It Pays to Support Responsible Homeownership

Helping others become homeowners protects your home's value and builds stronger communities.

When people move from renting to owning a home, they're more likely to vote, get involved in community groups, and care about their home's appearance. The children of homeowners do 23% better in school, according to a 2001 study by Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies. And a steady flow of first-time homebuyers makes it easier to sell your own starter home when you're ready to move up to a larger property.

Make housing affordable

One way to make more people homeowners is to make housing more affordable. All U.S. homeowners benefit from policies like the mortgage interest tax deduction. Many use government-backed mortgage insurance to lower loan costs. A variety of public and private programs offer low-cost loans and downpayment assistance to help Americans become homeowners. Help prospective homeowners save a downpayment by donating to sites like EARN, a non-profit that uses donations to match funds saved by low-wage earners.

Reduce foreclosures and preserve home value

Foreclosure matters because it hurts all homeowners. In 2009, foreclosures will cause property values to decline an average of $7,200 for about 70 million homeowners, resulting in a $502 billion loss in home equity, the Center for Responsible Lending estimates. Each foreclosure within 1/8th of a mile of your home lowers your property value about 0.744 percent, CRL says.

"One of the sad lessons of the [recent past] is that we aren't alone," says Nicolas P. Retsinas, director of the JCHS. "It's clear that if the family next door loses their home to foreclosure, my home's value will go down. Therefore, I have a vested interest in ensuring that people become homeowners and that homeownership is sustained over time."

One effective tool against foreclosure is educating homeowners before they buy. The Joint Center found that loan delinquencies fell 13% with homeownership counseling. People who go through pre-purchase and post-purchase counseling and learn about mortgages, family budgeting, and home maintenance are less apt to face foreclosure, says Michael Berti, senior homeownership specialist at the Rural Ulster Preservation Company in Kingston, N.Y.

Support groups that help homeowners

One way to do your part to help other homeowners is by donating your time or money to some of the many non-profits that promote responsible homeownership.

Habitat for Humanity partners with new homeowners to build affordable housing. Habitat homes aren't free. Homeowners work hundreds of hours, get homeownership counseling, and make mortgage payments.

The United Way supports many local programs that build affordable housing, help families build financial assets, and teach financial management skills. If you donate to United Way, you can direct your contribution to those causes.

HomeownershipSF, in San Francisco, tries to intervene where people facing foreclosure have the resources to catch up on their loan. If "the home can't be saved, we try to get a first-time homebuyer we've worked with into the home as quickly as possible to stabilize the neighborhood," says Interim Director Christi Baker.

Government programs support homeownership

Supporting federal state, and local programs that help create homeowners is another way you can expand responsible and affordable homeownership.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the Federal Housing Authority provide mortgage loan insurance or guarantees that let people buy homes with only a small downpayment and borrow at lower interest rates.

Government-sponsored groups Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and government-run Ginnie Mae buy and securitize mortgage loans made by banks, freeing up money, so banks can keep lending.

Sites like Govtrack and RollCall help you stay on top of laws that affect homeowners.

HUD's HOME program provides financial support to state and local housing authorities to build and renovate for-sale and rental housing for lower-income Americans.

In U.S. cities of all sizes, the HOPE VI program has funded plans to replace deteriorating public housing with new low-rise, mixed-income homes. These developments sell most homes at market rates, but designate a percentage for use by low-income homeowners.

How to get involved

You can support responsible homeownership in many ways. Retired construction contractors France and Bill Moriarity travel the country in their RV managing Habitat construction projects. "We like it because it's a hand up, not a hand out," France Moriarity says. Habitat volunteers don't need construction skills and can sign up to work as little as one day at a time. Groups can volunteer together. Organizations like Rebuilding Together and NeighborWorks America sponsor once yearly volunteer events that help lower-income homeowners repair their homes.

In San Francisco, Gregg Lynn convinced 150 people from his professional network to donate a percentage of their income to EARN. Follow his lead by asking your professional network, trade association, or social group to contribute.

By: Dona DeZube


Dona DeZube has been writing about real estate for over two decades. She lives a suburban Baltimore 1970s rancher on a 3-acre lot shared with possums, raccoons, foxes, a herd of deer, and her blue-tick hound.


Visit houselogic.com for more articles like this.



© Copyright 2010 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

Visit my website www.gary-barker.com

Is Homeownership Important?

I believe the answer is an absolute yes. Especially for families with children. I believe that society is now divided more profoundly between renters and home owners than the other factors that divide us. In years past race, religion or ethnicity seemed to provide cultural barriers. It seems to me that those barriers have been eased during our lifetime.

As Realtors we are often asked which school district is the best. This prompts the question why are some schools more successful than others. School districts are designed to be diverse and racially balanced. That leads to an observation that the answer does not depend on racial or ethnic causes. Looking at the local districts I looked for reasons and differences between the local elementary schools. I do not believe that the difference are the teachers nor staffs of the school. Certainly there may be differences between one class and another in the same school attributed to the teacher's commitment and skill. I believe that those differences would balance out when considering an entire school. What does make the difference?

I believe school districts with a higher percentage of homeowners will have more academic success. I have included an except form a report by the New York City Habitat for Humanity below. To view the entire article click:

http://www.habitatnyc.org/pdf/Toolkit/homewonership.pdf

For more reading on the subject go to http://www.newtowncdc.org/pdf/social_consequences_study.pdf
That article lists several benefits of home ownership:

• Child Outcome is Enhanced
• Positive effect on Mental, Physical and Emotional Health
• Increased Social Involvement
• Increased Political Involvement
• Environmental Awareness
• Increased Stability
• Less Vulnerability to Crime

Another benefit for children of home ownership is that they learn personal responsibility. They witness their parents taking responsibility for their home, its preservation and maintenance. Children of renters learn that someone else performs those functions. When the sink doesn't function you call the landlord. It reinforces an entitlement mentality.

The long term financial benefit of home ownership is very evident. If you are not a homeowner you have three things you can count on; Death, Taxes and the Rent.

Gary Barker
gary@gary-barker.com
www.gary-barker.com
www.facebook.com/garybarkerrealestate

The Poll Results - What will this year bring?

Fifty per cent of the respondents felt the market would improve in the upcoming year while only 28 % had a pessimistic view. They believed that values would continue to fall. Twenty one percent felt that properties would maintain their values this year. This writer finds that having 72% of readers believe that values will hold or improve great news. The last several years have been the worst we have had in the last twenty years. I believe a slow and steady recovery is under way.

Poll - What will this year bring?

I thought it would be interesting to take an informal poll on what the readers think the prospects for real estate will be this year. Will value and sales continue to fall? Will the market remain about the same as last year? Will the market improve? Or will we have a remarkable recovery? You will find the poll immediately to the right. Please select your answer. Be sure to place a check in the cirlce to the left of your answer and click on the vote button. You can check the results after you vote. I will publish the final results next week.

2009 vs. 2010 in Craven County Real Estate

For this comparison I examined residential sales in Craven County for 2009 and 2010. The average price decreased by 2.5%.  The total sales volume decreased by 7%. The average days on the market remained virtually the same.

Even  though the market continued its decline, the pace of that decline has slowed. Listening to financial news it seems as though the markets are improving. Apparently corporations have lots of cash sitting on the sidelines waiting to determine the direction the new congress will take. Many businesses are reporting substantial profits having cut expenses for the last two years. We are certainly primed for a recovery. Accurately forecasting the peaks and troughs of the markets are very difficult. I believe we are near the bottom and perhaps past it. I will advise my clients to buy. Interest rates will increase over the next twelve months. I believe the best time to buy real estate is now.

I would be interested in your opinion please leave a comment.

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One Really Bad Proposal

The news has been really scary for the last several days. In Washington they have been looking for ways to decrease the looming deficits. One really bad idea is to abolish the tax deduction for home mortgage interest. This would be a terrible assault on the middle class. It would have the following effects.

• It would increase the tax burden on middle class families.
• It would make home ownership less affordable.
• It would decrease demand for existing homes.
• It would inhibit future gains in the value of our homes.
• It would further shift housing toward rentals.

This would concentrate more of America's wealth in the hands of large investors and institutions. I believe that home ownership has deep cultural effects. Children raised in the family home learn different values than those who grow up in rental and public housing. Home ownership teaches personal responsibility. When problems arise you can't call someone else to solve your problem.

Owning property was the driving force in the creation of our country. People left their homes and immigrated to this continent for the opportunity to own real estate and succeed. Today America is still viewed as a land of opportunity. Any thing that makes it more difficult to own your own home and control your destiny is misguided.

I and others are making a call to action. We need to tell our congressmen and senators to keep the home mortgage interest deductions. Please join the effort. Call or email their offices.

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Median Prices Recover

Trulia is reporting that median sales prices have shown recovery since the low point in August of this year. The market has certainly had a great struggle in the past two years. The chart below shows that the current median sales price has exceeded the February 2008 level. We still have a ways to go to reach the peak of the summer of 2008. Our market still has challenges but it is nice to have some good news.

New Bern Recently Sold Homes

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New Construction Report - Craven County

Home builders marketing is going better than the rest of the market. New construction makes up about a third of the homes sold in the last twelve months. Two years ago builders were having severe troubles. They had inventory that the market was rejecting. Nimble builders such as Frank Crayton, Pat McCullough, and Rick Schepard responded by creating products that the market wanted. Builders sold 288 of the 870 homes sold in the $80,000 to $350,000 range in Craven County. Currently there are 242 new homes on the market. (80 of these are Skysail condos) .Compare these numbers to the total market. See my Blog of November 1,2010. The great new homes that builders produce are often priced below the price of homes that were purchased during the strong market of several years ago. The fact that new homes capture such a large part of the market has hampered the individual trying to sell theirs.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
by Gary Barker
 
Gary has been selling real estate in New Bern since 1977.

Visit my website http://www.gary-barker.com/

Market Review - Craven County - Closed Sales

For this blog I chose to study residential sales closed for the last 12 months. I have limited the study to Craven County sales as reported in the Neuse River Region MLS. I decided to study homes that closed between $80,000 and $350,000. Hopefully that price range gives an accurate picture of our market. I chose to eliminate the luxury market and the very low end. The chart below depicts those sales.



June had the highest number of closings at 114. The lowest month was February with 50 closed. 875 homes in the study sold in the last 12 months. 995 homes in the study profile are currently listed. During the last twelve months 1081 homes entered the market. Assuming that approximately the same number of homes will enter the market this next twelve months, there will be a two year supply of homes available. A home must be superior in features or priced below others to sell. Sellers must be educated in current market conditions. An agent who lists homes for prices that are not likely to sell will harm his relationship with his clients.

by Gary Barker


Gary has been selling real estate in New Bern since 1977.


Visit my website http://www.gary-barker.com/

Why did the Master Bedroom move upstairs?

How did it get downstairs?



The New Bern real estate market has always been fairly unique. For most of my career our market demanded a master on the ground floor. We had a variety of ranch and story and a half floor plans. Only the historic or larger homes were truly two story homes. Many of these still had ground floor masters.



Men like Paul Crayton, Guion Lee, Frank Efird, Lonnie Pridgen, Tommy Karam and others put New Bern on the map as a place to retire. Port O’ Pines, later Treasure Cove and then Fairfield Harbour started the great migration. River Bend and Trent Woods began to entice retiring seniors to put down roots in our great community. Soon Weyerhaeuser began Greenbrier and many other areas that increased the flow. The one thing that these buyers required was a ground floor master bedroom. Since the retirees were the driving force of our market, resale potential required others to insist on downstairs accommodations.



Then the bubble burst!



The days of competing offers were over. That nasty pendulum swung from sellers to buyers. Prices began to fall. Our four decade flow of retirees stopped. They were no longer ready to sell their homes at post bubble prices and move. Sales of existing homes were much lower than the prices contractors needed to produce the designs they had been building. For years builders had been adding the features that made their homes superior to competitors and older homes. Buyers paid the price because the homes were going up in value and inflation would cover the expense with future gains.



A new design was needed.



It was necessary for builders to build more efficiently. Most spent hours designing, estimating and redesigning floor plans. The result has been two story homes with tuck under garages. These plans lower the price by having an upstairs master. The current driving force in the New Bern market are people who are moving here for jobs. I see Marines, Sailors, hospital employees, manufacturer workers, educators, and service job workers. Most are younger with children. Many mothers want the baby and younger ones in a room that is close. They have been quick to accept having all the bedrooms on the second floor. Builders have found that this new type of plan can be built for a lower price than many are asking for the resale of existing pre bubble burst homes. Younger buyers have consistently chosen space over features and curb appeal.



Will the master bedroom move back downstairs?



The answer is yes. When retirees accept the new reality of the housing market and find that continuing to wait to move is unacceptable, we will see them again. They will again demand a downstairs master. This will create struggles for our appraiser friends. Comparing homes of the same amount of square feet of heated space, you will find that the one with the downstairs master will cost between $8,000 to $12,000 more. Unless the appraiser recognizes the value of that feature it will be difficult to cover a downstairs master bed room home‘s cost. The cost of a garage area that is not tucked under is also much higher.



The adept builder will recognize when retirees again begin to drive the market. When that day arrives the master bedroom will move back downstairs.



by Gary Barker
Gary has been selling real estate in New Bern since 1977


Visit my website http://www.gary-barker.com/

Listing Prices have fallen

Trulia reports that listing prices have fallen in the last three weeks.

Sellers are competing for a limited number of buyers. The lower listing price helps insure that their home will be shown more often. Local Realtors are working hard to get their clients home sold. They realize that more homes are on the market than it will absorb. Proper pricing and well placed advertising will get the job done.

New Bern Homes For Sale

Sellers would be well advised to have their Realtor show them how many homes sold in their price range in the last 120 days. Compare those numbers to homes listed in the same price range. Together they can decide on the proper course.

by Gary Barker
Gary has been selling real estate in New Bern since 1977


Visit my website http://www.gary-barker.com/

My First Post.

Welcome to my blog. It is my hope that this blog will help my clients and friends to understand the real estate market in New Bern. Our market is a great deal different than it was just a few short years ago. Retirees used to be a much larger portion of our market. Because of the national economic downturn, it seems they are not yet willing to accept the current prices in their market areas. Of course many still have very significant gains in the value of their homes. Still having missed the peak of their value many are not ready to accept the present values. They also continue to hear the news that it is a Buyer's market. I expect that they will soon tire of waiting for a major recovery and begin to sell. They will be ready to begin a new phase of their lives and many will join us in enjoying the New Bern area. I believe we will begin to see a return of the reirees in the spring. In my next blog I will discuss how these trends have effected the styles of homes demanded by buyers. For my information about the New Bern area visit my website http://www.gary-barker.com/ .