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Better to buy now, sell later — and more from a new Trulia survey
Wednesday, April 17, 2013

A new survey from Harris Interactive — on behalf of Trulia — found that people think.

A. It’ll be better to buy now than next year.

B. It’ll be better to sell next year than now.

“A” is probably true — more buyers are entering the market, and inventory is tight and getting tighter. Further, there’s no clear sign of that letting up. Still, there are foreclosures in the pipeline and plenty of REOs that might ease the inventory pressure.

“B” is harder to call. Now is a great time to sell, but if inventory stays low we could be headed into a full-fledged sellers’ market next year. so maybe it will be better. It’s going to depend on local conditions, though — what’s true for Fredericksburg won’t (necessarily) be true for Martinsville.

More people spending too much of their income to rent
Wednesday, April 17, 2013

“The rent is too damn high” — add that to the growing list of reasons we’re going to see a boatload of new buyers entering the market in the next few years. That’s a reasonable conclusion from new Census Bureau data.

When the housing market collapsed, a lot of folks had to leave homes they could no longer afford — often because of foreclosure or short sales. They became renters, in part simply because their credit ratings took a big hit.

Result: Rental vacancy rates are down. The new Census Bureau report says that those vacancy rates dropped from 8.4% to 7.4% in just two years (2009 to 2011) — homeownership obviously declined at the same time.

Earnest money deposits: the full story
Tuesday, April 16, 2013

One of the most important duties a REALTOR® has is holding a clients' funds for Earnest Money Deposits. VAR's Blake Hegeman updates viewers on EMDs by covering this info:
    •    Release of EMD funds
    •    Timeliness of releases
    •    Can the absence of an EMD prevent a contract from being ratified?

CLICK HERE to see what other videos are available in VAR's legal video library.

Here’s looking at … us
Monday, April 15, 2013

The following appears in the April/May issue of Commonwealth as “First Word.”

The one thing that unites all human beings, regardless of age, gender, religion, economic status, or ethnic background, is that, deep down inside, we all believe that we are above-average drivers. -Dave Barry

I challenged a friend of mine once, as we were beginning a four-hour, multi-state drive, to obey every single law – obey it to the point that even the most desperate small-town cop couldn’t find fault.

Tell us what you think of Commonwealth magazine (maybe win $100)
Monday, April 15, 2013

Tell us what you think!Can you take four minutes to tell us what you think of our magazine?

Every two years we like to take a read on our readers — that is, you. We want to know what you think of Commonwealth magazine.

We’ve put together a short survey that should take you all of about four or five minutes to fill out. (We’re talking 22 multiple-choice questions. No essays!)

Charlottesville Realtors help seniors fix their homes
Monday, April 15, 2013

Big kudos to our friends over at the Charlottesville Area Association of Realtors. They’re working with the Albemarle Housing Improvement Program to raise money to help some senior citizens fix their homes — everything from plumbing fixes to roof repairs.

According to the Charlottesville Newsplex . . .

plumbing fixes, to patching roofs. Board of Realtors member, Debbie Cash, says the changes, are all about making seniors feel safe and independent at home.

Eastern Shore arsonist(s) caught
Monday, April 15, 2013

Quick follow up: Police have caught the Eastern Shore arsonists. (Last month we told you about a couple of Realtors raising money for volunteer firefighters out there.)

Charles R. Smith III — a former volunteer firefighter himself — confessed to setting 52 fires in vacant and/or abandoned buildings up and down the Eastern Shore, and has said his fiancée, Tonya S. Bundick, had set an additional 15 fires. (Perhaps that’s now “ex-fiancée.”)

Read all about it in the Virginian-Pilot.

“How to buy a home” infographic
Monday, April 15, 2013

imageActually it’s more “How to pay for a home,” but it’s still both pretty and useful. It comes from Dan Green at the Mortgage Reports, and he even includes permission (and the code) to include it in your own website.

Two groups push for national Homeowner Bill of Rights
Friday, April 12, 2013

Two major consumer organizations are urging Congress to enact a national “Homeowner Bill of Rights” to reduce foreclosures, “stabilize local housing markets, and protect homeowners.”

Pointing out how the lack of lender regulation helped cause the Great Recession, and that lenders have been reluctant  “to engage in good-faith loss-mitigation before beginning the foreclosure process,” — the Center for Responsible Lending and Consumers Union issued a joint policy brief they say can both protect homeownership without putting undue burden on lenders.

The proposal takes into account other regulations — such as California’s Homeowner Bill of Rights and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s new lending rules.

Inventory looks like the big issue for Virginia housing
Thursday, April 11, 2013

Why is inventory becoming the big issue in Virginia real estate? Because there’s not enough of it. (If you’re in an area that does have plenty, be advised: It probably won’t last.)

Check out these statewide figures for February (the latest date we have solid numbers for):

  • Closed sales were up 13.8%, but.
  • Pending sales were down 31.6%, so.
  • Inventory was down 40.2%, and.
  • Months supply of inventory was down 45.3%

That’s huge. Meanwhile, days on market is down (-10.4%) and average closed prices are up (+9.7%) — in other words, the market is doing what it’s supposed to be doing: moving homes.