Danielle Groeneweg

Danielle Groeneweg, Realtor®

MANAGING BROKER

Danielle Groeneweg

Home Affordability @ highest level in 20 years!

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A lot of home buying activity is due to the affordability now out there. The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a major bank reported their index shows home affordability in Q4 of 2010 at its highest level in 20 years. Their measure found that 73.9% of the new and existing homes sold in Q4 were affordable to families making the national median income of $64,400.


~Courtest of Liz Standow
Sterling Savings

Couple this with the unheard of interest rates we are still seeing today and you have a perfect combination to buy your first, second, or even third home. Just in the last 2 months, the market has sped up considerably with buyers beating the pavement and homes pending left and right. Don’t miss your opportunity, call me today to get started! 360-483-6490

Existing Home Sales Forecast 2011

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There’s good news in the latest housing market forecast for 2011 from the National Association of Realtors (NAR). After dipping 4.8% last year, sales of existing homes are predicted to grow 7.9% this year, to 5.3 million. The gain for 2012 is forecast to be a little less, up 4.5%, to 5.53 million. The existing home median price went up 0.3% in 2010, a nice recovery from the 12.9% price drop of 2009. For 2011, the NAR sees it rising 0.5%, to $173,000, then another 2.4%, to $177,900, in 2012.

New home sales are forecast to come back more briskly, up 17.7% in 2011, following their 15.5% drop in 2010. The 2012 projection is for a strong 51.1% sales gain, to 565,000 homes. The median price for new homes, which gained 2.2% last year, should go up another 1.8% in 2011, to $224,700, then 1.9% in 2012, to $229,000. The NAR’s chief economist says this rebound in home sales does depend on an improvement in the jobs market. Affordability also matters and in Q4 of 2010 housing was the most affordable on record, according to NAR numbers going back to 1971. The NAR feels the current situation of low home prices along with low interest rates should continue.

~Courtesy of Liz Standow w/Sterling Savings

Near New home w/Gorgeous Bay Views!

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This property in the heart of Birch Bay is move-in ready and perfect for either a year round home, or as a second vacation home! Stunning views of the ocean with sunsets that you don’t want to miss! Newly built in 2008, this 1315 Sq Ft home features a custom fireplace, huge kitchen, spacious master bedroom with a VIEW to capture the beautiful Birch Bay sunsets! The outside features a well manicured lawn, beautiful gardens, a wooded area behind for privacy and a fully fenced in back yard!

Existing Home Sales rise 12% in Dec. 2010

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Sales of existing homes rose 12.3 percent in December, which was well above expectations. Gains were broad-based with increases in both single-family and condo sales. Distressed transactions, however, still account for a significant portion of total sales at 36 percent, which is an increase from 33 percent in November. Investors accounted for 20 percent of transactions. All-cash sales also remain elevated at 29 percent.
~Courtesy of Wells Fargo

A look at Interest Rates

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4 Weeks Ago
Mortgage Rates
30-year Fixed
15-yr Fixed
Source: Freddie Mac, Mortgage Bankers Association and Wells Fargo Securities, LLC
Current as of 1/7/2011

If you’d like to know more about what kind of interest rate you might receive, give me a call anytime!

Short Sale Tidbit #2

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i) Short Sale tax consequences

(a) Seller will be taxed for deficit as income if

(i) Seller’s debt is result of large equity refi and equity wasn’t used to improve property

(ii) If home is not owner occupied, then deficit is taxed as income

(iii) Seller will still be taxed on deficit as income even if the deficit has not been forgiven and is still owed (unless forgiven under DR Act)

Existing Home Sales up 5.6%

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Housing was more affordable in November than at any time in the last 40 years. So it should come as no surprise that Existing Home Sales were UP 5.6% for November, bringing them to an annual rate of 4.68 million, a tad above the expected 4.65 million rate. Sales were up for single-family homes, although down for condos and coops, and all regions of the country registered gains.

~Courtesy of Liz Standow

Sterling Savings Bank

Short Sale Tidbit #1

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i) If short sale deficiency not discharged fully by bank, there can be:

(a) Demand option for up to 6 years – what this means is that the collection agencies who purchase the short sale deficit debt can wait up to 6 years to then come after the borrower and demand repayment of the deficit

~Courtesy of Danielle

Interest Rates & New Construction

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There wasn’t a ton of news impacting the housing market last week, but we did get more talk about the move up in mortgage rates. Freddie Mac’s weekly survey of conforming mortgages showed the average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage back at the level it was last June. That still puts mortgage rates below where they were a year ago when everyone was happy to get in on those bargains. So none of this is bad news in the absolute sense but the trend should be noted. People who want to buy or refinance should not drag their feet!

It was encouraging to see new construction spending UP in October, now two months in a row, and the gain mostly came from a rise in residential construction. The U.S. Census Bureau put residential construction UP 2.4% in October to an annual rate of $240.3 billion. Though headed in the right direction, residential construction is still down 8% from a year ago.

~Courtesy of Liz Standow
Sterling Savings Bank