Rehoboth Beach Real Estate Blog

Pending Home Sales Index Cruises To Multi-Year High

Home buyers continue to push the U.S. housing market forward. In November, for the second straight month, the Pending Home Sales Index eclipsed its benchmark reading of 100, posting a value of 106.4.

The Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) is published monthly by the National Association of REALTORS®. It tracks homes under contract to sell, but not sold. The PHSI is relative index, comparing current contract activity to the activity of 2001 -- the first year for which "pending homes" were tallied for an index.

The Pending Home Sales Index has posted an average score of 100.2 from January 2012 through November 2012, the most recent month for which there's data. This is a significant data point because it means that the 2012 housing market is performing…

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Post-Fiscal Cliff, Mortgage Markets Turn Attention To Jobs Data

Mortgage rates moved higher Wednesday up congressional leaders voted to avoid the "Fiscal Cliff".

Mortgage-backed securities (MBS) fell as investors bid up stock prices. Confidence among investors and consumers typically causes mortgage rates to rise. That's what happened Wednesday. For Thursday and Friday, expect jobs data to dictate where Coastal Delaware mortgage rates are headed.

The Federal Reserve has said that the national Unemployment Rate will dictate future monetary policy, with the central banker planning to raise the Fed Funds Rate from its target range near zero percent once joblessness falls to 6.5%. Currently, the jobless rate is 7.7 percent. As the jobs market improves, equity markets should follow, causing mortgage rates to -- again…

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Scoping Coastal Delaware Short Sale vs. Foreclosure Outcomes

For bargain-hunters looking over 2013’s first listings of foreclosed homes for sale in Coastal Delaware, the opportunities speak for themselves. Throughout the year, the size of that selection varies: the official total of Lewes & Rehoboth foreclosed homes for sale for all of 2012 won’t be finalized until later in the month. But no matter how large that increase or decrease turns out to be, in addition to representing a unique opportunity to potential buyers, each one also posed a substantial decision for the departing homeowner.

The question each faced was whether to attempt to short sell or to allow their property to be foreclosed upon. Choosing the most positive outcome means shedding the negative repercussions as rapidly as possible – clearing the…

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How To Make An Emergency Preparedness Kit For Your Home

Some natural disasters can be forecast -- hurricanes, snow storms and, in some cases, flooding. Other disasters occur unexpectedly, such as tornadoes and earthquakes. 

As a homeowner or renter in Lewes , it's a safe idea to prepare for disaster or unexpected emergency. Every home should maintain a ready, working emergency kit for such a time.

Here are some items to include in your home's emergency kit :

• Waterproof Container : Store items in a locking, plastic container
• Battery-Powered Radio : A small radio can receive weather updates and emergency broadcasts. Pack extra batteries, or use a hand-crank radio, instead.
• Light Source : Pack multiple flashlights and many spare batteries. LED flashlights are more expensive than "older" flashlights,…

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2012 Coastal Delaware Home Listings Tell a Tale

Homeowners who are puzzling over whether to add their property to the Coastal Delaware home listings this winter (rather than hold back until spring) have more than just timing to factor into their decision. How their offering will stack up alongside the other home listings is a prime consideration.

The residential market has made good progress this year – and a strong majority of pundits expect more of the same for 2013. I deal with the home-buying public all the time, and so get an inside look and listen to what features and qualities wind up having the greatest impact on their buying decisions. Another way is to survey home listings across the nation to track buying trends: the features highlighted in home listings are just about the most…

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What's Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week : December 31, 2012

Mortgage bonds improved last week, pushing mortgage rates lower in Delaware and nationwide. Positive economic news and strong housing data was trumped by ongoing Fiscal Cliff discussions on Capitol Hill.

The "Fiscal Cliff" is meant to represent January 1, 2013 -- the date on which mandatory spending cuts are enacted by Congress and on which tax rates increases for many U.S. taxpayers.

Some analysts believe that if these two events are to occur simultaneously, it would derail the current U.S. economic expansion and revert the economy back into recession. That concern has spurred a flight-to-quality which has benefited mortgage bonds and, therefore, U.S. mortgage rates.

For example, last week, Freddie Mac reported the average 30-year fixed rate…

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High Condo Fees - Not Necessarily Bad News

A recent survey finds that among those who are seriously considering buying a condominium in the coming year, nearly a quarter of them consider condo fees a key element in their decision.  According to the study, participants think HOA fees “feel a lot like paying rent” -- sometimes causing buyers to switch focus toward properties for sale where they “won't have to pay the [high] monthly fees."

Psychologically, it’s understandable. The concept of paying $400 or more a month (condo fees vary from $100 to $1,000) as a “fee” on top of a mortgage can indeed feel a lot like paying rent. But not all costs associated with owning property are readily apparent. 

For example, most condo fees include maintenance for common elements like landscaping, snow…

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Real Estate Tax Rumor Outlasts Mayan Calendar

With the “End of the World” now comfortably behind us , you might think the coast would be clear for a while. But -- at least when it comes to Coastal Delaware real estate matters -- some would have you believe we are face-to-face with another extreme dire threat: the Internet buzz about a (gasp!) huge new federal sales tax on all real estate transactions.

This one was all over the web even before passage of the federal health care act. It has staying power, and comes in several forms. The one that circulates most often is an email message warning that a 3.8% Medicare surtax that is going to hit “average, middle-class investors” on January 1. Supposedly ALL real estate transactions are subject to the tax “no matter how low their income might be…”

If…

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Fixing Up An Historic Home: The Three Rs

If you enjoy both history and fixing things, then you may have trouble driving by historic homes for sale in Lewes without feeling the urge to buy and fix one up.

Before you do, however, you should know the three R's of fixing historic homes -- Restoration, Renovation, and Repair.

Restoration
"Restoration" is the process of returning a home to its original state. Restoring historic homes often requires city and state permission. It's essential that you check to see whether your home is listed in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP); or, whether it's located in a historic district. If either is true, there may be a specific set of rules to follow while renovating.

Restoration can be an expensive endeavor. For a home to keep its historic…

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Case-Shiller Index Posts 4% Annual Home Price Gain

The U.S. housing market continues to make home price gains.

Earlier this week, the S&P/Case-Shiller Index showed home prices gaining 4.3 percent during the 12-month period ending October 2012, marking the largest one-year gain in home prices since May 2010.

The Case-Shiller Index measures changes in home prices by tracking same-home sales throughout 20 housing markets nationwide; and the change in sales price from sale-to-sale. Detached, single-family residences are used in the Case-Shiller Index methodology and data is for closed purchase transactions only.

Between October 2011 and October 2012, home values rose in 18 of the 20 Case-Shiller Index markets, with previously-hard hit areas such as Phoenix, Arizona leading the national price recovery.

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