Charlotte, Mecklenburg County
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Announcing 2709 Cloven Place, a 1,489 sq. ft., 2 bath, 3 bdrm 2 story. Now
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Great news came out of congress this week as the Home Buyer Tax Credit was not only extended until July 1st, 2010, but expanded to include current home owners as well.
First time home buyers can still qualify for an $8000 Tax Credit if they have a binding contract by April 30th, 2010 and close by July 1st, 2010.
The big change is that Sellers may now get in on the Tax Credit as well. Current home owners can qualify for a $6500 Tax Credit if the home being sold was their principal residence for 5 of the past 8 years.
Income limits were increased as well to allow more people to qualify for the Tax Credit. Also, in order to prevent fraud, congress added a provision that states the purchaser claiming the Tax Credit must also attach documentation to their tax return proving their purchase.
Note that this information is outdated.
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Everyone knows we are currently facing a Foreclosure crisis in this
country. Interest only mortgages, low adjustable teaser rates, and
rising unemployment in this country have left many families in a dire
situation with no where to turn.
What many people do not realize
is there is help available thanks to many government programs like the
HOPE for Homeowners Act of 2008. If you or anyone you know might be
facing Foreclosure please go to
www.HopeNow.com or call 1-888-995-HOPE for help.
You can also check out
www.hud.gov and
www.fha.gov for more information.
The U.S. Commerce Department reports that New Home Sales for the month
of July increased 9.6% nationwide, the largest increase since February
2005. This marks the 5th increase in the past 7 months. New Home
inventory dropped to it's lowest level in 16 years. The median price
for a new home was $210,100 in July compared to $237,300 last year.
Home
sales are being driven by historically low interest rates and lower
prices due to forelcosures depressing values. The government is also
giving First Time Home Buyers a
$8000 Tax Credit as an incentive as well. The tax credit current expires on November 30th unless Congress approves an extension.
The latest S&P/Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index shows a
2.9% increase over the 1st Quarter of 2009. Eighteen of the 20 metro
areas saw improvement in their annual returns compared to those of May.
Looking at the monthly data, the same 18 metro areas reported positive
returns in June.
Detroit and Las Vegas are the only 2 major
markets still struggling. These are the only two markets that fell in
June and saw deterioration in their annual rates of return. Since their
relative peaks they have fallen 54.3% and 45.3%, respectively.
Hard
hit areas such as Miami, Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Fransisco, and San
Diego all showed positive gains over the 1st quarter, suggesting the
drop in prices may be ending. The index overall is still down 14.9%
from the same quarter last year.
Locally, Charlotte posted a .7%
gain over the first quarter and .9% overall for the year. According to
the index, Charlotte prices are still down 9.6% from a year ago.
According to the National Association of Realtors, existing home sales were up 3.8% in the second quarter. Thirty nine states experienced increases over the first quarter of this year. Foreclosures and short sales accounted for 36% of transactions in the 2nd Quarter. First time home buyers, taking advantage of lower prices and a First Time Buyer Tax credit of $8000 from the government, made up one third of all transactions.
The national median existing single family sales price was $174,100. According to Freddy Mac, the national 30 year conforming fixed rate mortgage dropped to a record low average of 5.03%.
First time home buyers have until November 30th this year to close on a home in order to take advantage of the $8000 tax credit.
During the month of July, Fort Mill and Tega Cay Single Family Sales
totaled 59 closings. The average list price for homes sold was $284k
with the average sale price of $270k. The average days on market for
homes that sold was 93.
The same period in 2008 for the Fort
Mill/Tega Cay area totaled 75 closings. The average list price in July
2008 was $299k with an average sale price of $291k.
Shaun Donovan, secretary of the U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban Development, on Tuesday said that the
Federal Housing Administration is going to permit its lenders to allow
home buyers to use the $8,000 tax credit as a down payment.
Previously, most buyers wouldn't receive
the funds until after they filed their tax return, and that deterred
some people from using the credit.
Charlotte area closings grew last month by 6.1% from March. There were 1,773 closings in April compared to 1,671 in March. The average sales price rose 5% to $201,532 up from $191,433 in March.
These numbers could signal a turn around in Charlotte but they are still down compared to the same time last year. April 2008 showed 2,400 closings with an average sales price of $221,497.
Pulte Homes has agreed to buy Centex in a stock for stock deal that will create the largest home building company in the nation. Both builders have a strong presence in the Charlotte home building market. Centex currently has 20 neighborhoods in the Charlotte area and Pulte Homes currently lists 13 neighborhoods on their website.
It will be interesting to see how this deal will affect their Charlotte operations. Some of these neighborhoods are in direct competition with each other. Centex, currently building in Edenmoor/Millbridge on the NC/SC line is just minutes away from 2 Pulte neighborhoods, Belaire at Carolina Lakes and the Chimneys at Marvin.
Westport Homes is offering a 4% 30 year fixed interest rate for Buyers that can close within 30 days on one of their inventory homes. Inventory Home prices have been reduced and there are plenty of options to chose from. Prices range from the 120's to the 280's.
Contact me if you would like more information or a list of Current Inventory homes that qualify for this great incentive.
The brand new Tega Cay Wal-Mart has barely been open a week and now there is confirmation that Wal-Mart has purchased a large tract of land near Regent Park in Fort Mill to build another store. This store will be located on Hwy. 21 near the NC state line. The new store doesn't plan to be open until late 2010. Below is a link to the Charlotte Observor article.
Another Wal-Mart
As part of the 2008 Economic Stimulus Package, HUD recently announced that they will be temporarily raising loan limits which will allow more people to qualify to finance their home with an FHA loan. The new act will permit FHA to insure loans on amounts up to 125% of the area median house price. The new loan limits are already in effect and last until Dec. 31 2008.
The new FHA loan limit for the Charlotte area is now $303,750. For more information on FHA loans and to read the entire article check out the link below.
FHA Loans
Here is an interesting article about Real Etate Markets and values in the US. This article from Forbes Magazine gives good insight as to why Charlotte's Real Estate market has remained strong despite downturns in the rest of the country.
Check out the entire article below and feel free to contact us if you have any questions about moving or living in the Charlotte area.
America's Undervalued Real Estate Markets