How fast the time has been flying by for me, but yet still dragging for all of us in our Economy. This latest hurt to all of us is Gas!! OPEC seems to get enjoyment in keeping the Global Economy in turmoil as shown by their recent decision yesterday to keep the same production, as it will keep prices up. Many wanted to reduce production so it would push prices up even more. Up for me, is more money spent on Gas and of course the extra costs we see in food, clothing and things associated with higher gas such as Airline fares.

We are sitting on vast resources of Oil but our current Administration has no desire to allow more permits or speed up the process in obtaining the permits to Drill for Oil. Alaska sits on a huge deposit in just a small area but all I hear is we will not allow it because of what it might do to the natural environment of the whole area. They do not want to drill in the whole area, just a very small part which is less than 100 miles from an existing pipeline (I think the number is around 75 miles). Why do we have to put up with these lame excuses because of this current Administration?

The permits could be granted with much oversight which I really do not think the Oil Companies will have trouble complying with, as long as it makes sense. And that is one of the problems as to what makes sense. In my Air Force career I found a lot of people who had common sense and were not highly educated, and then I found many educated people who had no common sense. Lots of book learning, but just did not know how to apply what they knew. ACCIDENTS do happen, and they are accidents and not the norm.

I have seen more highly educated people who do not know how to run a company trying to tell us how to run our Economy, but look where we are right now. Just get out of the way and stop spending money that we do not have and let the small businesses pave the way. Make it easy at all levels to get a business going and stop putting roadblocks in front of them. Let them earn a real profit that is not taxed to the limits. These roadblocks exist from the Federal Government, State Government all the way down to the City level. Lets get smarter and stop sending jobs overseas and put more Americans back to work.

There is much more I would like to say but I won’t for now. Our Real Estate Economy depends on many things and I hate to see the problems we are all experiencing at this time. Take money away, and we stop buying many things and Housing is really one of the major contributors to our Economy. Look at all the tradespeople involved in building a home. What about all the things that go into the home after it has been finished. Appliances, furniture and landscaping and much more. Where does that come from? People who have jobs making those products or services.

We have seen some more drop in the Average and Median Sales Prices but all it takes is more lower priced homes selling and it will push these numbers down. The Active listing Inventory has come down and Units Sold had a good positive number. I am still optimistic that we will see our Housing Market leveling out around the 1st of October .

The figures on this table are subject to change due to late reportings and corrections. These changes are reflected in the next months statisical blog post after we receive the updated information. For this reason you will find inconsistencies if you compare the data on multiple tables.

* Closed during the month.
** For the current month (not the total listing under contract)

I just read an article today that said foreclosure filings notices for Pima County were down but actual foreclosures were up some. The number did not really surprise me and I do see some good coming soon. My only fear is the Lenders holding back on the actual Foreclosure, which will lengthens the time to get out of the large numbers we have seen. I am still sitting on a listing I have had for 18 months and they just keep postponing the actual Foreclosure. WHY? It has been Vacant all that time.

RIGHT NOW prices are very low and interest rates are still under 5%. The more you wait, the bigger chance both will go up. I can not believe the monthly payment and home you can get today. Why not call me and discuss what you might be able to do. Call me at (520) 240-7130.

Before I get into the Statistics I want to do a late update on the Tax Credit Extension. The closing time was extended to September 30, 2010. This will give more time to close for the contracts that were written by April 30th, 2010. I had two Buyers that this has helped.

Now for the June Statistics. I was wrong on the Listings under Contract going down, but it will. It went up by 182 units to 1145 placed in escrow during June. Everything else was as I expected with all the numbers going in the wrong direction. I still think Tucson is going to see another downward slide in prices. Not sure how low, but not where we are right now. As soon as the Economy shows real improvement it will get better.

The figures on this table are subject to change due to late reportings and corrections. These changes are reflected in the next months statisical blog post after we receive the updated information. For this reason you will find inconsistencies if you compare the data on multiple tables.

* Closed during the month.
** For the current month (not the total listing under contract)

Rates are at an all time low and this could bring a few more Buyers into the market. They will have to balance price and interest. A few thousand dollars in price will not overcome a more expensive interest rate if the Buyer plans to live in the home more than five years. So give this some thought if you are a Buyer you may be able to get a price on a home that is a little bit lower and a great rate. Stay away from Short Sales if you want a good rate as it is taking around 5 months to get approval.

If you are or were in the military and have been overseas for at least 90 days from January 1, 2009 to April 30th, 2010 you are still eligible for the Tax Credit. See my May 18th Blog.

Call me if you want to buy or need to sell. I can help you if you need to do a Short Sale also.

Call me at my office 296-7143 or my cell at 240-7130

An Amendment to a current bill working its way through Congress would extend the closing time on the Home Buyer Tax Credit from 30 June, 2010 to 30 September.2010. I have two buyers that I have been fighting for since February, who wrote Short Sale contracts, and it looked like we would not get them closed until July.  The proposed bill would not allow any new purchases to be considered for the tax credit but this would sure help them and the thousands of others who were hoping to get the credit but are fighting a losing battle against time-frames and overloaded lenders, negotiators, underwriters, and appraisers.

The figures on this table are subject to change due to late reportings and corrections. These changes are reflected in the next months statisical blog post after we receive the updated information. For this reason you will find inconsistencies if you compare the data on multiple tables.
* Closed during the month.
** For the current month (not the total listing under contract)

I wrote a few articles back in 2006 which were published on various websites, and I thought I would share these again in my Blog over the next few weeks. Not much has changed in the procedures, but three years have past and we have been in a housing crunch for almost those entire three years. I hope this information is beneficial to you.

Use and distribution of this article is authorized as long as the author’s information and copyright is included.

Author: Barry Fotheringham

Article: Pre-qualified? What is that?

Dated: 01/14/2006

You have been looking at homes through a Multiple Listing Service (MLS) link or a Homes magazine and you want to start looking at homes. You call your choice of Real Estate Agent and during the conversation the agent says, “Are you pre-qualified?”

Get pre-qualified?

Before you get ready to buy a home you need to see a lender and start the loan application process. If you are not sure who to contact, talk to your real estate professional for recommendations. I personally like my clients to talk to a loan representative that works directly for a Mortgage Company.

Why do You need to get pre-qualified first?

Most Real Estate agents do not try to do the work of a lender. True professionals usually recognize the need to rely on other true professionals to bring your transaction to a successful close. The Real Estate agent does not want to show properties without the buyer completing a tri-merge credit check through a lender. The cost of the credit report is normally under $25. The credit report will show your credit history and include three FICO scores. It is the middle score that is normally used by the lender. You will also need to complete a loan application. With all the loan programs available, it is up to the loan representative to explain the different type of loans that may be available to you. It is at this point that you will know how much home you can purchase. Be sure you get a “good faith estimate” which shows the costs of the loan and your approximate monthly payment from the lender. This will help your agent structure the costs and financing of your Residential Purchase Contract.

If you are in the state of Arizona your lender will also complete the Arizona Association of REALTORS® form called the “Loan Status Report” (LSR) which must accompany the Residential Purchase Agreement. The Purchase agreement is the most important document, but the LSR is the one item that allows the procedure to continue to an acceptance or a counteroffer. Without the completed LSR it is a total rejection by the Seller. The lender prepares the LSR based on your application and credit report.

I hope you now see the importance of getting pre-qualified before you start looking at properties.

About the author:
Barry has been in the Tucson Real Estate Business for over 30 years. He holds the CRS, GRI, and e-Pro designation with the National Association of REALTORS®. He is the Broker for his family owned business.

Tucson Real Estate For Sale Ability Realty – Barry Fotheringham – Search 1000′s of listings in the Tucson MLS and find valuable information on Tucson!

Let me start off and say that the Numbers on this chart are different from the previous posts, as the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) changed numbers to reflect the statistics that came in after the cutoff date. I did not see this until this month when the numbers were really different. You can compare what they reported in the May post. With that all said, we have really seen improvement with 115 additional sales over the last month and 130 additional Listings under contract during June. The Active listings are down by 245 units. All this is really good and really cements the fact that we have hit the bottom and are starting back out. I still feel we may see a hiccup with the foreclosures but this should be able to be handled by new sales.

The figures on this table are subject to change due to late reportings and corrections. These changes are reflected in the next months statisical blog post after we receive the updated information. For this reason you will find inconsistencies if you compare the data on multiple tables.

* Closed during the month.

** For the current month (not the total listing under contract)

Read my post from a couple of days ago about The $8000 Federal Tax Credit. I feel this program is assured of being extended but not sure if more people will be allowed to use it. The Bill in the Senate calls for $15,000, but I really do not think that will happen. If you are a first time buyer (not owned a home in 3 years) I would advise starting to look now. Homes around $150,000 are getting harder to find in good condition and with the popular amenities (A/C, garage, etc.). There is a lot of junk at the moment. Expect the $150,000 priced homes to go above $152,000 and higher in nicer subdivisions. The current Tax Credit will cause more sales and leave fewer good properties on the market.

If you see something you like, get it under contract right away because it will be gone if you wait! You also need to get your “Loan Status Report” (LSR) from your Lender which means you need to get that loan process started. No LSR, no contract, as the contract calls for it to be part of the contract.

If Congress puts out a bill for say a $8000 Tax Credit (extend the current 1 December cutoff date) for anyone buying a personal residence (except investors) this will make our market move faster and have a lot of owner occupied listed homes. It should bring up the prices of foreclosed and short sale homes.

If you are think of purchasing I would suggest you start looking now. Call or e-mail me for assistance. I can give you the name of a couple of good Loan Representatives. You can reach me on my cell at 520-240-7130.

I have been watching the $8000 Federal Tax Credit and what it has done to help reduce the number of listings for sale in Tucson. I can not put an exact number on the sales purchased by a buyer that qualifies to receive the credit, but I know it is a large portion of our sales. The program is to expire on December 1, 2009. I know there is a bill in the Senate to increase the Federal Tax Credit amount to $15,000 and allow, I believe, anyone purchasing a personal residence to get the credit. I am fairly certain this will happen to extend the time frame, but not sure about the other parts of the bill. My suggestion is to use a larger portion of the “Economic Stimulus“  for home purchases. I would suggest keeping the $8000 or possibly $10,000 Tax Credit and allowing anyone who is purchasing a personal residence to use the program. I would take it to July 1, 2010 for an expiration date. I would not announce the extension until November of 2009 as we want the homes to close that are subject to the current Tax Credit. This is also why I think it should remain at $8000, so it will not cause a buyer to walk away from a transaction they may have in escrow.

1 Billion Dollars would generate 125,000 sales. 10 Billion will generate 1,250,000 sales. We have spent less than 10% of the Economic Stimulus at this time according to the news I am reading and seeing on TV. Why are we doing all these stupid projects that are nice but not what we need to jump start the economy?

Do you realize that each home purchase will generate some sales of appliances, furniture, home products not to mention the movement costs to a mover or rental truck company. Many of these items will generate jobs to sell the items and to produce the items. Now that is what jump starts the economy, not turtle tunnels, mouse habitat or some of the other dumb (see remark at end of this post) projects that are to happen. Fund that at a later date from State Tax revenue.

The new home builders will also go back to work and employ construction people and all related vendors to build, and generate many jobs for each local and State economy.

When will our Federally elected Representatives finally get it through their heads that we can not spend what we do not have. We do not have what it takes for this program but it makes more sense than what I have seen so far.

EDIT: 07/08/2009
We received a comment from a reader who pointed out that some of these special projects, specifically the turtle tunnels, would create many jobs and would help with the economic recovery.  While this is true, and perhaps my use of the word dumb reflected on the individual projects but was meant to reflect on the personal agendas of some politicians, these personal pork barrel projects, in my opinion, have no place in this bill. These projects, if they have true value, should stand on their own merit and not be passed by the use of political magic. These projects probably will have economic value, but this value will be limited primarily to their specific locations.