Not long after the residential mortgage crash started many were predicting that the very same thing would happen in the commercial property markets but so far, that has not been the case. That is not to say that commercial properties have not lost value or that those who owned commercial properties have not felt the pain of those losses. However, the mass foreclosure of commercial properties has not come about as many predicted.
One of the reasons this has happened is the Federal Reserve has gotten very involved with those companies that want to purchase commercial properties from failed banks and have offered them zero percent interest loans to do so. Another type of company has also helped and these are the private equity firms that have bought out some struggling real estate owners and have renegotiated their debt to put them on the path to real recovery. This is a perfect example of government and businesses working together to solve a problem. It’s just too bad they haven’t done as good of a job when it comes to residential properties.
After the April 30 end to the home buyer’s tax credit, mortgage applications took a nosedive to a 13 year low nationwide. While apps are still down, they have risen about 7% over the May numbers and since interest rates are still really good, it is still a very good time to buy a home if you are in the market.
Another measure that is awaiting Senate approval is an extension to the home owner tax credit for those who are waiting to close their current contract. In other words, this covers those who had a contract ratified by the April 30, 2010 date but have not been able to close or don’t think they will be able to close by the June 30th deadline. This bill HAS NOT passed the Senate as of yet but they are trying to get it done by the end of the month. This would extend the closing date to the end of September and give those people another few months to close. This will really help those purchasing new construction, which has a tendency to go over the proposed finish dates. I will keep you posted as to what happens next. In the mean time, if you know of someone who is looking to buy or list their home I would love the opportunity to visit with them.
I like many others have seen the wonders of using a service like Craigslist.org when doing both professional and personal business. Until recently, I have never had an issue with any listing I have placed or with any dealings I have done as a result of the use of their services. However, one of my listings was hijacked by someone posing as the owner and attempting to get the property rented. This, put very simply, is fraud!
I’m sure there are other things that happen on Craigslist and services like it that are hard to avoid or even catch because some people will try to scam others any way they can. That’s why I feel it’s very important for you to know you should check everything you see and do on Craigslist and make sure you are dealing with reputable individuals and businesses. As my situation has proven, it’s also important to make sure no one messes with your ads or listings as well. As with most things it is up to us to protect ourselves!
Every year the Chief Executive magazine conducts an annual survey of the best and worse states to do business in and Tennessee came in # 3 just behind Texas and North Carolina and right above Virginia of the best states to do business in. If you’re wondering about the worse states to do business in, they were California followed by New York, Michigan, New Jersey and Massachusetts. If you take a quick look at these states they all have some of the highest tax burdens in the nation on both individuals and businesses.
However, there are other categories that come into affect when the CEO’s vote. They not only include tax and regulation issues but also the available work force and living environment when considering the states that are most attractive to these top company executives. This goes a long way to explain why Tennessee has been successful in the past drawing companies to invest in our lovely state. The fact the our government, both state and local, is doing everything it can to keep the state moving in the right direction so our citizens can have good jobs and opportunities is a great reason to stay right here in this area for long term grow potential.
We keep hearing all about the lack of jobs but there is some great news on the horizon for Middle TN; the addition of over 2000 new jobs! Nissan leads the way with the expected plant in Smyrna that could bring over 1300 new jobs to the area. This is exciting not only for the jobs but also because the plant will be making electric cars, which seems to be one of the cars of the future. That means these jobs should be here to stay.
Two other companies have recently announced their intent to move to Nashville and surrounding areas; Lowes Hotels and MI-based Jackson National Life Insurance Company. Lowes has already started hiring for 200 accounting and HR positions as it is relocating the Lowes Hotel Financial Services Center Downtown and Jackson National Life Insurance Company expects to hire up to 750 new workers for the opening of their new regional headquarters in Cool Springs.
As Middle Tennessee adds jobs to the marketplace it only strengthens our local economy. That economy translates into more jobs that lead to a more robust outlook to bring even more companies our way. It really is a win-win situation and we are fortunate to live in an area and state where things are happening and not stagnate.
According to The Greater Nashville Association of REALTORS®, there were 2,270 home closings reported for the month of May. This is a 27.3% increase from closings reported for May 2009. This brings the year-to-date closings to 8,607, which is up 20.4% from same period last year.
The home buyer credits have been a great boost to home sales and we will see closings through the end of June that still qualify for the tax credit. However, we are also seeing buyers take advantage of the historically low rates that are still out in the market today. That’s not to say that the market will not feel the end of the tax credit because we expect it to soften a bit. But people always have to move for various reasons and Middle Tennessee is thriving more than many cites and areas in the country so the housing market is expected to remain strong.
Inventory of houses at the end of May was 24,007, down a little bit from the 24,598 reported in May of 2009 but still is a good supply of homes to choose from. With a good number of homes to choose from and historical low interest rates it remains a great time to purchase a home!
I knew an old used car salesman that used to laugh at how people priced just about anything because he knew that zeros (0’s) don’t sell. He didn’t care what you put on the car as long as it wasn’t an even number with a lot of zeros. He didn’t have a study and are target group that had convinced him that this was true; he had experience and a lot of it.
Today we have such studies and research done by cognitive scientists who have documented this phenomenon and found people tend to subconsciously interpret very precise numbers to be smaller than round ones. To further prove this to be true there was a recent analysis of thousands of real estate deals in a couple of controlled areas and they found that sales prices listed without zeros in fact fetched a higher final price than those that started with a round number.
Knowing this type of information is one of the reasons you need to have a professional realtor on your side when you sell your home. We not only keep up with buying and selling trends but also study the Psychology of the sales process.
Have you ever thought about recycling your rechargeable batteries or at least thought there might be something you could do instead of dumping them back into the landfill? Well there is a virtual recycle encyclopedia at www.earth911.com that has a plethora of answers for your very basic recycle need to the more obscure.
There is also over 100,000 recycle locations in their database where you can drop items such as furniture, glass, electronics, etc. The main thing to realize is we have a wonderful recycling program here in Middle Tennessee but sometimes it’s hard to find out where to take paint, old motor oil or car batteries to safely get those things taken care of while keeping them out of the landfill. There are also artists who are looking for items to turn into art and it may be worth your while to place an ad on Craigslist.org. Whatever you do, if you look hard enough, you can find some way to dispose of almost anything these days in an environmentally safe way.
If you have recently bought your home and feel you need a little bit of help with giving it your special touch, it may be time to hire a professional interior designer. Unlike what you see on television, interior designers can help you with the simple things such as colors and accessories to the more complex projects like completely renovating a home from top to bottom.
Many don’t even consider asking a designer for fear of cost. However, many interior designers have package deals as well as internet deals that can help you with your do-it-yourself projects to keep costs in line. At the same time, don’t underestimate what a designer can do for you especially when it comes to moving walls, lighting and those hard to do kitchen and bathroom renovations or additions. I have seen the difference in the do it yourself work as opposed to the designer inspired space using the same amount of money and the designer space wins hands down. It is always a good idea to check with an interior design firm first and then make your decision.
At the beginning of the year (2010) it was predicted that once the Federal Reserve stopped propping up the mortgage industry at the end of March along with the end of the First Time Home Owners Tax Credits interest rates would raise considerably. What no one knew at the time this prediction was made was the coming fate of the Euro and how that would affect investments in the United States. It’s just one more indication that we truly live in a global society.
When Greece announced the current issues with debt and their inability to repay many in Europe turned to invest in US backed securities, which are considered a safe investment throughout the world. After Spain and Portugal announced that they too are having issues it has just exacerbated the Euro problem and pushed even that many more investors toward US backed securities, which in turn has kept interest rates below where they were expected to be at this time.
For the current buyer or refinance client this simply means that interest rates continue to be low, which makes it a great time to buy or refinance your home. For everyone it just shows us all that it is very hard to predict interest rates and other trend in an ever evolving global world.
