Happy July! I hope you had a fabulous 4th of July holiday celebrating our wonderful country! June is gone and we are at the beginning of the third quarter of 2009. This year has brought both positive and negative happenings in the real estate market.
Rates have been low offering a substantial amount of opportunity for home owners to refinance. However, with many programs limiting guidelines there are fewer people who are able to take complete advantage. The opportunity is still there, it just takes some education to make sure the timing is right for a refinance.
The first time homebuyer tax credit is offering $8,000 to those who are purchasing and haven’t owned a home in the past three years. Those who qualify are now finding homes and beginning to make offers. The May and June purchase activity has shown a significant amount of increase in this segment of the market. July seems to be shaping up for a better month in the first time homebuyer price range!
Nationally we are still struggling with default rates. There has been some government efforts to help homeowners who are underwater, but many of the modifications are turning back to default after just a few months. The waves of homes defaulting have come and gone and will most likely continue to do so throughout the remainder of this year.
The government has been and is continuing to help sustain low mortgage rates. The future of their involvement is unknown at this time. Preparation and education for your individual situation is important. Contact me today and we can discuss your options.
My trusted friend and Realtor James Hauge at Legacy Real Estate in Keizer has provided us with some insight on the current real estate market for the Salem/Keizer area. Statistics are complementary of Willamette Valley MLS:
The average dollar per square foot for the Salem/Keizer sold homes this year ranges between $111-143 sqft. The next statistic I wanted to point out is the Inventory supply of homes in the different price ranges. A healthy market is thought to have a 6 month supply of homes. Only in one price range are we close to those numbers.
