This Month in Real Estate

Total existing home sales were down in November when compared to the previous month and were also down from November of last year. However, distressed sales made up a much smaller portion of the total in November than they did the previous year and by comparison conventional sales appear to have increased. Less-distressed sales are a positive sign for the market and should help potential sellers who no longer have to compete with as many discounted homes as they would have in recent years. Prices continued their modest seasonal decline in November, while still increasing compared to the same month of the previous year. Recent Federal Reserve policy changes will likely mean slightly higher interest rates moving into the New Year; however, market reactions so far have been positive and rates have edged up very slowly. Those considering purchasing a home may wish to take advantage of the current break in price gains and lock in mortgage rates as they continue to trend upward. In December, the Federal Reserve announced it would begin to curtail its purchases of non-traditional assets, also known as quantitative easing. As the Fed tentatively draws back its level of asset purchases, mortgage rates will likely continue to slowly increase. Currently, Freddie Mac reports the following, figures: 30-year fixed-rate, 4.48%; 15 – year fixed-rate, 3.52%; 5/1- year adjustable rate, 3.00%. According to the National Association of Realtors, the seasonally adjusted rate of home sales declined 4.3% from last year to an annual rate of 4.9 million homes. The rate of home sales is down 1.2% from the rate reported in November of last year; however, the decline in the portion of sales made up of distressed properties, from 22% last year to 14% this year, means we likely are still seeing positive year-over-year gains in conventional home sales. As banks begin to implement new lending regulations, credit tightness is likely hampering home sales and may continue to do so in the beginning of the New Year. Median home prices dipped slightly from October to November, dropping 0.6% from $197,500 to $196,300 according to NAR. Year-over-year home prices continue to post significant gains with prices up 9.4% from last November. However, November is the first month since the same month of the previous year to have a year-over-year gain of less than 10%.

August 8th, 2013 Keller Williams made a press release “Keller Williams Realty Becomes First Real Estate Franchise To Release Agent-Branded Mobile Search App” Keller Williams Realty, the largest real estate franchise company in the United States, announced today the release of a mobile app customized for each of its 88,000 associates.

With this app, your Keller Williams listing agent has another crucial outlet to find home-buyers. Your home automatically appears in this GPS-enabled app with a stylish photo gallery and listing details to showcase your home whether the home-buyer is searching at home or on the go.