Refugees from the owner occupied sector is putting upward pressure on rents. Landlords are enjoying the state of the nation’s current housing market. The National Association of Home Builders‘ second quarter 2007 Multifamily Market Outlook said the nation’s median asking rents for all rental units completed during the third quarter 2006 was a median $1,052 per month, breaking the previous high of $1,025 set during the second quarter of 2004. Asking rents nationwide for existing apartments were also at or near all-time highs — $665 during the second quarter of 2007, $6 higher than in the previous quarter and $40 more than a year ago. Based on moving averages, asking rents are $21 higher than the previous all-time high of $973 set in 2004, according to NAHB. NAHB said some of the increase is due to local economic conditions, including the tight owner-occupied market, but some of the increase is due to more spacious rental housing — larger units costing more to rent.

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As new and used house inventory skyrockets and folks face foreclosure because of ARM adjustments, home owners are considering unusual tactics to sell their property. A few have even brought in a stager who refocuses the home using the concepts of feng shui. One seller addressed the reasons why she was having a tough time detaching from the home, possibly causing buyers to stay away. And then there was the little matter of burying a statue of St. Joseph in the yard, a ritual she learned about from her Catholic friends. The couple closed on the sale of their home in March. These unconventional tactics can be last resorts for desperate home sellers willing to try anything for an offer. And if a buyer materializes soon after, sellers are certainly less willing to dismiss the techniques as superstitious hooey.

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Over time there has been a lingering debate within the real estate community regarding which form of buyer brokerage is somehow “better,” however it is that one measures such a concept. The discussion has been useful in the sense that it’s raised a number of agency issues, but in the end one either is or is not exclusive and most licensees have opted for a non-exclusive practice model. What virtually everyone does agree to is this: In a marketplace crowded with competitors, being an EBA gives one a way to stand out, to be different. From a marketing perspective, different can be very good — after all, half the consumers in the real estate marketplace are buyers and only a small percentage of professionals are exclusive buyer brokers. The odds of a successful realty practice would seem to favor exclusive buyer brokers rather than listing brokers, all things being equal.

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In a buyer’s market, sellers not only compete with each other, they are also in competition with builders. But builders have an advantage: they have affiliations with lenders through whom they offer financial inducements that most individual home sellers don’t know about. Yet the fact is that there is nothing that builders offer that individual home sellers cannot match, provided they know how. Typically, the first thing sellers think about doing to make their houses more marketable is reduce the price. Very often, that doesn’t work, because the price is not the problem. If potential borrowers are cash-constrained or income-constrained, a price reduction provides very little help.

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Consumers perceive value in a home’s landscaping at first glance. A recent study presented participants in seven different markets with multiple pictures of the same home. One image had only a lawn and concrete sidewalk and driveway in front of the home; others imposed various landscaping schemes. The elements most important to participants were those that displayed some design sophistication, such as curving flower beds instead of rectangular boxes against the home. The next most important element was plant size, followed by the diversity of plants in front of a home, according to the study.

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Larger homes and condos are taking the greatest value hits, when compared to smaller homes, as the overall decline of home values is impacting consumer spending — a bellwether of economic health. The largest homes those 1,900 square feet lost 2.8 percent of their value and the smallest homes, those with less than 1,200 square feet, typically the most affordable and now likely the most sought after, lost only 1 percent. Condo values, victims of speculation and over building, dropped an average 5.2 percent since the second quarter last year.

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As with most all investments, vacant land and raw land hold boom or bust potential. The boom often occurs through development, while bust is typically brought on by taxes, slow appreciation in land value, and lack of income-tax deductions or depreciable dwellings. For example, you can depreciate your rental unit, but if the lot is vacant, there is nothing to depreciate. There is no monthly rental check on raw land. The idea of using available timber to offset your costs raises a variety of issues. You probably have heard the awful stories of despicable landowners who buy and/or divide their property, clear-cut all or a portion of the land, sell the timber, and then quickly move out of the territory.

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search for : income-tax deduction, depreciate your rental unit

When rates have risen during the introductory period of your mortgage loan, the first reset can be steep. That’s because not only does your index, which determines your interest rate, reset upward to reflect current interest rates, but for the first time, your mortgage company tacks on its margin, an extra percentage point or two for them. Both index and margin components then continue for the term of the loan. If you hold an adjustable-rate mortgage, or ARM, your rate will reset by definition on one or more “change dates,” with the largest hike coming at the end of an introductory or “teaser” rate period of anywhere between one month and 10 years.

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Beautiful Wilkes County NC Log Home and Mountain Property.

MLS Number: 50863, List Price: $359,900

Bedrooms: 3, Full Baths: 2, Half Baths: 0, Est Total SqFt: 2600, Type/Style: Log Home, Area: Area 6, Middle School: Cntrl Wlks, High School: Wlks Cntrl, Construction: Log

Foundation: Combination, Roof: Metal Roof, Floors: Carpet/Hardwood/Tile, Garage/Carport: None-Garage, None-Carport, Interior Features: Master Bedroom, Main Level, Large Master Bedroom, Walk-In Closet(s), Hardwood Floors, Fireplace(s), Great Room, Exterior Features: Double Pane Windows, Wooded Lot, 1-5 Acres, Hot Tub, Subdivision: N/A, Lot Size: 2.47, Apx SqFt: 2600 – 2800 SF, Basement: None

Contact Elizabeth Carter, 336.973.5594 or Greg Stikeleather, Broker, 704.880.5247 or email eacarter@charter.net

click here for more information

Before making an aggressive offer, some homework is in order, real-estate professionals say. And buyers will need to effectively explain why the price of a home should be lower. Even though housing is in a slump in many parts of the U.S., low-ball offers won’t work in markets that remain healthy. And there’s always an inherent danger in going too low. A low offer could insult the seller to the point that they’ll refuse to counter, Realtors say. And the seller could easily make the assumption that the buyer isn’t committed to making a deal. Certain sellers are going to be more willing than others to negotiate a low offer — and there are several giveaways that might indicate more leeway on price. If the sellers have already purchased another home and that sale has closed, they’re likely to be more willing to make a deal.

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