Home Sales Up, Home Prices Down

Hi Folks,

   Glad to have you back.

   It was a mixed week in terms of the Housing Market, but at this point, we'll take a mixed week vs an abysmal week!

   The good news first; The Pending Home Sales Index For February was released by the National Association or Realtors, or NAR (and "reflects contracts and not closings, which normally occur with a lag time of one or two months). The numbers showed a rise of 2.1% from January (but a drop of 8.2% from February 2010).

   The "other" news, as we will call it, came from S&P, and the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices for March. This is a case of when the title tells the story; "Home Prices Off to a Dismal Start in 2011". In summary, their large 20-city composite showed a 3.1% drop from January 2010 to January 2011, with San Diego and Washington D.C.as the only two markets to record "positive year-over-year changes".

   What to make of these numbers. If I said I knew, I'd be lying. We have a comment submitted to us by Paul Gabrail, co-founder of Select Investment Group, a Cleveland, Ohio real estate investment firm, who says that, "there aren't enough positives in the housing numbers to outweigh the anchors holding values down, which include oversupply of recent years' new construction, the oncoming supply of foreclosed homes that have been held back since October by banks, and the unemployment and income numbers that we are experiencing. Bottom line, housing values still have further to drop."

   Construction numbers come out on Friday, so maybe we'll get a clearer picture of where things are headed as we approach mid-year.

Have a Great Week, and Happy Rent-to-Owning !
Regards,
Rob Eisenstein
HomeRun Homes Blog http://blogging.lease2buy.com
HomeRun Homes Website http://www.lease2buy.com

Which Style of Home is the Easiest to Sell or Flip?

Good Morning,
   A happy Friday to all of our readers - whether you are reading this on our Blog, in your E-mail, or in your RSS Feed Reader !

   Regional differences in markets and in tastes are what makes the Real Estate market so intriguing. One question we often hear is, "Which Style of Home is the Easiest to Sell or Flip?", and the answer is, "It Depends".

   Jamie Goldberg, who works with Realtors and investors on updating their listings, says that the answer will vary by region and price point. Goldberg says that in San Diego, Craftsman homes are very popular in certain neighborhoods (North Park and Hillcrest), Contemporaries sell well on the coastline and downtown, while in San Francisco and other historic areas, Victorians are hugely popular.

   Real estate investor Clint Gordon states that in South Florida, a Cape Cod would linger on the market as an oddity, and that, "There is a reason certain styles of homes are prevalent in a region and most often, they are practical, functional reasons", and that investors should stick to the prevalent style in a community.

   Indeed, this is confusing, but it does answer the question: know your market. Research the area and know which style sells. If you are a Realtor and you need to sell a style of home that Gordon called an "oddity", then spruce up the interior and make sure the MLS shows plenty of the interior.

   Any questions or comments? We would love to hear from you.

Have a Great Weekend, and Happy Rent-to-Owning !

Revisiting the Rent vs. Buy Debate

Hi All,
   Happy Columbus Day to you. For those of you who have the day off, congratulations. For those of us working, well, we have to work today!

   Back in June, we covered the much-debated topic of "Rent vs. Buy", and Trulia has released their Rent vs. Buy Index. As Blake Ellis, a staff reporter with CNN Money notes in his article, "Where to buy and where to rent", Trulia is using the following rule to make the Rent vs. Buy determination: If the home price is 15 times higher than the annual rent for a similar property, it is better to rent.

In terms of which cities were mentioned, Ellis cites Trulia's index as follows:

Where to Buy a Home:
Miami, Detroit, Jacksonville, Arlington, Columbus (OH), and Nashville

Where to Rent a Home:
New York, Seattle, Fort Worth, Omaha, Kansas City, and San Diego.

   How do you think Rent to Own fits into the picture? The funny thing is that it could apply to any of these cities, since it is often situation-specific instead of market-specific. Do you Agree? Disagree? Please let us know.

   Do you have any additional recommendations for any other cities not mentioned here? Let us know, as there might be an buyer, renter, realtor, or investor reading this, and we all like to share and help each other.

Have a Great Day, and Happy Rent-to-Owning !!