January St. Joseph County Numbers

January, 2009 total units sold in St. Joseph County were 126 which is -33% from the 187 in 2008. Total dollar volume for this January was $12,158,954 which is -30% from the $17,300,641 that was recorded in January of 2008. The average sale price was $96,500 which is +4% from the average of $92,517 a year ago. And the median sale price was $58,750 is down from the $65,200 that was recoded in 2008.

Those are the numbers for January 2009, I will report more as I get them!

January Southwest Lower Michigan Numbers

For January, 2009, Southwest Lower Michigan was -19% compared to January, 2008. A total of 120 properties were sold compared to 148 a year ago. The positive markets for the month were Hartford/Lawrence (+125%), Dowagiac/Marcellus (+57%), Coloma/Watervliet (+14%) while Niles/Galien was flat. Average days on the market were up slightly from 118 to 124 (+5%) while the average sale price dropped from $141,672 down to $94,564 (-33%).

Hope Program

Last July, the government created a program called "HOPE" which was designed to help struggling home owners keep their homes by refinancing into safer, more affordable mortgages. It was thought that the HOPE program would help about 400,000 homeowners. To date, this program has been a bust! So far the program has helped only 451 applicants and just 25 loans have closed. Lenders find the program difficult to participate in because of many of the program's constraints. This week, there is a proposed revision to the program, which the NAR supports. The new program, if passed, would lower participation standards, cut costs for consumers and reduce the cost of implementation for lenders.

We'll wait and see if the new program will be any better.

Sold In McKinley Terrace

Congratulations Lee! This is Lee and he just became a homeowner for the 1st time. Lee bought a home in a very popular area called McKinley Terrace. The home that he purchased has been completely remodeled with new windows, new carpet, new ceramic tile in the kitchen and baths and a nice 2 car garage for him to park his cool sports car in. Congrats and enjoy your new home!

$15,000 Bonus for Home Buyers?

On Wednesday, February 4, the U.S. Senate unaminously approved a proposal that would allow a tax credit of home buyers of 10% of the value of new or existing residences, up to a $15,000 limit. Study's estimate that it would cost $19Billion and would be part of the current stimulus package that is being put together.

This credit, as currently designed, would not be a loan that would have to be repaid and would not be limited to 1st time home buyers. It would be open to anyone buying a home before the end of 2009 and would require the buyer to stay in the home for a minimum of 2 years.

This program, if given the final ok, would replace the current $7,500 tax credit program that requires the buyer to pay the credit back.

Best Places to Live and Raise a Family

Here is an article that I thought you might find interesting--No place in Michiana is mentioned-Bummer!

Progressive Farmer has again ranked the best rural places to live and raise a family based on an analysis by OnBoard Informatics, a real estate research firm.Progressive Farmer considers home and land prices, crime rates, environment, education access to health care and economic factors. Counties are first ranked based on these statistics, then the final decisions are made after the magazine staff travels to the selected counties. Here are Progressive Farmers’ top 10 choices:

Hamilton County, Neb.
Chippewa County, Minn.
Ida County, Iowa
Harvey County, Kan.
Clinton, Iowa
Fayette County, Texas
Oconee County, Ga.
McPherson County, Kan.
Obion County, Tenn.
Madison County, Va.

Source: Progressive Farmer (02/02/09)

The Next Wave Of Foreclosures?

According to LPS Applied Analytics, a mortgage-data research firm, the next wave of foreclosures may be ready to hit Jumbo borrowers. A Jumbo mortgage is one that is over $417,000. Loans in excess of $650,000 are considered Super Jumbo's. Current data, as of late December, states that 6.9% of prime Jumbo loans were at least 90 days late in payment.

Nearly 25% of prime jumbo mortgages exceeded the value of the homes they backed in September. That figure would increase to at least 42% if home prices decline 15% over the next two years.

The bottom line is that the economy is discouraging sales and driving down prices even for properties that normally appeal to affluent buyers.

source: The Wall Street Journal (1/28/09)