Real Estate Information

I receive the question on a daily basis of "how are you doing in this tough market," the true answer is that we are in a tough market, but certainly not a dead market and homes and buildings are selling and selling with good price tags and will continue to sell.  But, I do understand that it can be tough for the folks that need top dollar for their home or commercial building in order to meet their individual goals.  On the other hand it is an outstanding time to be investing in real estate.  With the stock market fluctuating on a daily basis with massive losses and gains on the roller coaster ride, real estate is the investment that you can touch, smell and feel and actually have some control over as to what the property condition is rather than just watching the stock numbers on www.CNN.com.  Attorney Anthony Venditti of Westchester, PA thinks the stock market has not bottomed out as of yet but says "It's a great time to buy a house. There's a huge inventory out there." And also a great time to be investing in real estate as a whole.  With the rates as low as they are what a great time to buy real estate, especially for an investment or for the first time home buyer.  With home sales probably rising slowly over the next few months according to economist Lawrence Yun, interest rates will probably rise as well which makes now the time to take action. 

The general perception taken in a very recent poll by AP-Gfk Poll: http://www.ap-gfkpoll.com most Americans believe the stock markets will go down over the next few months, but we will be much better off by this time next year with unemployment down and real estate up.  Look for home sales to rise among st a rise in the unemployment rate and flat economy according to the recent article by Lawrence Yun on home sales.  Let me know if I can further clarify this for you or to check the local market for yourself log on to the current market listings and see what is out there available in real time.

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The leaves have fallen more in the past week than the prior 4 weeks combined and with that we all know, like it or not, the colder weather is fast approaching.  So I wanted to provide some great information in some areas that I know about being in the real estate business that you may not know about or where to get it.  First for some very good general energy information is the U.S. Government's site, which provides just that general information.  Another site to check out for energy saving tips is energy savers where you can also download a free booklet that you can take with you or print out in pdf format.  These are more general but to get down to specifics in your actual home what is very interesting is what appliances are the most energy-guzzling and what you can do about them.  The top 5 appliances that you need to keep an eye on are: HVAC system, water heater, refrigerator, clothes dryer and washer.  Check out this informative article on the Top 5 Energy-Guzzling appliances for more in-depth information. 

There is also one other thing that is gaining interest and popularity you may want to consider is an energy audit.  This is an audit where an energy efficient inspector will actually do an inspection of how energy efficient your home really is and give recommendations and tips to help improve your home, especially in the colder months.

Eco-friendly and energy saving is becoming more and more important and necessary in our daily lives and for these reasons among others I am currently in the process of gaining my ECO-Broker designation www.ecobroker.com and will provide at a minimum once a month a dedicated blog entry on news and tips to become more ECO friendly.  I have had a large response for more info more often so if you would like to receive more information on more of a regular basis send me a quick email and I will be more than happy to keep you informed and up to speed regularly.

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41 Oakwood Drive in Monroe is now on the market for the first time.  Rarely will you find a nice home in Monroe under 400K let alone 350K, 41 Oakwood Drive is being offered for $334,900.  This is a split level house with a large level and private yard.  This 1200 sq. ft. home is situated on 1.18 acres in a very quiet family friendly neighborhood in the center of town close to all major highways and great for the commuter.  The level backyard backs up to Monroe Elementary School convenient for the kids.  This home has many updates and features including new updated bath, refinished hardwood floors throughout the house, all newer mechanicals including Central A/C and newer roof.  Check out my site for the detailed listing information or the Oakwood video that I created for this property.  If you want to compare the other current homes on the market go to the market listings section and compare.

Monroe is a picturesque town in Northern Fairfield County know for its school system which is ranked nationally among the best and its exceptional parks and playgrounds.  The community involvement, location and town maintenance make Monroe one of the more desirable places to live in Connecticut.

Pending home sales increased during the month of August 7.4%.  A typically slow month for real estate historically with an expected 1.3% decline in home sales.  The National Association of Realtors has reported that all four regions across the board have increased in home sales and especially in pending sales with the West region leading the pack with an 18.4% increase.  This is certainly good news and good statistics amidst the stock market falling over the past couple of weeks.  According to an article in the CT Post referring to the well know developer Robert Scinto that he is upbeat about the economy "Robert Scinto, one of the area's busiest developers, is hopeful the region and state will come through the economic downturn.  Scinto says the crisis is not as bad as people think."  My thoughts to a tee.

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The Norwalk Economic Opporutunity Now, Inc. organization also know as Neon, Inc. is having their 43rd annual gala on Friday October 17th at Continental Manor 112 Main St., Norwalk.  The Neon, Inc. objective is to provide economically disadvantaged residents of the greater Norwalk area with the range of community, social, and economic development and emergency assistance services needed to enhance the quality of life, increase self-sufficiency, and reduce the incidence of poverty.

This is a fantastic organization that has been serving the Norwalk community for more than four decades.  At this years Gala Pepperidge Farm will be honored as the "Corporate Community Partner of the Year" for its continuous efforts company wide supporting the Norwarlk community and Neon, Inc.  If you would like to attend the Gala check out the Neon, Inc. web site www.neoncaa.org for all the details or contact me and I can proved them to you.

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Interest rates are always a topic of discussion with clients and I wanted to write about the simple differences of what a point or 1% increase or decrease in one's rate actually means to your monthly payment.  Obviously the lower the rate the better, but to simplify things, a perfect example is on a 30 year fixed 300K mortgage at 6.5% the monthly payment would equate to $1896.21/month. The difference of the exact same loan amount and 30 year fixed at 7.5% the monthly payment would increase to $2097.65/month a difference of $201.44/month which over time is very substantial.

This is why now with the rates being so low it is a great time to buy real estate and like no other with it still being in a buyers market.  Go here for current local mortgage rates to see what the rates are locally and also check out the bankrate mortgage calculator where you can plug in actual numbers and see the difference the monthly payment is with different interest rates.

With the revived bailout plan taking place as I write this and when passed on capital hill, this will definitely loosen the straps of the banks as far as lending goes and bring us back up to speed with the Fall real estate market.  For explanations of loan types check my site and also to see current market listings.

     There certainly has been a lot of doom & gloom out there in the news so I wanted to write a post with the positive side of the 700 Billion Bailout Plan.  This is something I wanted to write about all week, but really wanted to become as educated as possible before making the post, this is the reason why I waited until Saturday and after the debate that took place last night.

Being in the trenches everyday int the local real estate market and at the grass roots level there still and always will remain the constant of people needing to buy and/or sell real estate.  Whether it is a relocation because of a job transfer or families growing too large for their current house and want to move up or the folks wanting to downsize.

With the need and desire to buy or sell one's home there also needs to be a certain form of confidence and today that seems to be what is lacking, especially over the past couple of weeks with the financial situation.  The positive effects of the plan will make a substantial impact on this as the bailout progress on capital hill resumes.

The bailout plan today, as I see it, will likely produce the following positive effects on the overall economy and psychology of the real estate market both locally and nationally.

• The secondary mortgages will have much more liquidity which will provide lenders to maker more loans and be able to close on more successful transactions.
• Lower mortgage rates, now the Govt. will be in "the business" they will have much more say in the rates and this will keep the rates down and a very good thing according to Jeff Vangele of First Connecticut Financial.
• And of course the more lending activity which will have a positive effect on the overall housing market.

There is also the uncertainty of the presidential election which causes many people to stay on the sidelines until after the election and until they know who is going to be the next president.  Even in hot markets when the election becomes near the housing market declines slightly.  After the election is over in November the home sale index will increase.  There are two very good sites that can give you your homes current value www.yourcthomevalue.com and also one that will give you the current up to date market listings of homes for sale without having to speak with an agent.

On October 1, 2008, during Wesley Village's www.wesleyvillage-ct.org 6th anniversary celebration of Planetree Continuing Care, residents of the senior living community will have the chance to make their dreams come true. The RE/MAX of New England www.remax.com hot air balloon will be inflated beginning at 4:30 pm. Residents will then have the opportunity to take a tethered ride 40 to 50 feet up in the 70-foot tall balloon. The program will conclude at 6:30 pm.

This event is inspired by the Journey of Dreams program, one of the many initiatives designed to enrich quality of life on the Wesley Village campus. The Wesley Village community recognizes that, even at an advanced age, residents still have wishes and dreams. The Journey of Dreams program invites residents to write down their personal wishes, goals, or desires. Staff then enlist the assistance of family, friends, and volunteers to make each resident's dream become a reality. Regardless of the types of wishes, the emphasis is on helping residents continue to achieve their goals, regardless of where they are on life's journey.

When staff members learned of the dream of three residents of Bishop Wicke Health Center www.umh.org/nursing_rehab/wicke_health_center.htm, the skilled nursing and rehabilitation center on the Wesley Village campus, to go up in a hot air balloon, they partnered with RE/MAX to help make that dream a reality.

United Methodist Homes www.umh.org, a nonprofit with a 100-year tradition of providing housing and health care services to seniors, operates three facilities on the Wesley Village campus in Shelton.

„X Bishop Wicke Health Center, with accommodations for 120 individuals, provides short-term rehabilitation and skilled nursing care.
„X Wesley Heights offers independent and supportive living in 180 cottages and apartments.
„X Crosby Commons www.umh.org/assisted_living/crosby_commons.htm, provides assisted living in 68 apartments, as well as outpatient therapy and specialized senior exercise programs at the Wellness Center.

This weekend Sept. 20-21 is the 7th annual Connecticut Better Living & Home Expo at the Arena at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport www.ctexpos.com.  This is traditionally a very good trade show for anyone who likes to or is planning on updating pretty much anything inside or out of the home.  This year the show will consist of over 200 exhibits from flooring companies to roofing companies and everything in between.  Some of the feature exhibits are www.pondershollow.com, www.closetfactory.com, www.bargaintileandstone.com and www.cameokitchendesign.com among others.

Admission is $8 for adults and kids under 12 free, but if you get the CT Post they have had free admission coupons all week in their local additions and I'm pretty sure they still have a coupon posted on their website www.ctpost.com.

I encourage anyone who is interested in updating or just changing some things about your home to check it out I believe it will be worth it.  There is even some things for the kids to do as well, ie: free face painting & magic show.

I'm often asked if this is a good time to buy a home. Some clients are concerned that home prices may fall further than they have already. They are assuming that the best course of action is to wait for the bottom in the market and then buy. The problem with this approach is that you don't know where the bottom is until you see it in the rear view mirror, meaning until you've missed it!

Home prices are one factor in determining your cost of ownership, but so are interest rates and financing availability. Even though interest rates have gone up in the last six months, they are still near historic lows. Since your monthly mortgage payment is a combination of paying down your principal and paying the interest owed, if home prices come down a little further but interest rates go up, it could cost you even more to service a mortgage on an identical home!

While a home is a major investment, it is also the center of your personal life. It's important to live in a home that reflects your taste and values, yet is within your financial "comfort zone." To that end, it may be more important to lock in today's relatively low interest rates and low home prices, rather than to hope for a further break in prices in the future.

Please give me a call if I can be of any assistance in determining how much home you can afford in today's market.