Maine Real Estate Info

More home buyers have a better chance now than at any other time in nearly a half decade to negotiate a home-buying deal that costs less and comes with some concessions thrown in.

In many locations, buyers will find a glut of new homes, more motivated sellers, foreclosures, auctions, short sales and other market conditions that can make it a really good time to buy.
     
That doesn’t mean throw caution to the wind. Here’s how to begin to navigate today’s housing market, step-by-step, and make a good deal without getting taken.

 Begin with making a personal “right-time-to-buy” decision. If you stretch financially beyond your means to go after lower-priced homes, foreclosures or short sales, you could be setting yourself up for failure. Today’s housing market is littered with home owners who borrowed more than they could afford.
     
On the other hand, if you wait for…CONTINUED >>>

Sales of single-family homes in Maine were down 12.39% comparing May 2008 to May 2007, according to a press release from the Maine Association of Realtors.

The decrease from May 2007’s sales was slightly less than the national slump of 14.5%. Regionally, home sales in the Northeast were down 15% in May.

Androscoggin County was down 27.59% in unit sales (an improvement over the 40% down range we’ve been experiencing) and sale prices were off 7.42% over the same period last year.

Median sales prices also declined across the board during the same period — by 5.7% to $182,000 in Maine, by 2.4% to $278,000 in the Northeast, and by 6.8% to $206,700 nationally. The median sales price indicates that half the homes were sold for more and half sold for less. However, during the rolling quarter sales period, which includes the months of March, April and May combined, 5 of Maine’s 16 counties experienced an increase in the median sales price.

The complete press release is posted at http://www.mainerealtors.com

The California Association of REALTORS has compiled this data in 2007.

My questions to the current real estate buyer is this…
How does this data compare to your current online real estate experience?

Do you feel these numbers accuratley reflect buyers in all states or just CA?
According to CAR…

• 81% of Internet buyers stay with the first real estate agent they choose to contact, you need to be found first!
• An incredible 97% of Internet buyers said they would use the same agent again. Traditional buyers? 50%.
• Number of agents an Internet buyer interviewed, on the median: 1; Traditional buyers? 3
• Internet buyers are more educated about what they want and are less likely to waste your time.  Internet buyers spent an average of 4.8 weeks doing research before contacting an agent; traditional buyers only 1.7 weeks.  Internet buyers bought a home on average after spending 2.2 weeks looking for a home with an agent; traditional buyers spent an average of 7.1 weeks. 
• Internet buyers previewed an average of 6.7 homes with their agent (they had already eliminated ones they did not wish to see), traditional buyers previewed 15.4 homes; an average of just under nine fewer wasted showings per customer;
• The approximate distance between previous residence and new residence for traditional buyers was 25 miles; for Internet buyers, it was 242 miles (you can sell anywhere compared to traditional ways)
• 69% of Internet buyers said response time was extremely important.83% of those buyers chose email as their favored communication method with their agent. 0% chose “in person.” (The Internet is the new “office visit.”)
• Internet buyers were far more satisfied in every important researched category of satisfaction than traditional buyers were; when asked the number one reason for satisfaction with their agent, 91% of Internet buyers said that satisfaction was because their agent “was always quick to respond.” Traditional buyers? Their number one reason was “worked hard on my behalf,” chosen by 62% of them, leading us to conclude that traditional buyers did not find their agents “quick to respond.”

The 2007 Internet vs. Traditional Buyer ReportPublished by the California Association of Realtors

Now is the time to buy!

According to an April 14 article on Realtytimes.com, “The first quarter of 2008 makes the 24th consecutive quarter that rental prices have escalated nationwide.” Click here to read the rest of the article, “Realty Viewpoint: If You Think You’re Saving Money Renting…Think Again.”

While Your First Home, the first book in the Keller Williams Realty Guide Series, emphasized that, “If you can afford to rent, you can afford to buy,” holds true. This point appears truer now than ever before.

Right now is the best time for new buyers to get out of rental properties and enter the housing market. Interest rates over the last 15 months have gone from 6.2% in January 2007 to 6.7% in July 2007, then down to 5.75 in January 2008. In recent weeks it has gone to about 5.95%. Are Renters taking advantage of our current market conditions and converting to Home Owners? We’ll certainly find out.

This Maine Real Estate Spring market is already showing signs of an up-swing. Massachusetts is already experiencing this as well as other New England States. Keep your eye on our Spring real estate market.

To search for Maine Real Estate, over 25,000 properties, visit one of our Maine MLS sites at:

Meservier.com

MaineRealEstateExperts.com 

MaineMLS.info 

This just in from the Maine Association of REALTORS:

National Association of REALTORS reports House and Senate lawmakers are moving quickly on a tax incentive to help stimulate housing markets. In the Senate, legislation would create a $7,000 tax credit, taken over two years, for individuals who purchase a foreclosed property as a principal residence between April 1, 2008, and April 1, 2009. A House measure would provide a $7,500 credit to first-time buyers for the purchase of any house as a principal residence between April 8, 2008, and April 1, 2009. The Senate bill is pending on the floor; the House bill is in the Ways & Means Committee. The Bush administration has voiced concerns about distorting markets and pricing.

The Maine Association of Realtors has prepared a “4 Facts about Maine Real Estate” to respond to common consumer questions or concerns about buying real estate.

1. All Markets are local

1. All Markets are local. Yes, there is national, regional, state and county statistical data, but each will not clearly or fully explain market conditions in a town or neighborhood. Market conditions can also vary based on types of property or whether waterfront or not, for example. What happens with California or

3. There is available mortgage money. There’s so much press about predatory lending that the story there is money to lend by local and reputable lenders can get lost. Don’t be discouraged by negative press – instead check with a local reputable lender to get the real facts on what you may be able to afford and what your monthly payments may be. Find out if you can pay less monthly by owning than renting.

The upcoming spring real estate market in Maine will certainly bring great opportunities to Maine buyers.  Interest rates are expected to stay very competitive and the inventory and selection of properties available for prospective home buyers is at the best it’s been in several years.  When the national news media reports on the overall national market they refer to all market in the same category.  That would be similar to forecasting weather here in Maine in the same way meterologists forecast weather in Florida.  Markets are very local!  If you’re considering purchasing a home, now is certainly the time to consider your options.  The best place to start too is by contacting an very experienced local agent that understands their local market.  Long term investing, first time home buying and trading up your existing home are all purchase approaches that the current market provides an ideal climate for.  Buying choices that includes purchases for flipping, especially higher end homes and new construction built on speculation should be approached with a conservative eye.  Long market times can makes these types of purchases very costly to carry.

The internet has changed how buyers and sellers find Maine homes for sale and Maine real estate agents.  With recent changes to the Maine MLS interface all agents now have the ability to offer buyers and sellers a pubic access point to all properties for sale in Maine.  Over 80 percent of today’s real estate buyers use the internet to start their search for a home.  What kind of information will today’s buyers and sellers be searching for next?  I feel, it will certainly be demand for a more sophisticated approach to understanding particular segments of the market.  The understanding that comes from how many homes are for sale in a certain communities, how many have sold in the last 6 months, for what percentage of the sale price did they sell, how long did each property take to sale is the next level of real estate information that today’s consumer is going to demand from the internet, their agent and the market.  It’s not longer just about access to the MLS and what’s for sale.  This type of information can vary greatly from area to area and in different price ranges.  A service providing this information is now available at www.mainemarketsnapshot.com  This service provides free reports to both buyers and sellers.  Subscribes can choose to receive the report via email either every month or every 2 weeks.  It also very important to be sure you have a high level agent to help you interpret the results of these snapshots.  There’s not substitute for the professional advice and counsel a skilled agent provides.

Effective March 3, the Maine State Housing Authority is offering more mortgage options to homebuyers using their mortgage program. Options include a choice of 0 or 2 points, and a 30 or 40 year mortgage term.  These new options join other recent program changes that include expanding the program to veterans and active duty military (even if not first-time homebuyers), and Maine HOPE program that provides payment protection for program borrowers. For more info: http://www.mainehousing.org/NEWSPressReleases.aspx?PageCMD=newsDetail&NewsID=181

The table below demonstrates how even as home prices may drop, monthly mortgage payments basically stay the same; due to increased interest rates:   Scenario 1:
Prices decrease by 5% and interest rates increase by 0.5%
Scenario 2:
Prices decrease by 10% and interest rates increase by 1.0%

Table: Kadlec, Dan. “Ignore the Headlines!”  Time 25 February 2008  

I have to ask myself…Why would my clients spend months in a situation that they want out of when they can begin their new lives in their new home today, with less interest? 

It’s NOT too late…Call me or email TODAY!…or…Fill out my Dream Home Finder yourself at: meservier.com - Dream Home Finder 

Michael Meservier
Meservier & Associates
Keller Williams Realty Mid Maine
34Center Street Auburn, ME

office: 207-784-2525
email: REALTOR@mainerealestateexperts.com

This is the type of information we need to know and be able to communicate with our buyers and sellers, says Paul McKee, Team Leader of Keller Williams Realty Mid Maine. The Maine real estate market is holding steady regarding prices, slightly up in 07, but the number of transactions have decreased from the previous year.  Over all, Maine is fairing much better than what you here Nationally and that message needs to made clear to our clients.  Buyers need to know that prices are actually slightly higher, so “give aways” are not happening like they think, and sellers need to know that there are far less people out there making purchases and more properties for those fewer buyers to look at, so their price and the condition of the home needs to be “in the market” to even have a chance of selling now. Keller Williams Realty Mid Maine is located at 34 Center Street in Auburn Maine and they can be reached at 207-784-2525

Read the full press release here:

MEDIA REPORT:  In a press release to the media today, MREIS reports a 10.07% decrease in home sales comparing 2007 to 2006. Maine’s median sales price reached $194,000 in 2007, up 0.77% from 2006.  Median sales price indicates half of the homes were sold for more and half sold for less. During the month of December only, the statewide median sales price decreased 4.62% and sales were down 23.27 percent. Nationally, single-family home sales declined 21.6% and sales prices dipped 6.5% in the month of December.  NAR reported for all of 2007, home sales fell 13% and median sales price decreased 1.8% to $217,800. In the Northeastern United States, sales were 22.4% lower than last December.  The regional median sales price decreased 8.9% to $258,600.  Go to:  http://www.mainerealtors.com/MaineHousingReport-December2007.pdf

For buyers and sellers alike! This request form sents information to your email within 30 minutes and is customized to the criteria you select. You’ll continue to recieve these in roughly 30 day intervals and watch how the market conditions change. Feel free to call with any questions you may have with the market snapshot or if you’re looking for a more in depth interpretation of your results.

Homes Features that are Big Buyer Turnoffs
Old homes can be quaint, but there’s a difference between old and outdated. Unless home owners periodically invest in upgrades, their homes will fall so far below the standards of current buyers that they become obsolete and hard to sell.

What’s obsolete? Here’s a list of relics, many of them courtesy of Nick Kuhn, an associate with McEnearney Associates in Washington DC.

• A house with only one bathroom. Even a house with one full bath and a toilet/sink powder room is going to turn buyers off.

• A house without air conditioning.

• Electrical systems protected by a fuse box instead of a circuit breaker.

• Spiral staircases. They’re relatively rare, and for good reason — they are unsafe.

• Basements with only an outside entrance. Homeowners expect convenient access to that valuable space.

• Ceilings that look like they’ve been stuccoed, dropped ceilings with fluorescent lights, and dark beams cutting across the ceiling.

• The split-level floor plan. Want to go from kitchen to family room? Go down half a flight of stairs. From living room to bedroom? Up half a flight. Most folks would rather not.

Source: The Washington Post, Elizabeth Razzi (12/02/07)

What Buyers Do First One-third of home buyers go online first to look for properties, according to National Association of Realtor’s 2007 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers. One-fifth of all buyers contact a real estate agent first. At least half of all home buyers reported using a combination of sources to gather information about their upcoming home purchase – real estate professionals, the Internet, yard signs and print newspaper advertisements. In Other News…In this weeks meeting, the Maine Real Estate Guru’s have announced that MREIS will be allowing the property addresses to be displayed with all listings to accommodate online mapping features. This is only if the sellers wish to have their address made public.Also MREIS, Maine Real Estate Information Services, is making plans to have a public IDX(MLS) search web site. Details have not been set. Stay tuned for more information on Maine Real Estate news.

YES!!!  However many would-be buyers are scared off and the media is fueling that fear. Talk of foreclosures, short sales, subprime loans this and Mortgage that, and blah, blah, blah…It’s no wonder consumers are shaking in their boots. Maine has held her own compared to most other states in that we have not seen the prices drop so severly. That’s great news for Maine property owners. Let’s look at Maine Real Estate investment indicators:

1. Mortgage rates are still at an all time low
2. Prices are down
3. Inventory is UP
4. The economy is still growing; although not a fast as some would like
5. Sellers are offering incentives, in some cases
6. Maine is known as VACATIONLAND

Everybody loves to vacation and Maine is a desireable location to put up one’s feet. So if your still thinking of investing, think of Maine as a place to invest in real estate. There is a pay-off…and it’s not just emotional!

Copywite: Michael Meservier - Meservier & Associates