Home Prices Likely Continue to Rise

Most homeowners across this country have been enjoying an upswing in their home values, and home-sale prices.  And--- they are expected to continue rising for at least the next several months, according to CoreLogic’s latest Home Price Index Report.
CoreLogic  analyzed the  data through February, showing home prices—including distressed sales—were an average of 12.2% higher compared to the same time last year. Present home prices show the highest annual appreciation gains in these five states:

• California – 19.8%
• Nevada – 18.5%
• Georgia – 14.2%
• Oregon – 13.8%
• Michigan – 13.5%

The CoreLogic's report predicted home prices, when including distressed properties-- would see a rise of 10.5% from March 2013 to March 2014.  Excluding distressed properties, the prices were expected to rise 9.3%.
Prices are expected to continue to rise over the next several months, leveling off by the end of the year.
Homes have increased  for the last 24 consecutive months, although by the end of February,  were still 16.9% below the peak levels reached in April 2006, according to CoreLogic.
Realtor.com®’s National Housing Trend Report for February 2014 showed home sellers’ growing confidence in the market as the number of homes for sale increased,-- traditional sales out-numbering  short sales and REO's did not dominate the market.
“The number of properties for sale in February rose 10.1% above February 2013 levels, to 1,744,032 units,” the realtor.com® report said. “The median list price at $199,000 increased 7.6% compared to the same month last year, and the median age of inventory increased 6.5% above year-ago figures, to 114 days.”
The top five areas showing the highest number of active listings in the realtor.com® report were:

• Chicago
• Dallas
• Detroit
• Los Angeles-Long Beach
• Atlanta

“Although prices should remain strong in the near term due to a short supply of homes on the market, price increases should moderate over the next year as home equity releases pent-up supply,” Mark Fleming, chief economist for CoreLogic, said in a statement.
Finally, homeowners who struggled to build equity in their homes during the recession may be able to breathe a sigh of relief  as the market continues to stabilize and buyers and sellers continue to gain confidence.
Homeowners looking to sell their homes have adequate time to prepare their home, find a REALTOR®, and start the selling process, based on based on CoreLogic’s report, which  expects month-to-month price growth nationwide until at least the end of the year.

As I am blogging this, there are just shy of 26,700 Active Listings in the Phoenix area, Normal for this area is about 30-33thousand...

Joanne

www.REhomehelp.info

St Joseph to the Resue!!!!??

St. Joseph Statue

Help From The Great Beyond

Saints alive, it’s true!

When the housing market slows down, sales of Saint Joseph statuettes go through the roof.

According to the Wall Street Journal, where analysts crunched data about slow housing sales and the rise in sales of statues of the patron saint of real estate, there is a correlation.

St. Joseph, in the Catholic tradition, is the patron saint of home and family, and has seen a boom to real estate sales. All you need to do is send out a little prayer as you bury a little statuette of the saint.

But this superstition has a few rules: Bury him upside down, and near the for-sale sign on the property you’re trying to sell.

If you need one of these St. Joe’s sale-booster statuettes, I've heard that  Amazon has a whole St. Joseph Home Selling Kit for less than $10. But the garden spade is not included.

It's said that the statue-burying tradition likely started with buyers, not sellers, Nuns during the Middle Ages buried St. Joseph medals on land they hoped to get for a  convent

But in these modern times, there’s still a call for them. In fact, despite the fact that real estate agents may be among some of the most practical groups of sales pros in the world, they’re more than willing to indulge sellers in whatever it takes.

Seattle area agent Ardell DellaLoggia of Sound Realty said she remembers seeing cases of the little statues under agents’ desks during downtimes in the market. As a Catholic, herself,  she’s even been known to bury them with or without the seller’s permission.

“Sometimes the seller asks me to do it, but they don’t participate because they don’t believe in it, and it’s bad juju,” she said. “It’s like a seance or something, like a Ouiji board, right?”

According to the Journal, between 2009 and 2010, when home prices were stagnant, the sales of St. Joseph figurines more than doubled at Catholic Supply of St. Louis, Inc. And then when prices rose, the sales decline

As the housing market recovers, more home-sellers are going it alone: in 2013, St. Joseph figurine statues sales fell 10.6 percent from the year prior.

But DellaLoggia thinks there is still a place for St. Joseph even in a hot market. She has a current client competing among multiple offers on a home in Seattle. It might give her client the edge if she pays the property a visit and tucks a St. Joseph statue under the grass in the front lawn, she said.

“I have a spot in mind,” she mused.

 

I've had a client of mine do this, go figure it sold in no time...

What do you think??? Good idea??