Our Blog has moved!
Thanks for following the KD Connection this past year!
There are some exciting things happening with Kristine DeArmon Real Estate. We are joining forces with Rohan Castle Property Management and Rent to Own Resource for strong collaboration known as Group 15 Real Estate. You can still expect all of the same great service from KD, just with some new extra tools in our tool belt to offer the best Charlotte has to offer.
One aspect of this collaboration is a new and improved real estate blog featuring multiple great authors posting with much greater regularity.
Happy Holidays,
Matthew Tringali
Social Media Revolution
Recently a friend turned me onto a very helpful video on a blog. The video so perfectly exemplifies our successful methodologies at Kristine DeArmon Real Estate that I decided to share it with you here as well as add it to our marketing plan on our website. In the nearly 6 years we have been in business now we have tried all types of marketing. We have tried the antiquated traditional methods of newspapers, magazines, flyers, commercials, banner ads, open houses, etc... And as we have grown and improved we have leaned more and more on social media outlets like facebook, twitter, craigslist, viral marketing, other internet videos and word of mouth campaigns. We have found this works best but until now have not had much more than anecdotal nuggets to back it up. This video supports our methods with a lot of incredibly compelling evidence. So, while most other agents will continue to spin their wheels with outdated methods we will continue to redefine ourselves with the most innovative and effective methods. Check out the video!
Also, while you are watching videos on our blog you might also be interested to know we were in the news recently. We got one of our clients such a good deal that the local news called us up for an interview! Check it out:
How is the Market?
First, our apologies for having taken a 3 month break from the blog. Both Asa and I have each had a newborn in that time and thankfully business has been going well and this has all added together to make our lives very busy and putting the blog on the back burner.
So, as our lives settle back into normalcy, we are ready to start attending to the blog again! So, the question everyone has been asking me lately is: How is the market doing? Are thing starting to pick back up? I have been offering folks some anecdotal thoughts here and there. I think things have been picking up some for first time home buyer prices (under $200k). For the $250-500k price range things seem to have picked up a little but still seem a little up and down and pretty fickle overall. But, let us take a minute to look at some real numbers.
I ran some reports on the 28205 zip code (which should be a good overall indicator as it includes a lot of good listings in all of those price ranges). Here is a chart for showings in the $0-250k price range:
In this range the bulk of the showings happened in the $80-200k price range with a noticeable drop-off between $200-250k. You will notice that there has been a significant and steady increase over the past two months (with Easter weekend being the anomaly) with a 64% increase in showings in that time. This is very good news and is a good indicator that there are more people looking now than were looking 2 months ago. It also is a good indicator that if you are trying to figure out what price to list and you are around $200k it may be wiser to list below $200k than above.
Here is a look at the $251-500k price range:
The numbers here seemed to support my anecdotal evidence of things being more "fickle" in this "move-up" price range. These numbers are also an accurate reflection of the listings I have in this price range. Things have been very up and down over the past two months. There were weeks that we had many showings and things seemed very "hot" and then would go several weeks without a single showing. Unfortunately things seem a little slower now than they did a couple of months ago, but over the past two weeks things are trending back upward again. Listings between $280-350k received the bulk of the showings, with a sharp decline in showings between $350-500k.
But how does all of this compare to previous years? Here is a look at the average showings per listings per week between $100-350k in the month of March over the past several years.
What does this all mean? To no ones surprise the market was red hot 2 and 3 years ago! Things have cooled down a lot since then, but do not seem to be any slower now than they were at this point last year. But more importantly, regardless of how slow things are now, the most important news here is that we are seeing objective signs of the market currently trending upward.
Matthew Tringali
matthew@kristinedearmon.com
704.517.3906
A Light in the Storm
One can only take so much negative press. So, I would like to present you with a light of good news amidst the storm of bad news that bombards us everyday!
Low Morgage Interest Rates
First, there is the good news that mortgage interest rates have fallen for the 11th straight week and have reached new record lows. Rates are now under 5% and I even have some clients locking in at 4.5% now! Lenders have been overrun with new refinance business to the point of barely being able to keep up. It is a great time to refinance and also a great time to get a mortgage to buy a house. But, is it a great time to buy a house? Why buy now if home prices are still falling?
Home Prices are Stabilizing in Charlotte!
Many potential buyers continue to wait on the sidelines for fear that prices will fall more after they buy. And for most of the country this is a valid fear. But, maybe not in Charlotte! A report was just released this week that did indeed report that home prices will continue to stumble until 2010. But, it listed Charlotte in the top 10 regions in the country with the lowest risk for real estate values!
Matthew Tringali
Broker/REALTOR
704.517.3906
matthew@kristinedearmon.com
A Glowing Testimonial of the One Week Sale
A few weeks ago we executed the one week sale. The sellers were ecstatic and after it closed they sent me the following email:Matthew,
Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! Frank and I are so grateful for your marketing plan to sell our house. It worked so well and in turn helped us out tremendously. We needed to get out from under this house as soon as possible and you were the only one that kept brain storming to make it work. Because the house sold we are now able to go forward on our new home. That is only possible because of you!!!
We will be glad to recommend you to any one interested in home buying or selling.
Sincerely,
Frank and Karlie Rinere
(feel free to post this on your website, etc)
The one week sales technique is a powerful tool! Do you think it might be what you need? All we ask for is a 1 month listing, if we can't get it done, all you have lost is 1 month! What do you have to lose? Contact us today!
Matthew Tringali
Broker/REALTOR
704.517.3906
matthew@kristinedearmon.com
4.5% Interest Rates?
Interest Rates are DroppingThe last two weeks have been a frenzy for mortgage interest rates. Thanksgiving week the Fed announced a move for the treasury to purchase securities backed by mortgages. This announcement caused interest rates to fall 1/2% on Tuesday alone! Mortgage lenders were going nuts. I had several clients that rushed to lock in t
he new rate rate before there were any bounce back. Wednesday was up
a little and then back down to Tuesday's closing rate before closing
for Thanksgiving. Things seemed to be settling down this week. This week I had one client lock in at 5.375% interest on a 97% loan with no PMI!!!Now news is spreading that the Fed will unveil an even more extensive plan that will drive mortgage interest rates (not refinances) to historic levels under 4.5%. As with any economic news these days, editorial responses are immediately varying widely. Of course some are worried that the Fed should not be artificially affecting market conditions. Others fear that even this won't matter and will not be enough. And frankly, we can worry all day long about how this or that may or may not affect us as a nation on the whole. But, at the end of the day you are responsible for you. And the question to really ask yourself is if this provides you with an opportunity?
Who Can Get a Loan?
The most ironic thing amidst this news is those that would have you believe that you can't even get a mortgage right now. Not true! The historic standards have not changed. What changed was how loose the standards were for the last few years. Now that they have tightened back up, they are merely back to where they have been for a long time. All you need is a job, a 620 credit score, typical debt to income ratios and a 3% down payment. And there are community grants available that can cover the 3% down payment for you.
When Should I Buy?
At this point you simply have to evaluate the cost of buying a home and if it is a wise way to spend your money. There are two costs to consider. The cost of the home and the cost of the mortgage. We are now seeing that the cost of the mortgage is now approaching record low levels. The difference on a $250,000 mortgage at 6.5% interest versus 4.5% comes to a savings of about $315 per month or almost $3,800 per year! So, that question is clearly answered. Yes, it is a great time to get a mortgage. But, is the cost of the house right?
Some consumers want to buy a house, but they want to make sure that we are at the absolute bottom of the market so they can get the absolute best price before they decide to buy. And this is a great strategy for those who are good at predicting the future. This also requires an assumption that mortgage interest rates will be the same or lower then as they are now. If they are any higher then the increase cost of the mortgage may offset any potential decrease in purchase price. It also requires the ability to perfectly time the day on which you purchase. Most experts agree that their is a lot of pent up demand to buy houses with a lot of people waiting on the sidelines for just the right moment to rush the field. With this in mind it is very likely that once home prices begin to rebound they will rebound very quickly and those buyers will have lost their opportunity to buy in a down market. Also, we need to question their long-term strategy. If you are waiting to buy and are renting instead, then you are giving 100% of your housing budget away to someone else, with no return on investment. If you buy and even if your home value goes down some in the short-term, you are still better off overall with an asset that will appreciate overall in the time that you own it. Statistically, anyone buying a home will be likely be there for at least 5 years. Now, if you think you are buying a house, but might sell it in the next 3-6 months then definitely do not buy right now. But, if you know you will be living there for at least a few years then, except for the future tellers, there is not a better time to buy than right now.
Is Charlotte a Safe Place to Buy?
We keep hearing about how sharply home prices are dropping every month, but is this really happening in Charlotte? Yes and no. Consider this NYT article that describes how 25% of mortgaged homes in the US owe more than they are worth. This sounds horrible. First, realize that this is only addressing mortgaged homes. There are enough homes without a mortgage that aren't
significantly losing value to skew these numbers
differently. But, more importantly we should consider how grossly
concentrated these numbers are by geography. The article also points
out that "Of the 20 ZIP codes where this condition, called negative
equity, is worst, 13 are concentrated in just three counties." These
are Clark County, Nev; Lee County, Fla; and Riverside County, Calif.
As a matter of fact, you will notice on the interactive map that these
three states (Nevada, California, and Florida) along with Michigan,
Arizona and a few others grossly skew this 25% number. North Carolina
is only 10% and on the low end of this spectrum.But, how does that 10% breakdown and affect Charlotte? We can see this same skewed affect locally in Charlotte. The good neighborhoods are withstanding this downturn just fine and are holding their equity steady. Primarily the negative numbers are outcomes of new construction (since ~2004) neighborhoods that attracted a lot of the low quality loans in the past few years. It is unfortunate that these neighborhoods are getting hit hard, but do not let it fool you into thinking that all of Charlotte is suffering equally. If you used a good buyer's agent to help you purchase in the right neighborhood then you are pleased to see your house doing relatively well. And if you use a good buyer's agent then you can buy with confidence, now you are getting a great deal on a home that will hold its value and with a great low cost mortgage!
Matthew Tringali
Broker/REALTOR
704.517.3906
matthew@kristinedearmon.com
SOLD in One Week!
Well, by the time it was all said and done it took us about 8 days to get it under contract. And we will be closed before the end of the month. We are very pleased and excited about the positive outcome. When I sat down with the seller to sign the contract she said:"I will write you the best testimonial for your website! We are so excited, this is just what we wanted. We talked to a lot of people about our house and you all were the only ones willing to think outside of the box and come up with some different solutions."So, be on the lookout for Frank and Karlie's testimonial soon. And then that very same day I met with another couple who h
ad listed there house last year without a positive result. I told them about the One Week Sale and it fit their goals perfectly and they are excited give it a try. Now, we have two more of these scheduled; one for 11/22 and another for mid-December.Not only are we very pleased with the positive result, but it was also a great learning opportunity to tweak this plan. We figured out what marketing worked the best and what needs to be tweaked. We also have decided that this plan will work even better if we give our marketing 10 days, instead of just one week. We will try this with our next sale on 11/22 and see if those extra few days do make a difference as we suspect.
If you or anybody you know would like to see if this sales technique is a good fit, please contact us anytime.
Matthew Tringali
Broker/REALTOR
704.517.3906
matthew@kristinedearmon.com
Last Day for The One Week Sale
Around this time of year real estate sales and activity starts to slow down a good bit. But, especially in a presidential election year things
particularly slow down. And, of course, this year where we are expecting record voter turnout (particularly in NC, where we are a swing state for the first time in recent history) very few people are focused on anything other than the election. We have all seen by now the incredibly long lines for early voting. Even amidst this natural slow down cycle our one week sale seems to be going well. We had our first open house on Saturday and had modest turnout, but everyone that came was serious about the house and we had several initial offers on the house. We continued our marketing over the weekend and will have our second and final open house today from 11a to 6p. By 8p we will stop taking offers and then we will begin contacting everyone who made an offer and determine the best offer on the house. And by tomorrow we should have the house under contract IN ONE WEEK!!! We will be very proud of this accomplishment and hope to continue this strategy with other homes in the near future. If you or anyone you know is interested in finding out if this technique is right for you then contact us today for more information.If you haven't voted yet, then join me and millions of others tomorrow who have waited until election day to pull the lever! I am hoping that even though there will be a lot more people voting the lines will not be as bad as early voting since we will go from 20 precincts to 195 here in Charlotte.
Matthew Tringali
Broker/REALTOR
704.517.3906
matthew@kristinedearmon.com
Cankerworms, DST, and the One Week Sale
Don't Forget to Band your Trees!Have you ever driven around Charlotte and wondered what was with all of those big bands around the trees? Here in th
e Queen city we are plagued with cankerworms. Maybe not quite as bad as Moses to Pharaoh kind of plague, but I suspect it might be close in our worst years. A couple of years ago it was particularly bad and since then the city and neighborhood associations have made a very intentional effort to battle these little pests. This time of year (after the first freeze) the wingless females being their trek up the trees where they will lay their eggs. And come spring those eggs will hatch and the pesky cankworms. First they will begin to eat the leaves of your trees and can do some serious damage (I almost lost a pin oak and a young dogwood to them a couple of years ago) and then they will descend with their pesky silk all over your house and yard. The only effective way to combat this is to prevent the wingless female from ever getting up your tree. Hence the sticky tree bands. And it looks like we might get our first freeze this week. So, if you haven't banded your trees already you should probably consider doing so by this weekend or soon thereafter. You can purchase supplies at your local nursery.Daylight Saving Time
Don't forget to change your clocks this weekend. If you show up to church this Sunday morning and no one else is there then you have squandered your one opportunity this year for a free hour of extra sleep. So, go out to breakfast and come back in an hour. Did you ever wonder why exactly we have DST? I did as I was writing this and wikipedia has a few interesting things to say about it.
One Week Sale Update
We began our marketing last night and have had two responses already! We should have a good idea by Friday night, based on the number of responses, if the plan will work or not. In case you or anybody you know is interested here are some of the details:
Near Northlake Mall.
3BR, 2.5BA, 1 car garage. Good condition.
$74,500 or highest reasonable offer.
Open House on Sat 10a - 4p and Mon 11a - 6p.
Home WILL be sold on Monday to highest reasonable offer.
You or any of your friends can contact Matthew Tringali for more information about this sale.
Matthew Tringali
Broker/REALTOR
704.517.3906
matthew@kristinedearmon.com
The House we will Sell in One Week!
We have determined the house that we will sell in one week. It is in a great little neighborhood near North Lake Mall and will provide some lucky buyer with a wonderful new home with some instant equity. On Tuesday we will be going full blast on all of our marketing and will give you all of the house details then. In the meantime, here is a teaser picture from the tax records.
Matthew Tringali
Broker/REALTOR
704.517.3906
matthew@kristinedearmon.com
