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1. Why should I buy if house prices are still depreciating? The experts believe that in most parts of the country prices will in fact soften in 2011. Price is the major concern for anyone selling a home. When you are buying, COST should be your primary concern however. Your monthly payment (cost) is definitely impacted by the price of the home you purchase. The other major component is the interest rate. Waiting for prices to bottom out while rates are increasing can wind up costing you more over the life of the mortgage. Over the last…

RISMEDIA, January 7, 2011 (MCT) The drumbeat from the housing community was loud and clear in 2010: There was never a better time to buy a home. For most of the past 12 months, home prices tumbled, mortgage rates ticked downward, and the inventory of available traditional and distressed homes was plentiful. But would-be buyers, even if they were able to overcome job worries, found that the hurdles to obtain a loan were formidable. They remained on the sidelines, and housing analysts opined that if the broader economy improved and unemployment fell, pent-up demand would be unleashed, credit guidelines would…

Florida and Arizona have long been the favorite 2 states for retirement migration. In a recent Del Webb survey among baby boomers on retirement preferences the top reasons for choosing where to live in retirement were cost of living, health care, climate, and opportunities for culture and recreation. Family and friends were further down the list. Boston College’s Center for Retirement Research found the same general reasons for retirement moves, but in a different order: family, financial, better location, leisure/climate, and health. Looking at these and related reasons, is there a logical explanation why boomers now prefer North Carolina over…

When you use an agent to sell your home, you may agree on a commission as high as 5 per cent with the proceeds split two ways. One half goes to the agent who works for you and the other half is paid to the agent who finds the buyer and helps negotiate the deal. Now that the federal government has brought more competition to buying and selling a home, there are more ways for you to sell a home by yourself. That means the role of the real estate agent acting for the buyer will become even more important…

A decline in home prices of 50 percent or more, historically low interest rates, unprecedented foreclosures, a weak U.S. Dollar and changes to immigration laws for investors has created a favorable climate for international buyers, according to Kevin Dickenson, a Palm Beach Real Estate Agent. Florida is the number one destination for international buyers according to a study conducted by the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Dickenson said the NAR study analyzed sales between March 2009 and March 2010 and found that buyers with permanent residences outside the United States spent an estimated $41 billion on residential property nationally. A second…

In the fall is when you want to get ready for the winter cold. The worst thing in the world is trying to put your storm windows in when its 20 degrees outside. Or worse, not having your sprinkler system purged before the freezing weather comes. The following is an easy checklist of things to do for the various systems of your home. Make sure you do before winter so you can enjoy the snow and not worry about your home. Heating & Cooling System: The time to check your heating system is in the Fall, no later than the end of…

Home buyers are an increasingly rare breed these days. Many who were eager to buy a house raced to take advantage of federal home buyer tax credits. When those government perks expired in April, home sales essentially went into deep freeze, plummeting to levels not seen in more than a decade, according to the latest numbers from the National Association of Realtors. Still, the Realtors project that nearly 4 million existing homes will sell in 2010. First-time buyers, without the burden of a home to sell, could benefit from the distressed market and the record low mortgage rates. Here are common…

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. Aug. 17, 2010 The number of homes and condominiums for sale across South Florida has steadily declined over the past two years, an encouraging sign for the region’s battered housing market. Still, industry observers worry about a sizable shadow inventory of foreclosed homes that could complicate any real estate recovery. Broward County had 19,869 properties on the market in July, down 35 percent from July 2008, according to a multiple listing service report compiled by the Keyes Co. Palm Beach County’s inventory of homes and condos slid 31 percent to 23,947 during the same period. The supply of new…

North Carolina boasts the second-lowest mortgage closing costs in the country, says a survey released Monday by Bankrate.com The study found that on a $200,000 loan, N.C. home buyers pay an average of $3,255 in closing costs $1,476 in origination fees charged by the lender and $1,779 in average title and third-party fees. Only Arkansas, with average closing costs of $3,007, fared better than North Carolina in the study. North Carolina, Arkansas and Iowa are the only three states with average closing costs at least 25 percent below the national average of $3,741. Closing costs in New York easily are the country’s highest,…