Not sure if you should buy! Foreclosures are up making it a great market to buy

The Triangle Business Journal reported today that North Carolina foreclosure filings make a tremendous jump in July. RealtyTrac, a California based real estate tracking company, reports that there were 4,303 foreclosure filings in North Carolina in the month of July. This is a 127 percent increase from July 2007 and up 24 percent from June 2008. These filings includes default notices, auction sale notices, and bank repossessions.

For every 936 North Carolina household, there was one foreclosure filing, which ranks North Carolina 25th in the nation. The highest foreclosure rate was Nevada, where one in every 106 households; California second with one in every 182 households, and Florida is third with one in every 186 households.

The states with the highest foreclosure totals included California (72,285), Florida (45,884) and Ohio (13,457).

Nationally, there are 272,171 foreclosures notices sent out in July which represents a 55 percent increase over last year and nearly an 8 percent increase from June, 2008.

RealtyTrac went on to say that approximately 17 percent of the national inventory of homes for sale were bank REOs (Real Estate Owned).

This is a major problem for home sellers across the Triangle and North Carolina, but a huge positive for home buyers. First of all, banks are more incline to negotiate on price to get the home off their books, even if it means taking a loss on the value of the home. Last year, I helped an investor purchase a foreclosed home in Raleigh for nearly $30,000 less than the market value at the time.

Secondly, the added competition from banked owned properties forces individual home sellers to negotiate on price or repairs in order to sell their homes. Homes in Raleigh are being reduced in price at an alarming rate in order to generate interest in the home and get it sold. Quite a few months ago, I helped a couple purchase a home that had already been reduced $30,000 dollars and we purchased it for $35,000 less than that listed price. The buyers actually purchased a home with approximately $65,000 in equity built-in.

As I mentioned, sellers are more willing to negotiate then ever before, so it is possible to get a seller to pay for you to get out of your current lease if you purchase their home. To get a seller to pay for your lease, you will most likely have to make a full price offer, but it is a small price to pay to get out of the lease and to begin to build equity in your new home.

There are many ways to get into a new home if you are currently renting and I would encourage you to contact me with any questions about purchasing a home in the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill areas.

Gas Prices at 3 month low; How low can it go?

Did you hear the good news? Gas prices are down to the lowest level in 3 months. GAS PRICES ARE DOWN TO THE LOWEST LEVEL IN 3 MONTHS!!!

The average price U.S. consumers paid for a gallon of gas hit a three month low as the cost dropped 7.1 cents last week to $3.81. Yes, this is still $1.04 a gallon higher compared to a year ago, but it is moving in the right direction, primarily due to the lifting of the Executive Order by President Bush to drill off the coast.

This has caused a $33 drop in crude prices that we should expect to continue to fall over the coming weeks. According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), every $1 price drop in crude oil results in a 2.4 cents off the price for a gallon of gasoline. If this is truly the case, then gasoline should fall about 79 cents from its peak according to the EIA. Of course, the national price has only fallen 30 cents, but common sense would dictate that the prices will decline slower then they rise due to unforeseen circumstances.

In the EIA's survey, the highest price for gas was on the West Coast at $4.06 a gallon, down 8.3 cents last week. This is the only region to remain above $4 a gallon with San Francisco having the highest big city price at $4.18, down 7.9 cents.

According to AAA Automobile Club, the average price in North Carolina has dropped dramatically over the past month from a high of $4.006 a gallon to $3.879 this month. Of course, this time last year, the price in North Carolina was $2.82 a gallon.

First-Time Homebuyers Tax Credit Enacted

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) has announced a major success for them as a tax credit for first time home buyers has been added to the new Housing Stimulus Package. According to the NAHB, the temporary first-time home buyer tax credit will help stimulate home buying, reduce excess supply in housing markets and shore up home prices. They go on to say that it is imperative that the word of this new tax credit get out to those who could benefit from this credit.

This milestone legislation will help provide an enormous boost to the housing industry in the form of a tax credit for first time home buyers as well as much-needed measures that will improve mortgage liquidity, foster refinancing of troubled loans and expand the supply of affordable rental housing.

A new consumer website www.FederalHousingTaxCredit.com has been introduced to give first time home buyers more information about this great product.This site includes details and a set of comprehensive questions and answers about how the credit works and how consumers can take advantage of it.

As a real estate agent, I can appreciate this program as I know many builders who have been struggling with selling homes in this current market. I am not a huge fan of the entire package, but this portion of the package will be very beneficial to help many move into home ownership.

For more information about this tax credit, please call or email me.