Posts from November 2010
Subscribe and receive email notifications of new blog posts.
RSS Feed
- 2026 | 6 Posts
- 2025 | 47 Posts
- 2024 | 39 Posts
- 2023 | 35 Posts
- 2022 | 58 Posts
- 2021 | 13 Posts
- 2020 | 25 Posts
- 2019 | 11 Posts
- 2018 | 1 Posts
- 2017 | 42 Posts
- 2016 | 66 Posts
- 2015 | 24 Posts
- 2014 | 64 Posts
- 2013 | 44 Posts
- 2012 | 38 Posts
- 2011 | 79 Posts
- 2010 | 38 Posts
- 2009 | 35 Posts
- 2008 | 1 Posts
30
Buying a Home Now Is a No-Brainer
You might not make a ton of money, but you're unlikely to ever score a better deal. Is now the right time to invest in a house? Trick question. Actually it's two questions. Question 1: Is now the time to buy? Questions 2: Is buying a house a good investment? The first answer is easy: With a few exceptions, if you have 20% to put down and good credit, now is a great time to buy. That's been the case all year, and I'd argue that we're probably closer to the end than to the beginning of the really great time. Let me explain. Back in January home prices had dropped 28% from their peak. More important, interest rates were at historical lows. By locking in a mortgage for 15 or 30 years on a value-priced home, you were getting an incredible deal, even if home prices decreased. At the time I thought that prices and rates were more likely to rise than fall. I was half right: Home values have b...
23
Robson Homes Now Building at Prairie Heights in Davenport
Ruhl&Ruhl REALTORS and Robson Homes are pleased to announce that construction is now under way on the first phase of a new townhome-style condominium project at Prairie Heights, Davenport's finest new neighborhood. With a traditional neighborhood design, Prairie Heights features large green spaces, expansive pedestrian walkways, adjacent city parks and the City of Davenport's newly opened branch library. The new townhomes feature nearly 1,400 square feet of finished living space, complete with 3 bedrooms, 2-1/2 bathrooms, attached two-car garages and full basements ready to be finished, with an egress window and a 3/4 bath rough-in. The master bedroom suite features a vaulted ceiling with a walk-in closet and master bath. Other details include oil-rubbed bronze fixtures, frieze carpet, and rounded drywall corners. With introductory pricing starting at $139,900, these homes are eligible for the Davenp...
22
Scott County New Home Sales Grow in 2010
Scott County year-to-date new house sales, as reported by the Quad City Area Realtor Association's Multiple Listing Service, have shown a 27.6% increase in unit sales, when compared with the first ten months of sales in 2009. The month of October saw exactly the same number of both closed and pended new house sales as recorded during October of 2009. Houses in the $225,000-$300,000 and $300,000-$400,000 prices ranges continued to show the strongest growth with a combined growth of over 32% more sales than the same period in 2009. While house sales above $400,000 have not increased, recent sales have picked up to the point where the 2010 figures are nearly now the same as 2009. While sales are up, overall new house inventory is about 10% below the levels of this time last year. Sales of new condos in Scott County have not kept pace with new house sales, as overall unit sales have slipped 11....
16
Protect Our Property Values: Short Sales Better Than Foreclosures
While our region doesn't have nearly the foreclosure problem that Florida, Nevada, Arizona and California are experiencing, we do have a substantial number of sellers who are struggling with delinquent mortgages and a growing number of foreclosure properties are coming onto the market. At Ruhl&Ruhl, for example, we have 1,352 properties listed for sale. Of these, 71 are foreclosures, or 5.25% of our inventory. In addition, Ruhl&Ruhl is managing 88 properties that are in the foreclosure process but not yet listed for sale. So including those, foreclosures would account for 11.8% of our inventory. Further, we have 45 foreclosure properties currently pended, i.e. under contract to sell, but not yet closed. So foreclosures are definitely negatively impacting our prices and will do so increasingly, unless we can educate sellers to opt for short sales instead. It behooves all parties – seller...
8
Should You Move or Improve?
Whether to move or improve is a harder question to answer than it was a few years ago, but a few cost-benefit calculations can help you make the right decision. Moving has gotten harder. With median housing prices down 25% since their peak in 2006, some 15 million homeowners—almost one in four—owe more on their mortgages than they could get from a buyer, according to Celia Chen, senior director of Moody's Economy.com. And even folks who bought before the big run-up and can afford to sell at today's lower prices still face steep odds trying to unload their homes with the glut of inventory on the market (36% more lawns wear For Sale signs now than a few years ago). There was an uptick in units sold in early 2009, leading some economists to predict that the market has begun to rebound, but selling a house is likely going to remain difficult for a while. Still, there can be an advantage to trading...
