The New York Times Reports "Housing Perks Up"

According to an article in The New York Times, housing prices in nearly all of the major markets in the country rose in June. Home prices in San Fransisco rose 3.8% while home prices in Boston increased 2.6%.

In the Midwest, Cleveland saw an increase of 4.2% during June. How did Bloomington fare compared to the national market?

Keeping in mind that Bloomington has not seen prices decrease during this troubled time in the national market, Bloomington is doing well. The average home price decreased from May to June by 1.4%. But the number of home sales increased by a whopping 12.3%!

The increase in the number of sales and the decrease of the average sales price is directly related to the $8000 First-time-home-buyers tax incentive. More people are buying their first home and because these are first time home buyers, the average sales price will typically be less than for people who are buying their second or third home.

Another thing to keep in mind is that on the national market, home prices were showing great declines in home prices because of the vast number of foreclosures that were hitting the market. Though there are certainly foreclosures available for purchase in Bloomington, they account for only a small percentage of sales.

The verdict: the national housing market seems to have hit bottom and is bouncing back and Bloomington continues to have a healthy housing market. However, as home prices increase nationally, we will see an increase in home prices here in town, so the best deals are most likely happening right now.

Pending Transactions in Bloomington..Here Are The Numbers

As the masses of IU students return to Bloomington, some will be closing on new homes to live in during their time in Bloomington. Currently there are 129 Pending transactions for single family homes in Bloomington. Here are the numbers for these houses:

• Average list price: $210,610
• Highest list price: $1,300,000 (I'm guessing not a student...)
• Average number of bedrooms: 3
• Average number of baths: 2
• Average price per square foot: $99
• Average days on the market: 122

This last number, average days on the market, is an important one to keep track of. Currently it is taking an average of four months for a property to sell. Ideally that number should be 60 days for a truly healthy housing market where there is a balance between a buyer's market and a seller's market.

Featured Listing of the Day

This house is in such a lovely setting. Just 15 minutes north west of the IU campus, the home features over 3000 square feet of living space on over an acre of land. The floor plan is very open with a two story cathedral ceiling in the living room.

A first floor master bedroom makes for convenient one story living for 'empty-nesters'. The large bonus room on the second floor along with two bedrooms and a Jack-and-Jill bath make this home great for families as well.

Check out www.6620MegansWay.com for additional information and over thirty photos.

Price: $269,900.

$8000 First Time Home Buyer's Tax Credit May Be Extended

The $8000 first time home buyer's tax credit has been a huge boost to the housing market. It is set to expire the end of November, but an extension is possible. Here's an article with additional information from Realtor.org and the Washington Post:

Bills to extend the maximum $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers, which expires Nov. 30, are pending in both the U.S. House and the Senate.

Sen. Christopher J. Dodd, a Connecticut Democrat and chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, is co-sponsor of a bill with Georgia Republican Sen. Johnny Isakson that would raise the credit amount to a maximum of $15,000.

Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid of Nevada favors an extension of the current credit. He was quoted by the Las Vegas Sun saying, "It's something we can get done."

Odds are that the credit will be extended and broadened to cover all buyers next year, but the chances of the amount increasing aren’t as good, observers say.

Source: Washington Post Writers Group, Kenneth R. Harney (08/22/2009)

Housing Forcast is Looking Up

Houses, like this one on Pickwick Drive in Bloomington, and home ownership have been long been the foundation of the American economy. Good news is just starting to appear about the US housing market and the US economy. Here are words from the National Association of Realtors Chief Economist:

NAR’s Pending Home Sales Index reached 94.6 in June, its highest mark in two years and a vast improvement from the cyclical low of 80.4 in January of this year. If buyer contracts persist at this level, the corresponding home sale closings would be about 5.2 to 5.5 million at an annualized rate. For comparison, last year existing home sales totaled 4.9 million. We’re on our way to that: in June, existing-home sales increased for a third consecutive month, posting 4.89 million seasonally adjusted annualized units.

The recovery in the housing market will lay the foundation for a sustainable economic recovery. With more sustained economic growth, jobs will be created. Job growth is what is needed for consumers to buy furniture, computers, a host of consumer products, and lead to a sustainable rise in auto sales even without the clunker incentives. Despite the risks facing us, our baseline economic forecast still looks much better – with higher home sales, stabilizing home prices, and an eventual recovery in jobs.

For the latest economic forecast insights and analysis, visit www.realtor.org/research/research_commentary

More Bloomington Real Estate Market Numbers

As of August 3rd, there are a total of 819 single family homes on the market in the Bloomington Board of Realtors MLS system. Here's the average breakdown of the inventory based on list price:

• $25,000 to $74,999: 14 properties on the market
• $75,000 to $99,999: 47 properties on the market
• $100,000 to $124,999: 57 properties on the market
• $125,000 to $149,999: 71 properties on the market
• $150,000 to $174,999: 81 properties on the market
• $175,000 to $199,999: 85 properties on the market
• $200,000 to $249,999: 79 properties on the market
• $250,000 to $299,999: 77 properties on the market
• $300,000 to $399,999: 64 properties on the market
• $400,000 to $499,999: 32 properties on the market
• $500,000 and up: 74 properties on the market

Market Information from the Bloomington Board of Realtors

As of this month, the largest 'back log' of housing inventory priced under $375,000 is in the homes priced from $175,000 to $199,999. As of August 3rd, there was a 12.8 month inventory of homes in this price range. This means that with standard market conditions, it will take 12.8 months to sell these houses.

Homes priced between $350,000 and $374,999 have only a 5.4 month inventory, one of the lowest for the current market.

If we look at homes priced over $600,000, there is a 73.2 month inventory currently available. So yes, if market conditions are typical it will take over six years for all of these houses to sell. Bloomington has a very strong real estate market but it does not excel in high priced home sales. So far for 2009 there have been a total of ten homes sold that were priced over $600,000 in our MLS area.