A Sample of Today's Interest Rates

Interest rates have been hovering in the lower 5% range for the past week. Here is a sample of today's interest rates from local lenders. And as always on the b-town Report rates are for 30 year fixed rate conventional mortgages for folks with superior credit and rates are subject to change.

• German American Bancorp (www.germanamericanbancorp.com): 5.00%
• Peoples State Bank (www.peoples-bank.com): 5.125%
• Regions (www.regions.com): 5.25%
• United Commerce Bank (www.unitedcommercebank.com): 5.00%
  

Fabians Seafood Will Be In Bloomington Next Tuesday!

Mark your calendars! Fabians Seafood will be making a run to Bloomington with fresh shrimp caught in the Gulf of Mexico. Fabians is out of Galveston Texas and the shrimp is amazingly fresh.

In addition they plan on having Fresh Blue Crab Meat and Maybe Red Snapper.

They sell out of refrigerated trucks in the Bloomingfoods parking lot on 3rd street.

Tuesday, September 15th from 2:00 till 5:30 or until they sell out. There's always a line so get there early!

Congress is Looking at Cuts in Deductions of Mortgage Interest

From an article in Realtor.org/Mag:

The Congressional Budget Office has prepared a report that suggests ways for Congress to raise revenues. One key suggestion is that Congress cut deductions for homeowner mortgage interest from the present $1.1 million cap to $500,000, phasing in the reduction by $100,000 annually starting in 2013. Over a 10-year period, the change would increase revenue by an estimated $41 billion.

Alternatively, the CBO proposed replacing mortgage interest deductions with a flat tax credit that is 15 percent of mortgage interest paid. This would potentially increase revenue by nearly $390 billion from 2013 to 2019.

It also proposed eliminating deductions for all state and local taxes, including property taxes, which would cost taxpayers $862 billion by 2019.

What are the odds these ideas will fly? In the past, the mortgage deduction has been sacred. These days, some analysts say it may be vulnerable.

Source: Washington Post Writers Group, Kenneth R. Harney (08/30/2009)

Hoosier Acres Neighborhood Update

There has been quite a bit of real estate activity in the Hoosier Acres neighborhood recently. The latest sale was 3738 Cameron Avenue which sold for $490,000. This home, which has a lovely pond, was listed for $499,000.

Current pending transactions are limited to one property. 3641 Homestead is now under contract with a list price of $1,195,000. This remodeled home is on over six acres which makes it a unique offering in Bloomington.

What is currently on the market? These are the three homes available as of this posting:

• 716 Fieldcrest Avenue listed at $525,000 (pictured above)
• 3855 Brighton Avenue listed at $324,900
• 3822 Brownridge Road listed at $299,900

The beauty of Hoosier Acres is not just its 'close in' location and large lots, but the variety of architecture and the vast range in property values. In the last few years there have been homes that sold for $110,000 in 1999 up to $650,000 in 2005. In the past year there have been several homes that have sold in the mid $300,000's. Now the most recent sale was for $490,0o0 and the most recent pending transaction listed for over $1,000,000. It sounds like there is a new round of property appreciation in the works in Hoosier Acres.

Almost There...Smith and Rogers Construction is Nearly Complete

Almost There! The photo on the right was taken on July 12th. Just six weeks later and the construction for rebuilding the curve at Smith and Rogers Roads is nearly complete.

The residents of Hyde Park along with all those who wait at the 4-way stop sign at intersection of Rogers and Sare Roads will be thrilled when this section reopens this month.

The photo to the left was taken yesterday and shows the the paving work is completed. Any day now!

A Sample of Today's Interest Rates

Rate are hovering in the 5%'s for the past couple of weeks. Today a couple of lenders posted really great rates worth looking over. Keep in mind that some of the rates are for purchases only and may not apply for refinancing, so check with the lender of your choice on this.

Here's a sample of today's rates from local lenders and as always on the b-town Report, rates are for 30 year conventional fixed rate mortgages for folks with amazing credit scores:

• Fifth Third Bank (www.53.com): 4.875%
• Peoples State Bank (www.peoples-bank.com): 5.25%
• Regions (www.regions.com): 5.125%
• United Commerce Bank (www.unitedcommercebank.com): 5.00%

Don't Forget That The Deadline For Using The $8000 First Time Home Buyer's Tax Credit Is Approaching

The deadline for First Time Home Buyers to take advantage of the $8000.00 tax credit is approaching. Here is a note sent out by Tammy Walker of John Bethell Title Company with a link to an article about proposed legislation on this subject:

"I wanted to take a moment a remind everyone of the deadline for the $8000 tax credit deadline. The tax credit statute requires buyers to fully close on their purchases –– not just be under contract –– no later than Nov. 30.
This very important date falls on the Monday after Thanksgiving. With so many last minute delays I would encourage you to schedule transactions with buyers anticipating this credit prior to the deadline, Monday November 30th.
I have attached a link regarding the first-time home buyer tax credit for additional information. Thank you!"

http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/real-estate/bal-re.filler30aug30,0,4318788.story

August Condo and Townhouse Sales for Bloomington

The students have moved back into Bloomington and Bloomington residents are back from their vacations. Life is bustling all over town. The b-line trail, pictured at left, is full of activity with walkers and bikers and runners. How many of these folks bought a condo or townhouse in August? 33

The condo market is not as active in Bloomington as the single family home market, but as with yesterday's posting, we are seeing a constant upward movement in our market from the same period last year in regard to the number of sales.

So here are the numbers for August sales of condos and townhouses in Bloomington:

• Total sales: 33
• Average sales price: $116.012
• Average price per square foot: $87
• Average days on the market: 197
• Average list price to sales price ratio: 93%

In my opinion, Bloomington needs more affordable condos for retirees, graduate students and young professionals who want to stay in Bloomington and become home owners. The current Bloomington condo market consists of mostly rentals geared toward students. I would really like to see some smart new growth to offer home ownership opportunities to a larger section of the population.

How can this be done? By building condos near shopping areas and mass transit. The condos should have a modern and open floor plan and offer single level living for those who find stairs challenging. Attractive two story buildings that fit into the landscape could be built and offered at an affordable price so that the benefits of home ownership are more widely available.

With Bloomington's push to attract retires along with Bloomington's hope to retain young professionals after graduation from IU and Ivy Tech, we should offer a different type of housing option than we are currently seeing in our community.

The Numbers Are Coming in For August Sales in Bloomington

The numbers may not be totally complete since this is only the first of September and there will have been many closings yesterday in the Bloomington area that have not been inputted to MLS, but here are some preliminary numbers. This is for single family homes in Bloomington sold during the month of August:

• 102 sales
• Average price: $205,275
• Average days on the market: 105
• Average price per square foot: $95
• List price to sales price ratio: 96%

These are some healthy numbers. For the same period in 2008, there were 103 sales, and keep in mind that there will be additional entries uploaded into our system today and tomorrow. Average sales price is up 6.2% from August of 2008 as well. And even the average days on the market is down from 116 in 2008 to 105 this year.

So as the national housing economy continues to shows wonderful signs of recovery (new housing sales were up in August across the country), our local market is moving from its normal healthy status to actually becoming quite strong. More numbers will be coming over the next few days here on the b-town Report.