Hello my readers.  I do want to apologize for the 2 month hiatus that I’ve taken.  I should have warned some of you, but I got a bit of blogger burn out…  Hopefully, some of you have been reading my tweets (if you’re not following me on twitter, you should be http://twitter.com/jamistutzman) and you know that homes are selling and that I’m keeping VERY busy.

What?!? some of you may be saying.  Homes are selling??  Yup! its true.  As of right now in Hamilton County alone there are 1341 houses that are pending in the MLS.  Thats fantastic!! Who is buying?  It mainly seems to be the first time home buyers, the people who are under the 250k range.  They’re coming out in force to get the 8k tax incentive.  If you haven’t owned a house in 3 years, you’d be eligible for it as well.  Ask me for more details.

Does this mean that the housing market is in the clear?  Not yet, but it shows that we are on our way to recovery.  I have a feeling its going to be a long process, but it looks to be headed in an upward direction.  Once these first time home buyers start buying up the inventory, the higher priced houses will start to go.  Many people above the 300k mark need to wait for their house to sell before they can buy up.  Its frustrating for those sellers, but they need to either drop their price or just be patient.  We are lucky to be in Cincinnati, we didn’t see the extreme highs of the bubble and therefore we won’t see the extreme lows of the downward turn.  Don’t think that every seller out there is desperate and every home is over priced.  Many homes that are coming up on the market are priced very well for the current day and are actually selling pretty fast!

So, now is the time to get out there and shop!  If you have a first time home buyer house and you’re looking to upgrade, don’t be afraid to try and sell it.  Afterall, if you take a little hit on the selling side, you will probably make up for it on the buying side.

What goes down, must go up. Right?  At least thats how things in general play out in Life.  So why shouldn’t real estate be any exception?  It isn’t. Does that mean its coming back… hmmm not sure yet.  Have we reached the bottom and are at least stabilizing?  I think maybe so or at least we’re close.

I recently read an article on realitytimes.com where Dr. Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody’s Economy.com, surprised analysts by announcing that “the bottom of the housing downturn is in sight for the nation.”   I had heard whispers of this through some of my out of state colleagues, that some of the hardest hit areas are starting to see some comeback and stabilization.  This is great news!  Why? Because theoretically what was hit the hardest first should also then be the first to start to recover.

Well, I think the key word in Marks quote is that the bottom is in “sight.” Not that we are there yet.  But before that much-desired recovery can take place, the economists warn that there will be more pain. Home values in some of the nation’s hardest-hit markets — in particular Florida, California, Nevada and Arizona — will continue to see prices plunge. In some of the worst-hit places, the peak-to-trough percentage losses will soar as high as 70%. Of the 381 metro areas that the firm looked into, it estimates that 100 will experience peak-to-trough declines of 20% or more. The bright spots on the map — the 42 metro areas that are expected to see a decline of less than 1% — will mainly be in the South.  Of course, job loss will also factor into the ability of some metro areas to improve. Only states that were somewhat immune to the housing boom at the beginning of the decade should expect a quicker recovery.

This is not so good  news for the hardest hit areas, but is somewhat a  sigh of relief for us in Cincinnati. We didn’t see incredibly high home prices and therfore we won’t see ours plunge out of control either.  Housing is still very affordable in Cincinnati.  Our home prices continue to stabilize and more and more homes are starting to come back up on the market.  First time home buyers are ready to use their 8k tax credit and are out searching for the right house.  Our economy looks relatively stable when compared to other parts.

I think its a great time to buy and those who don’t will be kicking themselves in years to come.

If you haven’t tried it, you must.  It is my new favorite ‘guilt-free’ addiction, its called Yagööt.  Yes, its in Norwood so maybe I like it even a little bit better.  Well, tomorrow is your chance to try out the new flavor…. *STRAWBERRY*for free with a coupon.

Some of you may think its a Pinkberry knock-off, but our very own Busken Bakery had this recipe since 1977! here is an excerpt from their history:

“Busken Bakery, the creators of Yagööt, were whirling up their first serving of frozen yogurt in — believe it or not — 1977. Soon Busken Yogurt Salads quickly became their most popular lunchtime item. Even then, people working downtown went a little gaga for this cool, healthy, live-active-culture treat.

So what happened? As fate would have it, the dairy that was making the yogurt went out of business. And the Busken Yogurt Salad sensation of the 70s and 80s lived only in the memories of wistful Cincinnatians pining for the vibrant goodness of days gone by.

Well, that is until 2008 when the Buskens redoubled their efforts to rewrite history. They found the old formula, worked with a new dairy to tweak out the perfect balance of rich yogurt tart to smiling sweet — in a frozen concoction that’s as refreshing and healthy as it was 30 some years ago. The original tingly-tart flavor was reborn. Only this time, accompanied by a scintillating suite of specially selected toppings. And, of course, a slightly new attitude.”

While original is still my favorite and probably always will be, I’m happy to taste this new spring flavor.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.  Don’t forget your coupon.

While selling your home right now may not be something that everyone just jumps at the chance to do. It may be in your best interest, if you want to take advantage of the great buying market thats out there.  While most sellers right now have become ‘realistic’ as to where the market is at, they still need to understand a few things.  Selling a home in a declining market starts with a proper attitude and finding the right agent who is optimistic and knows the right sales techniques in this tough market.  Its an unprecedented time we are in right now and it calls for creative aggressive agents.

1. The key to successful selling in a ‘declining market’ is pricing your home at today’s market value, having your home in tip-top condition and being able to work with a prospective buyer on financing needs and terms. Don’t let your ego or pride get in the way when determining a price for your home. And remember the buyers bank is going to need to appraise it at the agreed on purchase price.  These days appraisals can kill deals.  So be realistic.

2. Put your buyer hat on when you look at your own home.  Often times we are more critical of other peoples homes than we are of our own.  I tell my sellers “this is not your home any more, its an item for sale and we have to treat it objectively.” More easily said than done.  Take a leisurely walk through your home jotting down the little things you might do to spruce it up. New carpeting, a fresh coat of paint, new light fixtures, mirrors, etc., are items that will give your home more emotional appeal and does not cost too much. Put away the clutter throughout the home and organize your closets! Rooms free of clutter will appear bigger and the new buyer can visually ‘move into’ your home much easier. Remember, new buyers are not buying your furniture. Don’t forget about the outside! Curb appeal to a new buyer is a very important and is many-times overlooked.

3. Finally, be patient. The real estate market has changed considerably since the last run-up where homes sold in hours or days. We are now experiencing a more “normal market” where homes take 90-120 days to sell. Remember, inventories are at an all-time high right now. Bank foreclosures are all around you and many buyers will have difficulty qualifying for a new loan. Lenders also have very strict guidelines now and consumer confidence is very low. Allowing for a normal marketing period will do a lot to alleviate your impatience when you have few showings of your home or a lack of offers to review.

Contrary to popular belief, buyer are out there and they’re waiting to buy.  They’re the first time home buyers.  Once they start buying, it will be a ‘trickle up’ effect and will reach the upper price ranges.  If you’ve got a home that is perfect for a first time home buyer and your not sure if it could sell, give me a call. I’d love to give you my no obligation opinion of condition and price.  Take advantage of this buyers market.  You’ll be happy in 5 years that you did.

Its that time of year where the market opens up its gates and the houses start popping up everywhere.  I was on Realtor tour today, turned down a street and saw 5 houses all for sale. Yikes!  I’d hold some group open houses if I were those agents.  We are in the start of our open house season.

So that leads me to discuss the ever so big question of, “do open houses work?”  I get asked this question a lot.  All across the board I think you’ll find agents come up with different answers and different reasons for those answers.  I think it depends on what the agents ultimate objective is.  Are they looking for buyers to represent?  Are they looking to actually sell the house they’re in?  Are they looking to get as much foot traffic in the house as possible? As a seller, you’ve got to ask yourself would it work in my neighborhood?  Is it worth me being kicked out of my house on Sunday?  Here are a few commonly asked questions regarding open houses.  Every agent is going to have a different story probably depending on their market.  Afterall, all real estate is local and trends in every neighborhood are different.

1. Do open houses sell the house that is open? Directly- usually not.  Indirectly-  possibly.  I know that’s a wishy washy answer, but its a complicated question.  Rarely does a person walk into a house, never having seen it before fall in love with it and buy it.  Sometimes they see it online, go through it with their agent and then go back through it at the open (bringing their friends, family, etc) and then end up buying it (or the order of that could be reversed - go through it, see it online and go back with their agent).  As buyers agents, open houses are nice because some clients are fine checking them out on their own on Sundays and letting you know which ones would work or not for them.  The 2008 NAR study of buyers and sellers says that 15% of buyers found the home they purchased from a yard sign or an open house sign (I wish they would break that statistic down further).  So, its a good idea to have them, it just shouldn’t be your only marketing effort to sell your house.

2. Why do most agents hold Open Houses? 2 reasons: 1. to get traffic through and hope that a buyer will walk through the doors or 2. for the agent to find prospective (unattached) buyers.  The latter is usually the main reason agents hold open houses.  They want to pick up buyers.  So to my sellers I always suggest to hold it open right at the beginning of the listing.  Get the momentum going and get people talking about your house.  Also do them at price reductions, or if significant changes are made. You don’t want to hold your house open every weekend.  It becomes shop worn… If my sellers insist, I will do them, I just let them know up front not to expect a lot.  Its a very passive way of marketing.  These times call for something more aggressive.

3. What is an Broker Open House? This I find is the real way to get your house sold (if you’re going to go with open houses - I’ve sold a couple just from Agent tour).  Its called Agent/Broker tour.  Its not always popular everywhere, but where I work all the agents are extremely tour conscious.  Here in Cincinnati, every Tuesday agents can hold open their listings (or upcoming listings) for other agents to view.  Many Times we have lunch or things to entice agents to make it to our home.   This is a great way for Agents (who are in contact with MANY buyers) to see your home and possilby come back with clients.  Or maybe you don’t have a client yet, but when you do, you can remember that you’ve been through it and recommend it.

4. Open house activity doesn’t correlate with potential buyer activity: Many times (especially as the weather gets nicer) people who aren’t even looking to move will spend their Sundays going to open houses.  Its a nice free way to spend the afternoon.  As the trees bloom so do the ‘tire kickers.’  Make sure your agent knows how to spot the difference between a looker and a keeper.

Over all, Open houses should still be apart of a marketing strategy, but it shouldn’t be the only one.  If that’s all your agent is doing for you, you may want to consider a new agent. On occasion I have been known to coordinate a ‘neighborhood wide’ open house.  Where every agent held their home open at the same time so that buyers could go through them all at once.  Each time I’ve coordinated it, I’ve actually sold the house I had listed.  It wasn’t your average open house, so its not going to produce average results.

What are your thoughts?  As buyers/sellers do you find open houses helpful or not?

I saw a startling statistic last week that prompted me to write this post.  It said that “58% of all Cincinnati agents sold 3 homes or less in 2008.”  YIKES!  That means over half of the agents out there are not working full time?  They’re only doing 1-3 deals a year.  How on earth are they paying their bills?  Real Estate isn’t that bad as to only allow 3 transactions a year.  It is a signal to me that there are many part time agents out there.  Would you want your surgeon to only have done 3 surgery’s before he works on you?  Absolutely not, then why would you want to trust someone with your largest financial decision that doesn’t have the experience or the qualification?  I think there are still a lot of part time agents out there.

I won’t bore you or try to sell you one me (of course my business partner and I completed 46 transactions last year…) but I do want you to think about who you are choosing and why you are choosing them.  As a seller or a buyer you should be prepared to ask your agent questions and make sure they’re qualified to handle your transaction from start to finish.   Here are a few things to make sure of:

1. Be sure that your agent and all parties involved are full time -  I’m currently trying to hammer out a deal where the LOAN OFFICER is part time and doing my client a ‘favor’ as a friend.  Not having someone who has dealt with many different scenarios in the business has been a trying time for both myself and my client.  I just hope we make it to closing…Of course some agents will tell you anything to get your business, but you can ask to see results and references.

2. Make sure they know the area - This would apply more on the listing side than on the buying side of the transaction.  A buyers agent can pull up comparables of any area to make sure a buyer isn’t paying more than the area/neighborhood demands.  For the listing side, you want to make sure that the agent is well connected or willing to engage in the community where possible when listing your home.  We recently spoke to a seller who was willing to go with a particular agent because they were really nice and helpful, but they had never sold in the neighborhood/market area nor do they know anyone in that market segment… it didn’t make sense to me.

3. Don’t just pick an agent because they have the lowest price - the old ‘you get what you pay for’ motto is around for a reason.  I’ve had friends choose discount brokers to ’save money’ and then they get no help on the pricing, contracts, or anything.  What motivation does an agent have if you cut their price down to nothing?

4. Don’t be afraid to ask to see results or ask how their marketing differs from the competition.  Everyone can put your house on the internet, not everyone can get a contract and keep the deal together.

5. Your agent should be a professional.  Don’t just work with a friend because they’re your friend.  Make sure they’ll do the job you want them to do.  Whenever a friend asks me to list or help them buy, I always have the ‘lets keep business, business and friendship friendship’ I don’t want business to interfere with our friendship and I lay specific ground rules for keeping it that way.  I always want to help a friend out and make sure they get the best service possible.

Essentially, do your homework.  If you’re going out to purchase a car or buy the next gadget, you’re probably doing some research ahead of time.  Make sure you do it with your agent.  The best place to start is just by googling their name…

Everyone has been asking, waiting and wondering; “how do I file my taxes to include my credit?”  Well, all of you early birds can rest a bit easy.  The forms are now up on the IRS website ready for you fill in.

Enjoy and passs on.

This is so exciting I had to post it on this blog as well.  For my readers who don’t know. I’ve got another blog which is dedicated to all thing green, real estate and Cincinnati related.  Check it out at www.encorecincinnati.com

For all my Norwood readers, would you be interested in something like this in our city?

Below is the post as well:

I blogged about it months ago.  A few of you even commented that if I bought the land you’d till the soil.  Well it turns out that City Council last week finally passed a plan for mini-farms.  What is a mini farm or an urban farm?  Well, its exactly what it sounds like: a small farm in an urban setting.  Why you ask?  Well, there is always a question of what to do with some of the vacant unusable city plots of land.  Most of them are unbuildable plots and just sit vacant and uncared for. Many major cities have started using these plats as small gardens and farms for city dwellers.  The exact details will be worked out in the next month.  City officials must decide how to lease the plots, and whether to charge anything. Lets hope they don’t.  Bring back the victory gardens of WWI & WWII.

How soon can we expect these little gardens of nutrition to start springing up?  Well, council expect 10 to 15 plots to be ready for growing this spring as a pilot project.  Yippee! Local food is where its at.  Lets help beautify the city.

I wonder if Norwood would be interested in something like this??

To read the full article in today’s enquirer click here.

The details are out.  Not as great as I’d like, but some of the changes have been for the positive.

Here is the scoop:

1. the limit has been increased to 8k max

2. Any single family residence (including condos, co-ops, townhouses) that will be used as a principal residence.

3. Income limits - Full amount of credit available for individuals with adjusted gross income of no more than $75,000 ($150,000 on a joint return). Phases out above those caps ($95,000 and $170,000).

4. Repayment - No repayment for purchases on or after January 1, 2009 and before December 1, 2009

5. Effective on purchases Jan 1, 2009-Dec 1, 2009

For a full comparison of the old vs. new tax credits click here.

I really wish that the entire credit would have been made open to all home buyers.  This really would have stimulated the move-up buyers who are having trouble with getting motivated to sell their homes and move to the next phase.  Perhaps if they  had some incentive, there would be more sales outside the 100-300 range.  Overall, the changes they’ve made are good and I hope those who get it, actually put that money back into the economy.

If you have any questions, email me or talk to your loan officer.

With all of the economic talk the past few months and how housing is in the toilet… I thought it would be fitting to actually show some real estate numbers for Cincinnati.  It is a suburb / municipality comparison of annual single family homes sold, along with the corresponding “average sales price.”

Lets take a look at some of our favorite suburbs:

If there is a specific suburb you want to know about, just ask and  I’ll post it.  Take note - there are actually some areas that have higher average sales prices in 2008 than in 2007.  This is not an appreciation calculation, just simply what the ‘average sales price’ was for that corresponding area.  We can see that some prices are holding in certain areas and others aren’t.  However, this doesn’t mean that your house has devalued, in order to figure that out, you will need a professional to come in and make that assessment.  If you’re not planning on moving anytime soon, don’t worry just stay put and continue to pay your house down.  If you need help figuring out if you should sell or not give me a call.  I can help you assess your specific situation.