Maine Real Estate Info

Foreclosure filings in June were up 61% over the same month last year, according to a firm that tracks foreclosures.

Maine had 276 homes, or one in every 2,504, receive a foreclosure filing in June, according to California-based RealtyTrac’s most recent U.S. Foreclosure Market Report. The June numbers were a 14% increase from May 2008.

Nationally, 252,363 U.S. properties, or one in every 501 households, received a foreclosure filing during June, a 3% decrease from the previous month but a 53% increase from June 2007, according to the report.

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 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.

In today’s buyer’s market it’s more important than ever that sellers stag their homes to sell.  With more and more properties going on the market for sale, buyers make decisions on which homes to view based on the overall condition and a marketable list price.  The market is what I like to call a pricing contest and a beauty pageant with the competitors being the homes on the market for sale.  Sometimes a professional stager can assist with paint colors and furniture placement.  Emphasis should be placed on the entrance to the property.  Most buyers spend a few minutes there looking at the details while the agent is obtaining the key.  A new door mat, flower pot and a fresh coat of paint at the entrance is a great place to start.  All personal property as much as possible should be stored away, the front of the refrigerator as much as it’s a great place to display family photos, children’s artwork and a magnet collection should be cleared off.  Baths should have an air freshner along with new towels and mats.  Keep all shades up allowing as much light into the home as possible.  Pet dishes, beds and toys should be removed as well, some buyers may not be pet lovers.  These few tips and helpful hints are a great place to start.  An experienced agent can also put their buyer’s eyes on and point out other staging suggestions that can be very helpful.

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.

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.

Daily Real Estate News  |  December 5, 2007

Foreclosure Plan Will Be Greeted With Questions
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson will unveil a plan on Thursday to forestall foreclosures and ease the housing recession.

The release of plan’s details will coincide with the release of data from the Mortgage Bankers Association that show that homes in foreclosure hit record levels in April through June, and that nearly 17 percent of subprime borrowers missed at least one payment in the first quarter of the year. An additional 2 million home owners will face their first interest-rate reset by the end of 2008.

“This is the most serious housing recession since the Great Depression,” says Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody’s Economy.com. Zandi predicts that home prices, on average, will fall 7 percent more through next year.

Paulson says he wants state and local governments to be allowed to issue tax-exempt bonds to “temporarily” raise money to help some struggling subprime borrowers refinance.

Questions remain about how many investors, who bought bonds backed by these mortgages and are spread out around the globe, will agree to change the terms of the loans.

Source: USA Today, Noelle Knox (12/4/2007)

Daily Real Estate News  |  December 5, 2007

Bill Would Help Home Owners at Brink of Foreclosure
U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) is pushing for a bill that would allow bankruptcy judges to change the terms of a mortgage on the primary residence of owners at risk of foreclosure or bankruptcy.

Judges would be able to lower an adjustable interest rate to a lower, fixed rate. They already have the power to do this for car loans and a number of other debts.

Durbin says his bill could help an estimated 600,000 families at risk of losing their homes because of rising adjustable mortgage rates.

“A strategic change in the bankruptcy code will provide home owners facing foreclosure a degree of financial stability – even when the market cannot,” Durbin said.

Supporters of Durbin’s bill include senior citizens, bankruptcy attorneys, the AFL-CIO, and the NAACP. The American Bankers Association and home builders are among opponents.

Floyd Stoner, a leading lobbyist for bankers, says bankruptcy judges lack expertise to predetermine a loan’s size, value, and length.

Source: The Associated Press, Dennis Conrad (12/05/2007)

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)

This article came into focus through my email and the words that caught my eye were Vacation and Second Homes.  Maine is know as VactionLand and we have our share of out- of- state home owners. 1031 Exchanger’s please read on…

IRS Plans to Take Hard Look at 1031 Exchanges
The Internal Revenue Service is stepping up its oversight of 1031 like-kind exchanges after a report by the U.S. Department of Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration pointed out that its use has doubled since 1998.

The IRS will be providing guidance on the issue of 1031 exchanges for second and vacation homes that aren’t used exclusively by the owner.

The report said some “may see this as an opportunity to invest in second and vacation homes at reasonable prices.” Given the lack of regulations, statutes and court cases in this area, taxpayers and promoters “may mistakenly take the position that any transaction not specifically prohibited by IRS guidance would be entitled” to like-kind exchange treatment, the report said. “Unscrupulous or uninformed promoters” already are taking advantage of the IRS’s “silence” on this subject. “For example, one promoter advised that taxpayers could sell their vacation homes using like-kind exchanges even though the homes were never rented.”

Bruce Friedland, an IRS spokesman, said the agency “urges taxpayers to keep documentation on hand to substantiate 1031 exchanges.” That documentation “is critical if the IRS has questions,” he said.

Source: The Wall Street Journal, Tom Herman (10/10/2007)

On August 31, 2007, President Bush announced a new initiative called FHASecure, which will give the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) flexibility to help more families keep their homes in light of the decline of the subprime market and impending interest rate adjustments affecting numerous borrowers in both the subprime and Alt-A markets. The FHASecure program will help people who have not made all of their payments on time because of rising mortgage payments but who otherwise have good credit. NAR applauded President Bush’s statement of support for giving homeowners greater flexibility to refinance their loans through the FHA. At a white house conference call on the initiative, the administration specifically signaled out NAR for our timely support of the initiative. NAR has been advocating regulatory changes to the FHA program. On April 9, 2007, NAR sent a letter to Alphonso Jackson, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, asking that FHA waive the requirement that a homeowner’s mortgage be current to refinance into an FHA loan product. NAR also supports legislation that would give FHA greater flexibility by increasing loan limits, eliminating the statutory 3 percent minimum cash down payment, allowing FHA flexibility to provide risk-based pricing, and revising the condominium program. Contact Jerry Nagy of the Regulatory and Industry Relations division with any questions. Read NAR’s press release supporting the announcement. Read President Bush’s remarks.

These stats came in today’s email by the Maine Association of Realtors. MREIS is “Mine Real Estate Information Services”

NOTABLE STATISTICS:  Recently MREIS looked at the data for the first 685 sales reported with the new data field - Buyers Previous Zip Code.  Statistics show that of those, 75% of all properties were purchased by those in Maine, with 25% from out-of-state.  While single-family residential and condo property types each had 75% of purchasers from Maine, multi-family had over 90% and mobile home had 86% of purchasers from Maine.  However, nearly 40% of land purchasers were from out-of-state. Nearly 49% of all out-of-state purchasers were from two states - MA (32.6%) and NH (16.3%).  REMINDER - that data field is a mandatory field in MREIS. You cannot use 00000.  For Canadian or International purchasers use INTL in that alpha-numeric field.

 If you think about, this is a great tool for your marketing campaign. Where you advertise may directly affect how long your listings are on the market, and therefore putting more money back in your pocket.

If your thinking of selling your Maine Real Estate, why not give Meservier & Associates a call. They know Maine, real estate technology, and what it takes to market and sell your home. The are Today’s Real Estate Professionals!