Grand Rapids, Mi Real Estate Market

Contract activity for pending home sales has risen for six straight months, a pattern not seen in the history of the index since it began in 2001, according to the National Association of REALTORS®.
The Pending Home Sales Index,1 a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in July, increased 3.2 percent to 97.6 from a reading of 94.6 in June, and is 12.0 percent higher than July 2008 when it was 87.1. The index is at the highest level since June 2007 when it was 100.7.
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said the housing market momentum has clearly turned for the better. "The recovery is broad-based across many parts of the country. Housing affordability has been at record highs this year with the added stimulus of a first-time buyer tax credit," he said.
"Other buyers are taking advantage of low home values before prices turn higher. Nationally, the typical mortgage payment now takes less than 25 percent of a middle-income family's monthly income to buy a median priced home, with payment percentages so far in 2009 being the lowest on record dating back to 1970. As long as home buyers stay within their budget, mortgage payments will be very manageable," Yun said.
NAR estimates that about 1.8 to 2.0 million first-time buyers will take advantage of the $8,000 tax credit this year, with approximately 350,000 additional sales that would not have taken place without the credit. Buyers have little time to act because they must complete the transaction by November 30 to qualify for the credit. Unless extended, contracts signed but not completed by that date will not be eligible -- it is taking approximately two months to complete home sales in the current market.
The Pending Home Sales Index in the Northeast declined 3.0 percent to 78.8 in July but is 4.7 percent higher than July 2008. In the Midwest the index slipped 2.0 percent to 88.1 but is 8.1 percent above a year ago. In the South, pending home sales activity rose 3.1 percent to an index of 103.8 in July and is 12.0 percent above July 2008. In the West the index jumped 12.1 percent to 112.5 and is 20.0 percent above a year ago.
NAR President Charles McMillan, a broker with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Dallas-Fort Worth, said Congress needs to keep the momentum going. "Even with a good recovery taking place, the market is not yet back to normal. With a gradual absorption of inventory, we are on the cusp of a general stabilization in home prices," he said.
"To ensure that housing has a broad stimulus to the overall economy and stays on sound footing, we're encouraging Congress to extend the tax credit into 2010, and to expand it to all buyers of primary residences. The faster we stabilize home prices, the fewer families will face foreclosure and the quicker credit can be extended to other sectors of the economy," McMillan said.
NAR's Housing Affordability Index2 stood at 158.5 in July, below the peak set in April but is still 36.0 percentage points higher than a year ago. The HAI is a broad measure of housing affordability using consistent values and assumptions over time, which examines the relationship between home prices, mortgage interest rates and family income.
Yun expects existing-home sales to rise through the fourth quarter. "Unless the tax credit is extended, no one should be surprised to see home sales drop in the first quarter of next year," he said. "However, the fundamentals of the housing market and the economy are trending up, and we expect home sales to generally pick up in the second quarter of 2010. The buyer psychology may be shifting from, ‘Why buy now when I can purchase later,' to ‘I don't want to miss out on a recovery'."
The National Association of REALTORS®, "The Voice for Real Estate," is America's largest trade association, representing 1.2 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.
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1The Pending Home Sales Index is a leading indicator for the housing sector, based on pending sales of existing homes. A sale is listed as pending when the contract has been signed but the transaction has not closed, though the sale usually is finalized within one or two months of signing.
The index is based on a large national sample, typically representing about 20 percent of transactions for existing-home sales. In developing the model for the index, it was demonstrated that the level of monthly sales-contract activity from 2001 through 2004 parallels the level of closed existing-home sales in the following two months. There is a closer relationship between annual index changes (from the same month a year earlier) and year-ago changes in sales performance than with month-to-month comparisons.
An index of 100 is equal to the average level of contract activity during 2001, which was the first year to be examined as well as the first of five consecutive record years for existing-home sales.
2The Housing Affordability Index is a relative index where a value of 100 means that a family with the median income has exactly enough income to qualify for a mortgage on a median-priced existing single-family home, taking into account the relationship between median home price, average effective interest rate for loans closed on existing homes, and median family income. The higher the index, the better housing affordability is for buyers.
The calculation assumes a downpayment of 20 percent and a qualifying ratio of 25 percent of gross income for mortgage principle and interest payments. The index is a general gauge with conditions varying widely around the country. Affordability conditions are lower for first-time buyers with smaller downpayments and less income.
Monthly publication of the index began in 1981 with annual data calculated back to 1970.
Existing-home sales for August will be released September 24; the next Pending Home Sales Index will be on October 1.

Most affordable city to buy in! Grand Rapids, MI

Most affordable cities to buy!!! Grand Rapids, Mich. $236,000 buys a five bed, four bath house in Grand Rapids. • Life after foreclosure: 4 stories • Big cities: Big changes to foreclosure rates Median home price: $100,000 Median income: $63,100 Affordability score: 92.9% -- 5th best The huge tracts of nearby hardwood forests that helped make Grand Rapids "furniture city" starting in the late 19th century may be mostly gone but it still is a center for office furniture manufacturing. Today, however, there's a lot more diversity in its economy mix. It has some auto plants, which are seriously suffering, and has attracted some health science facilities, consumer goods manufacturers and aerospace products. Foreclosure has not visited households as often as other cities in Michigan but Grand Rapids has still suffered during the foreclosure plague. According to RealtyTrac, there were nearly 4,200 properties with foreclosure filings during the first half of 2009, the 61st highest rate among the 203 biggest metro areas. ...

The Pitfalls of shopping for a new home in todays market!

Today like any other day I started out filling out my "to do list" which because I was up late last night working, it is short:) So, I decided it was time to write something here. If you are a home buyer this may interest you or if you are someone interested in listing your home this may also interest you. But keep in mind there are areas of the state (Michigan) that this won't apply too.
Looking at GRAR (The Grand Rapids MLS) I see that homes are selling with a good percentage between the $100,000/$160,000 range. The problem is that most of these homes are either forclosures or short sales, both of which are distressed sales. For the month of April we had 718 distressed sales in our area out of 1141 total sales. That is almost 63% of the homes sold last month were distressed. The problem were seeing for buyers is that there are fewer and fewer homes available that are not a foreclosure or short sale. Yes, great you say for the investor, but what if you want to buy something that you don't have to put alot of work into? Most foreclosures you will have to do some work.
In my opinion we are getting to the bottom of the barrel. There are fewer options out there for the regular home buyer as normal listings are few with limited access to areas of interest. Homes that do come on the market with a good price and in good shape are snapped up quickly. This means you have to be quick as a buyer and make quick purchace decisions.
The good news for a home owner that wants to sell, is that you may have something that someone wants. Yes, prices are down, but will go up with demand. This is the start of that cycle as people are getting tired of looking through distressed properties. Not that you will get what you want out of your home, but you may come close if your in a high demand area. There is also the fact that there are fewer and fewer foreclosed properties coming on the market. This will also increase demand.
An example is that for the month 0f March in our area the distressed sales were 65%. February was 68% and January was 69% and of course April was 63%. You can see the trend here and it will continue.
So if you are a home owner and want to sell the time is right. If you are a home buyer you must be quick at your purchase and be persistant in your shopping!

Expanded Tax Break Available for 2009 First Time Homebuyers!!!

WASHINGTON – The Internal Revenue Service announced today that taxpayers who qualify for the first-time homebuyer credit and purchase a home this year before Dec. 1 have a special option available for claiming the tax credit either on their 2008 tax returns due April 15 or on their 2009 tax returns next year.Qualifying taxpayers who buy a home this year before Dec. 1 can get up to $8,000, or $4,000 for married filing separately.
“For first-time homebuyers this year, this special feature can put money in their pockets right now rather than waiting another year to claim the tax credit, “ said IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman. “This important change gives qualifying homebuyers cash they do not have to pay back.”
The IRS has posted a revised version of Form 5405, First-Time Homebuyer Credit on IRS.gov. The revised form incorporates provisions from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The instructions to the revised Form 5405 provide additional information on who can and cannot claim the credit, income limitations, and repayment of the credit.
This year, qualifying taxpayers who buy a home before Dec. 1, 2009, can claim the credit on either their 2008 or 2009 tax returns. They do not have to repay the credit, provided the home remains their main home for 36 months after the purchase date. They can claim 10 percent of the purchase price up to $8,000, or $4,000 for married individuals filing separately.
The amount of the credit begins to phase out for taxpayers whose adjusted gross income is more than $75,000, $150,000 for joint filers.
For purposes of the credit, you are considered to be a first-time homebuyer if you, and your spouse if you are married, did not own any other main home during the three-year period ending on the date of purchase.
The IRS also alerted taxpayers that the new law does not affect people who purchased a home after April 8, 2008, and on or before December 31, 2008. For these taxpayers who are claiming the credit on their 2008 tax returns, the maximum credit remains 10 percent of the purchase price, up to $7,500, or $3,750 for married individuals filing separately. In addition, the credit for these 2008 purchases must be repaid in 15 equal installments over 15 years, beginning with the 2010 tax year.

Introduction to my Blog!

Hello Family & Friends,

I've been working hard to establish myself in many ways for my business. Everyday I'm adding new things to my "to do list". Today just happened to be my day of working on my Blog profile. Once you get into these things there is so much that you can do, and one of those is to add 10 email addresses to my Blog list. So, I threw in a few to test this thing out. Just in case you don't want to receive emails from this Blog just let me know and I'll see if I can't figure out how to remove you:) I'm not a huge writer, so I put articles, listings, and personal comments on this.
Enjoy!

My favorite Quote;

"All the art of living lie in a fine mingling of letting go and holding on."

Henry Ellis - English Explorer

Team Building and Success

Nov. 11, 2008-?I don?t know what else to do,? said the HR manager of a large manufacturing company. ?We?ve just completed another team-building program to help get rid of the silo mentality and selfish politics around here but nothing seems to last.? ?Did you know that the failure rate data on these types of training programs range from 70 to 100% depending on the study?? I said. She fell back in her chair. ?They failed to mention that when they sold me the program.? She felt like she had been duped. Many well-intended team-building programs frustrate HR executives when they fall short of their promises. But why do some teams perform while others flounder even with the same training methods? We found clues during our research of teams in the death zone; that altitude above 26,000 feet which makes long-term survival impossible because of the lack of oxygen. Climbing teams bear a resemblance to corporate teams. Some live passionately to achieve challenging missions, others behave like dysfunctional committees. They both come with all levels of implementations from nave textbook copycats to deep accountability-driven groups. And when put to the test, climbing teams and corporate teams react similarly: sometimes rising to the occasion, other times running for cover. Expeditions to the world?s highest mountains provide the perfect laboratories to examine the challenges every team faces. At these extreme altitudes success or failure is easily measured, and simple mistakes kill team members. Here, we expected to find new principals that separate the great teams from the not so great, but we found something else. Teams who produce peak performance in the face of extreme challenges - what we call high altitude teams -are remarkably different. Rather than being seduced by the latest teamwork platitudes, clichs or feel-good theories, they instead succeed by recognizing and surviving specific dangers; dangers that always emerge when a team moves to higher levels of performance. New theories don?t make these teams great, but overcoming these dangers does. In the most extreme situations, on the battlefield or in the mountains, losing to these dangers results in death. We personally learned a lot about these dangers when leading groups that have to perform at the peak of their ability in the most extreme circumstances. It?s no surprise that we find the same dangers when we help corporations develop their teams. Specifically, we find that four dangers specifically haunt high-altitude teams: Selfishness, tools seduction, cowardice, and lone heroism. Selfishness At altitude, selfishness kills people when teamwork is critically needed to deal with injuries, equipment malfunction, limited resources, and threats of avalanche and weather. In corporate teams, selfishness kills performance and projects. First, it infects a team when one or more of its members: ? Let their career or personal agendas supersede the team?s mission. ? Think that being right is more important than collaboration and dialogue. ? Take individual credit for team achievements, while blaming the team for its failures. ? Are unwilling to compromise or seek consensus during conflict. Then the damage escalates as 15-minute meetings start taking an hour, projects take twice as long as necessary, members say something outside the team meeting that should?ve been said in the meeting, or talk about someone instead of challenging them directly. What seems like innocent office politics brings down the best of teams. Postmortem business case-studies blame the failures on reasons like strategic missteps or poor implementations of good ideas. But digging deeper among the carcasses we find that selfishness alone drove the denial, avoidance, blindness, or cover-ups until it was too late. High Altitude teams, on the other hand, are driven by a fervor and zeal for achieving the team?s results - what we call a compelling saga (from the ancient Norse term) - and this inspires passion greater than selfish ego?s agenda. Is your team driven by a passionate saga, or just empty words in a mission statement? Tool Seduction In mountaineering, tool seduction endangers climbers every time they dress in the latest gear but apply the wrong techniques and behaviors to the challenge. In their overconfidence (or naivet) they end up lost on a storm-ravaged slope for days while experienced climbers are at base camp having a beer and watching the weather. Similarly, the danger from a parade of experts packing the latest tools for organizational change, leadership development, process improvement, teambuilding and other management methods bog down progress and distract teams from focusing on the vital issues. But tools are important, right? Yes. Tools offer hope. Tools make people feel like they have the right answer. Who dares argue with the ideas from a best-selling business book? But the results aren?t pretty when you get seduced by the buzzwords and cool concepts. Teams fail when tools become crutches for ?safe? answers, or worse, weapons to use against each other. And in critical moments, even the best tools break or fail, resources are lost, or circumstances change. So, the problem isn?t with the tools, but how teams relate to them. Is the team using the tools, or are the tools using the team? Industry feels the costs and risks of tool seduction every day: ? ?Our team had all the measurement charts on the wall that they trained us to have but we couldn?t figure out what we needed to do differently.? ? ?Why did our R&D team have to take a TQM class? I mean how are we supposed to measure the quality of creativity and breakthrough? The classes were a distraction. It was ridiculous.? ? ?Why did we have to waste so much time on Six Sigma? I mean we were only making bottle caps. They worked great at Three Sigma!? ? ?Our team still hasn?t recovered from the cultural damage of our latest reengineering effort.? High Altitude teams only use tools that drive team success, and don?t get distracted by industry fashion trends. They know that tool seduction can suck productivity and morale out of a team so they adapt the tools and focus on behavior - the actions and decisions made - which truly drives high performance results. Do your team?s tools allow it to act decisively, or just clog your shelves with interesting, but irrelevant, information? Do these tools fuel team passion for the challenge ahead, or derail production with useless meetings, lingo, and processes? Cowardice Cowardice dangerously stops both mountaineering and corporate teams from challenging the status quo, holding each other accountable, and exposing weaknesses. This danger happens as soon as team members are too afraid to confront violations of accountability, take necessary risks, or maintain team principles and values during times of trouble. And it causes team failures by stopping the essential act needed for effective execution . . . tell the truth. Cowardice eats truth. Lack of truth eats team performance. Initially telling the truth can upset people and cause discomfort, but good teams love it and it drives accountability to new levels. The alternative of keeping the truth at unspeakable levels only produces collateral damage which can include accumulating dead-weight from marginal team members and sticking with doomed projects are too long. High altitude teams develop bravery which allows them to achieve the accountability, risk-taking, commitment, and truthful communication necessary for achieving their goals. Rather than reveal the truth about a situation does your team choose avoidance, denial, and silence in order to avert possible discomfort, anger, retribution, and other unpleasantries? Do team members hide or only whisper about the uncomfortable team issues? Lone Heroism The danger of a selfish, glory-seeking lone-hero breaks a team as they step on other team members without even removing their crampons. Lone heroism contributes to higher operating costs, lower innovation, increased risks, delayed execution, higher turnover, and missed sales opportunities. The lone hero?s journey makes for compelling literature, but in real-life human experience dating back to the earliest prehistoric times, it typically equates with failure and death. High altitude leaders choose a different path: partnership - engaging and leveraging others to help them. Imagine how much more productive teams would be if lone heroes spent less time proving their superiority and more time producing results. Lone-hero damage can be extensive: Slow performance as everyone thinks they?re the only one able to contribute meaningfully. Low accountability from lone-heroes avoiding accountability or usurping it from others by doing their jobs. In an accountability vacuum everyone wonders why nothing is getting done. Misaligned direction by putting personal agendas ahead of team?s goals. Demoralization. No one wants to work with someone to just make that person look great. Hostages. Is there someone the company thinks it?s can?t live without? Is lone-heroism happening in your team? Who is trying to do it all? Who thinks it?s a sign of weakness to ask for help? Or, worse, who thinks he or she is the only one who can do something right? Viewing team failures from a higher altitude lets us see the hidden dangers which derail most well-intended team building methods. Which dangers most threaten your team? Don Schmincke is a dynamic keynote speaker and co-author of High Altitude Leadership with Chris Warner, releasing November 2008. Visit www.HighAltitudeLeadership.com for a free team assessment exercise, and to view their remarkable strategic, leadership, and organizational change programs.

Buying vs Renting

Is now the right time for you to buy a home? You have many options to consider and choices to make. Buying a home is a big responsibility, financially and emotionally, but most people want to own a home. Homeownership often is referred to as"the American dream." Why is it so special? Among the reasons: Real estate often is an excellent investment, perhaps the number one
source of wealth-building for families. Owning a home has many benefits. When you make a
mortgage payment, you are building equity - and that's an investment. Owning a home also qualifies you for tax benefits that may assist you in dealing with your new financial responsibilities - such as homeowners'insurance, real estate taxes, and upkeep - which can be
substantial. But given the freedom, stability, and security of owning your own home, they are definitely worth it! Owning your own home also can be a great source of pride and stability.
But homeownership may not be for everyone. It's a big financial commitment - starting with the initial shock of your purchase (including a "down payment" and fees paid to a real estate agent, the lender and others) followed by years of monthly mortgage payments, real estate taxes, property insurance and maintenance costs. When you decide to purchase a home, you
accept responsibility for paying for these expenses. They are additional costs to your monthly mortgage payment and should be included in your budget estimates:
Property Taxes and Special Assessments
Home/Hazard Insurance
Utilities
Maintenance
Home Owner Association (HOA) Fee if applicable.

One of the advantages of renting is being generally free of most maintenance responsibilities
and the flexibility of moving almost as soon as you decide. But by renting, you lose the
chance to build equity, take advantage of tax benefits, and protect yourself against rent increases. Also, you may not be free to decorate without permission and may be at the mercy of the landlord for your housing needs. There are many considerations in choosing between renting and buying:
There are tax advantages to homeownership in both the short and long terms. The mortgage interest and real estate taxes are tax deductible, which allows you to subtract part of your housingrelated expenses from your taxable income, which could reduce your tax bill. In many cases, the amount of money a renter spends on rent can be about the same as or less than the amount a homeowner spends on a mortgage. With the tax benefit for homeowners, the savings can be significant. Do you want to spend several years in a house and in a neighborhood?
Do you enjoy lawn and garden work? Might you need to move suddenly to care for family?
Do you want to keep your assets accessible in the bank, or do you want to invest long-term in a home?