While the Bennington VT real estate market does not have as many foreclosures as some other parts of the country, I thought it was interesting to read that they are on the decline nationally, which hopefully is a good sign for the real estate market in general.  You may not think that Vermont is impacted by these figures from other states, but consider this:  if these states were not having as many problems, would more people be able to relocate to Vermont?  The lifestyle that we enjoy here in Vermont is attractive to a lot of people who want a change of pace.  If they can’t get out of their current real estate market, they can’t buy in ours!

Troy

 Foreclosures declined 8 percent in November compared with October, but were still up 18 percent from November 2008.

This was the fourth-straight month that U.S. foreclosures have declined since hitting an all-time high in July, according to online foreclosure marketer RealtyTrac.

Default notices, an indicator of coming foreclosures, also were down 8 percent from October, but up 22 percent from November 2008. Bank repossessions were flat from the previous month and down 2 percent from November 2008.

“We don’t really believe the underlying problems have been resolved,” said Rick Sharga, senior vice president for RealtyTrac. Many borrowers, he told the Associated Press, “simply aren’t going to qualify” for government and mortgage servicer help.

States with the highest foreclosure rates are:

• Nevada
• Florida
• California
• Arizona
• Idaho
• Michigan
• Illinois
• Utah
• Maryland
• New Jersey

Four states account for more than 50 percent of actual foreclosures: California, Florida, Illinois, and Michigan.

Source: RealtyTrac, (12/10/2009)

Washington, December 01, 2009

Pending home sales have risen for nine months in a row, a first for the series of the index since its inception in 2001, according to the National Association of Realtors®.

The Pending Home Sales Index,* a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in October, increased 3.7 percent to 114.1 from 110.0 in September, and is 31.8 percent above October 2008 when it was 86.6. The rise from a year ago is the biggest annual increase ever recorded for the index, which is at the highest level since March 2006 when it was 115.2.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said home sales are experiencing a pendulum swing. “Keep in mind that housing had been underperforming over most of the past year. Based on the demographics of our growing population, existing-home sales should be in the range of 5.5 million to 6.0 million annually, but we were well below the 5-million mark before the home buyer tax credit stimulus,” he said. “This means the tax credit is helping unleash a pent-up demand from a large pool of financially qualified renters, much more than borrowing sales from the future.

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We have certainly seen a little up-tick in activity over the past few weeks in the Bennington VT real estate market.  This article from the National Association of Realtors gives a more macro view of the national real estate market.

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Driven by the home buyer tax credit, existing-home sales showed another big gain in October with a strong uptrend established over the past seven months, according to the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. At the same time, inventories have continued to decline.

Existing-home sales—including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops—surged 10.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.10 million units in October from a downwardly revised pace of 5.54 million in September, and are 23.5 percent above the 4.94 million-unit level in October 2008. Sales activity is at the highest pace since February 2007 when it hit 6.55 million.

Tax Credit Fuels Surge (more…)

WASHINGTON — Racing to complete their purchases before a tax credit for first-time owners expires, homebuyers pushed sales up last month by the largest amount in more than 26 years. After jumping 9.4 percent in September, home resales are up nearly 24 percent from the bottom in January, the National Association of Realtors said Friday. But the housing market’s momentum could easily peter out if Congress doesn’t extend the credit of up to $8,000 for first-time buyers beyond its current Nov. 30 deadline.

John Kindschi, a 33-year-old aircraft mechanic who lives north of Seattle, didn’t want to miss out. After a yearlong search, he and his family bought a three-bedroom house for $206,000, completing the purchase last week.

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WASHINGTON, October 24, 2008

Existing-home sales increased last month as buyers responded to improved housing affordability conditions, according to the National Association of Realtors®.

Existing-home sales – including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – rose 5.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate¹ of 5.18 million units in September from a level of 4.91 million in August, and are 1.4 percent higher than the 5.11 million-unit pace in September 2007.

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Survey reveals downsizing trend for homes, Census data, though, shows home sizes growing
By Inman News, Wednesday, June 11, 2008.
 
Let the home-size debate begin.

According to a survey of home-design trends, the era of super-sized homes is giving way to downsizing — the American Institute of Architects suggests this is a possible byproduct of the housing-market downturn, weakened economy and changing demographics.

But the latest government data on housing characteristics does not support the survey findings, as the average square footage of homes remains historically high. The Census Bureau reported in its Characteristics of New Housing report for 2007, released this month, that the average new single-family home completed had 2,521 square feet, up 2.1 percent from 2,469 square feet in 2006.

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MONTPELIER (AP) – While a slump continues to grip the national housing market, Vermont is one of two states-the other is North Dakota-that have seen prices increasing slightly in the past year, according to the Vermont Association of Realtors.

“It seems we have weathered the national storm,” said the association’s Executive Vice President, Robert Hill.  “We are better off than the national trend.” (more…)

Some financial experts have labeled 2007’s market as the “roulette economy.”  As we all know, whatever goes up must come down, but the nice thing about real estate is that whatever goes down always comes back upward again (much like stocks work).

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The 30-year fixed mortgage rate fell to a more than two-year low in the week ended Nov. 29, slipping to 6.1 percent from 6.2 percent the prior week.

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WASHINGTON, October 24, 2007 -
Temporary problems in the mortgage market are easing and are expected to free some pent-up demand, but disrupted existing-home sales and distorted prices on sales closed in September, according to the National Association of Realtors®. Even so, prices rose in the Northeast and Midwest.

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