Existing Home Sales Down Slightly

According to the National Association of Realtors, the pace of existing home sales in the United States was off slightly in May to a 5.99 million-unit annual rate.

The inventory of homes for sale rose 5.0 percent to 4.43 million units at the end of May which represents 8.9 months' supply at the current sales pace.  That is the highest months' supply since June 1992, although the 1992 figure only includes single-family homes while the current data also includes condos.

May saw the 10th straight month in which prices dropped from year-ago levels, with the national median price down 2.1 percent to $223,700.

Homes sales were mixed across the regions with the Northeast seeing a 5.8 percent increase for the month while the Midwest saw a 0.7 percent rise. The West and South reported a drop-off in sales with 0.8 and 3.4 percent declines respectively.

Buyer Beware: Skeletons in the Closet

The National Association of Exclusive Buyer Agents (NAEBA) recently conducted an online survey of their members to rate the items they found most annoying when searching for a new home with buyers.  Since these real estate companies are always looking out for the buyer's best interest they don't pull any punches.  The results of the survey are revealing, surprising, and sometimes downright weird.

Here are the top five things exclusive buyer's agents find most annoying when previewing a home:

1. Broken door locks preventing access to the house.
2. Pet deposits in the back yard or dirty cat boxes.
3. Missing light bulbs in the basement.
4. Sellers that ask you to remove shoes and then have wet carpet or dirty floors.
5. Having loose stairs on a stairway or missing banisters. 

Other reported annoyances include:

6. Low hanging dining room light fixtures in a vacant home.
7. Closet doors that fall off or are not adjusted properly.
8. Going into a vacant home and hearing animals in the walls.
9. Halloween decorations that are left out.
10. Dangerous children's toys left out.
11. Dead cars in the driveway or yard.
12. Homes on large lots without a survey or description of the lot boundaries.
13. Political signs.
14. Graffiti on a home for sale.
15. Dead birds or animals in or around the home.

It seems that many home sellers are not overly-endowed with common sense.  Closet doors falling off?  Dead animals in the front yard?  The pitter-patter of mousy feet in the walls?  Scary Halloween decorations all over the house?  These should all be no-brainers.  Sending buyers away disgusted or frightened out of their wits is probably not the best of business decisions.  Neither is killing or maiming them with dangerous children's toys left as booby traps.

Jon Boyd, President of NAEBA, points out an important lesson for home sellers.  "In all these cases the buyer's attention is diverted from evaluating the home to something mildly disgusting or frustrating.  If sellers have a dead pigeon lying on the deck it will just help buyers negotiate a better price because of less competition.  But try to leave the skeletons and coffins for the Halloween party!"

NAEBA is a nonprofit organization with over 500 members nationwide.  NAEBA offers industry standard certifications, ongoing education, client referral service, technology and information sharing.

Tips for Choosing a Mortgage

Whether buying a home or refinancing an existing mortgage, it is important that home buyers and homeowners determine which type of home loan best fits their household's financial situation.  To help simplify the decision-making, Countrywide is sharing 10 tips for choosing a mortgage loan.  These helpful insights are just a few of the many valuable ways consumers may arm themselves with the knowledge needed to help achieve and maintain home ownership.

When it comes to choosing a home loan there are some basic principles everyone should consider. Two of the basics are, first, stay within your financial means, and second, never commit to anything without being 100% sure that it is in your best interests, ," says John P. McMurray, chief risk officer for Countrywide Financial Corporation, a diversified financial services provider and member of the S&P 500. "There are a number of points to consider when making a decision about taking out a mortgage loan."

Here are 10 tips to consider when deciding which type of mortgage loan best fits your household's personal and financial situation.  (more…)

Home Renovations:  Think Smart

The thought of renovating your home to improve the price it will bring on the real estate market is an appealing one.  The question any home owners should be asking themselves is "what does my home NEED in order to obtain a higher selling price?"  Many home owners overlook obvious things their home needs in favor of cosmetic fixes or upgrades that magazines and TV say will increase their asking price.  The thing they forget is, without the basics the home will not impress people on a base level.  Sure it may have some impressive features but without the daily necessities, what's the point?

Before you start adding un-necessary extras to a home, take the time to make sure the everyday things are taken care of.  These can be simple things like working fixtures and faucets, updated appliances and clean floors.  The interior workings of the home should be checked and fixed if they are in need of repair.  There isn't much sense in a home having a brand new solarium and hot tub if the plumbing system is in disrepair and there is mold growing in and around the pipes.

Every homeowner should go over their home with a fine tooth comb and find those little everyday things needing an upgrade or a fix before jumping into major renovations.  You may find yourself making renovations only to have to go back at the end to repair something that should have been fixed before the building started.

Once the home is in tip-top condition and everything works as it should, then its time to consider making those price generating improvements.  Buyers will feel much better looking at a home with an updated electrical system, a current plumbing system and a new roof than a home with a few nifty extras and a host of possible problems.

30-Year Fixed Mortgages Looking Good Now

Amid a steady stream of headlines about turmoil in the U.S. mortgage market propelled by rising defaults of subprime loans, home buyers and owners are fast turning to traditional, long-term mortgages for home financing needs.

Thirty-year fixed-rate mortgages provide certainty and security, features that had been of little concern to many home buyers and owners who tapped initially less expensive adjustable-rate mortgages during the housing boom of recent years to buy houses and refinance mortgages.

Now with the housing market in an extended slowdown, in part because so many adjustable-rate mortgages are in default as "teaser" interest rates have lapsed and monthly payments have soared, home buyers and owners are taking a second look at long-term, fixed-rate debt and are liking what they see, according to Wharton School Professor Susan Wachter's U.S. Mortgage Payment Index.

The perception out there is that a year from now, mortgage interest rates will be higher.  It's just a question of how much higher.  Which, when combined with more inventory on the market than in recent years, could make now the best time to buy a home than we've seen in a very long time.

We'd love to hear your comments about the current market trends and news.  Leave your comment below…