitors with high-quality education, programs and performances.
In her research, Serens read about a Dickens festival in another state. She mentioned it to MacCallum, and the idea quickly began taking shape.
“I couldn’t sleep that night; I was so excited,” MacCallum said. “All this inspiration sort of downloaded into me. … I was able to draw on my training and experience.”
Soon the council had partnered with the City of Southport and the county school district to begin organizing the event.
And for a traditional holiday festival, MacCallum and festival publicity director Bonnie Laserna believe Charles Dickens is the ideal figure.
“A Christmas Carol,” they added, sends the perfect message.
“It exemplifies every stereotype of the time period; it’s even applicable today,” Laserna said of the novella.
Written in 1843, “A Christmas Carol,” seen by many critics as an indictment of industrial capitalists, also served to restore a sense of holiday spirit.
“A lot of the (secular) traditions celebrated today were made popular by Dickens,” MacCallum noted.
Dickens’ compassion for the poor and charitable nature—integral themes in “A Christmas Carol”—have not been lost on the Brunswick Arts Council.
“This is our gift to the community,” MacCallum said. “It’s a gift in honor of a famous philanthropist.”
The Brunswick Arts Council has its own history of charity. The Charles Dickens Christmas Festival, MacCallum said, is just another way the council can give back.
“Proceeds from this go back to the community, towards arts in education and arts organization,” she said. “That’s why we’re doing this.”
But the council is using the Dickens festival to help out the community in other ways as well. Throughout the two-day event, the arts council will set up collection sites for canned-food items to benefit Brunswick Family Assistance, which provides emergency food, clothing and transportation to low-income families. The arts council will also be asking for donations of clothing and toiletries for the Coalition for the Homeless and used books for the Brunswick County Literacy Council.
The first Charles Dickens Christmas Festival is set for 1 to 9 p.m. on Friday, November 30, and Saturday, December 1, in downtown Southport.
Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for children seven through 12; admission covers both days of the festival. Children six years of age and younger are admitted free of charge.
Tickets are on sale now through the Brunswick Arts Council or may be purchased at the event. To purchase tickets or for more information, visit www.brunswickartscouncil.org.

Article from State Port Pilot

Ken Keegan Real Estate Broker
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