If you’ve recently been searching for a home or apartment you may have heard the terms “Walk Score” or “Walkability Rating”, but to most people these terms don’t have much meaning.  A Walk Score is a rating from 1 to 100 on how walkable your neighborhood is.  Factors such as distance to grocery stores, pharmacies, parks, schools and access to public transportation all play an important role in the overall score.

Most home and apartment search websites now have this information displayed in their listings, so understanding how and why it works is important whether you are searching for a home/apartment, or trying to sell yours.

Scores from 90-100 indicate its a Walker’s Paradise meaning daily errands do not require a car, and a score of 0-24 is Car Dependent and almost all errands require a car.

Why should you care what your Walk Score is?  Not only does walkability factor into the community feel and quality of life of your neighborhood, but it can also factor heavily into you homes value.  According to a new study conducted by  CEOs for Cities “In 13 out of 15 metro areas, higher Walk Scores are directly linked to higher home values.  Homes with above-average Walk Scores are worth between $4,000 – $34,000 more than similar but less walkable homes.”

To find out your own walk score you can do it here on our website.

Dan Asleson
Broker/Owner
HALO Properties and Managment
www.HALO-Properties.com

Zillow:

For awhile now, Zillow has been the only good home search tool on the block for Android users.  Its chalked full of useful features like Street View, Monthly Payments (though you can’t plug in your own values) and has both active and recently sold listings.  The thing I like the least about the Zillow app is the Zestimate.  I’ve spoken before about its rather shaky calculations to create an estimated value.    The Zestimate has improved over the years, but still has a long way to go before I would consider it even remotely reliable.

What are these crazy boxes for??
QR Codes: Are 2D bar codes and most Android apps have QR Codes for easy download. Simply scan the QR Code and it will take you to the Android Market for easy download. Get the bar code scanner here.

REALTOR.com: 

This is the newest member in the real estate application arsenal.  Its been 10 long months since this application first launched on on the iPhone, and its finally available for the Android.  It makes searching for open houses and rentals a snap.  It also allows you to sign in and save properties that you like.

WHERE: 

WHERE helps you find and discover the places and people around you. Local restaurants, movies, weather, news, coupons and offers, cheap gas, friends and more. Read real-time reviews from other users and post your own.  A great app for people who are new to a neighborhood, or trying to find out what things are around.

Dan Asleson
HALO Properties

Buyers/Investors:  Time to start salivating.

The post Tax Credit data is in for the Twin Cities, and as expected there has been a pretty large dip in home sales following one of the biggest tax incentives in the history of home buying.  The biggest news occurred for traditional home Sellers (non-foreclosure/short-sale)  priced between $150,000 and $350,000.  Sales the week the Tax Credit ended were 1085, compared to just 384 for the week ending May 22nd.  Its not quite as bad as the numbers indicate.  Home sales took a MASSIVE uptick during April as the credit was about to expire.   That means that many Buyers who would have bought in May and June, fast-tracked their plans to take advantage of the credit.   Experts seem to agree that sales should pick up moving into the 3rd quarter.

Sellers, if you’re willing to wait there’s no need to panic.  As the temporary lull in sales will likely continue through June, broader market conditions will likely carry more influence moving into the later part of 2010.  For example, the number of listings down 39% from Aprils peak, meaning there is a lot less competition.  The Supply-Demand ratio is still at a relatively stable 5.05 compared to its peak in 12/08 of over 12, and more recently in 12/09 at over 8.25.

This is GREAT news for home buyers who didn’t, or weren’t able to, capitalize on the tax credit.  With sellers newly motivated from the decrease in Buyers, deals should be prevalent for a short period of time.

Three factors add up to a Buyers Perfect Storm.  First, the number of sales of previously owned homes are still low, but expected to rise 4.3% in 2010, and more importantly NAR is projecting a median sales price increase of 2.7% in 2010, and 4.3% in 2011.  Second, mortgage rates are expected to rise from 5.3% to 6.0% by early 2011.  Lastly, the sudden decrease in Buyers from the tax credit expiration should give Buyers the edge to negotiate prices.

Conclusion:  Buyers have a short window to capitalize on current market conditions.  They should have confidence that home prices have hit bottom and are set on a path of modest recovery in the foreseeable future.  Sellers able to wait a bit longer will soon be seeing increases in housing prices.

Dan Asleson
Broker/Owner
HALO Properties and Management
www.HALOmn.com

1. Affordability
   With a combination of lower priced homes, low interest rates, and steady median income the Home Affordability Index has reached levels not seen since 1999 in the Twin Cities Metro Area.  The current level is 206, meaning the median household income is 206% of what it takes to qualify for a median priced home with 20% down 30 year financing.
2. Large Inventory To Choose From
   There are currently nearly 10,000 listings available in the Metro Area.  Though there are less listings than there were over the last two years, there are still more listings available than there were back in 2001.
3. Builders Offering Big Credits

   Not only are Home Builders are getting aggressive with pricing, buying new also comes with warranties on not only the home, but all the appliances as well.

4. Mortgage Rates are Historically Low

   Its not just the price of a home that will affect affordability; mortgage terms will also affect monthly payments. These days rates are very attractive for conforming loans.

   Earlier this year, rates on the popular 30-year fixed-rate mortgage hit a level not seen in decades, and rates have stayed relatively near that low for weeks.

5. Get the Federal Tax Credit
   There’s now a federal credit of up to $8,000 for home buyers who haven’t owned a home in at least three years. Unlike the previous credit, this is money that doesn’t have to be paid back.  Additionally, people who have owned homes for over 5 years may also qualify for $6,500.

   That extra cash will come in handy: The average first-time home buyer spends about $6,000 in the first six months of owning a home.

   

Top 5 Things that Devalue Your House

from www. HowStuffWorks.com

Locally, indicators are pointing towards a more balanced market.  Home Inventory is down 22.9% and Sales are up 16.9% compared to a year ago, making the Supply Demand ratio snap back towards a normal balanced market.  However, most of that 16.9% sales increase has been in the sub $190,000 price range.  Homes above $190k show an actual Decline in home sales compared to a year earlier.

In Summary, if you own a home in the sub $200k price point, things are looking very favorable for 2010.  In many neighborhoods its actually hard to find a home under $200k.  If you own a home valued over $200k, prices will likely level off, with a slow to moderate gain over the next few years.

If you’re thinking of Selling, call one of our team members for a detailed analysis on home pricing in your neighborhood.  If now isn’t the right time to Sell, you may be able to rent out your home and cover your costs.

Dan Asleson – Broker/Owner
HALO Properties and Management

This is great news for people who would like to rent out their existing home and still take advantage of the low interest rates, reduced prices, and excess inventory.

http://www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com/home.html

Crunch time for house hunters