Monday, December 31, 2007

Weekly Update

Though tragic, last week’s unfortunate assassination of former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto created only a minor ripple in stock and bond markets. Housing was again the more pressing concern. On that sinking front, home prices in 10 major metropolitan areas in October were down 6.7% from a year earlier, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller home-price indexes. The decline exceeded the previous record year-to-year decline of 6.3% in April 1991, when the economy was emerging from a recession. Meanwhile, sales of new homes continued on their downward spiral, falling to a 12-year low in November. Specifically, purchases tanked 9% to an annual pace of 647,000, which exceeded even the lowest estimate. The continued slowdown in home sales is also taking a toll on mortgage demand, with mortgage-application activity – both refinance and purchase – recently posting at the lowest level of the year, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Eric P. Egeland
RE/MAX Advanced
847.337.7090
www.DeerfieldHomesOnline.com

Monday, December 24, 2007

Weekly Recap

The economic news was generally positive last week, though every release seemed to be accompanied with a “yes, but.” For example, housing starts posted at 1.187 million annualized units in November, which beat the consensus estimate by over 10,000 units. But the nattering nabobs were compelled to douse any optimism with multiple buckets of pessimism, such as “the industry is still struggling with significant overhang,” and “housing starts would need to fall to around 500,000 annually to soak up the excess inventory.”

The GDP rose at a robust 4.9% annual rate – the strongest rate since 2003. GDP growth was powered in large part by continued consumer spending (which only occurs when consumers are confident about the future). In fact, consumer spending rose 1.1% in November, the most in more than two years, as incomes grew and shoppers took advantage of early holiday discounts. But the highlighted media response to the strong economic growth came from one prominent, pessimistic economist: “You can hear the screech and see the skid-marks of the economy slowing down from the third to the fourth quarter. We're going to go from this supercharged rate to somebody-slammed-on-the-brakes.'' There are still serious issues that must be confronted in both housing and mortgage lending. Yes, inventory levels are too high, and prices will likely need to fall further to stimulate more demand. Foreclosures are also on the rise. RealtyTrac reported 201,950 foreclosure filings in November, a 68% increase over November 2006. (But November's filings were actually a 10% decrease from October's 224,451, which showed a spike after an 8% decrease from August to September.) There's work to be done, to be sure, but it's important (and fair) to appropriately note improvements when they occur.

Eric P. Egeland
RE/MAX Advanced
847.337.7090
www.DeerfieldHomesOnline.com

Thursday, December 13, 2007

Deerfield Update 12/12/07

Not much to report from yesterday.

Single Family Homes
-1 New listing @ 125 Maya. It is a 4bed 3.5bath home listed for $1,450,000
-1000 North a 4bed 2.5bath home was reduced from $783,000 to $759,000
-No closings

Attached homes
-The only activity was 402 Kelburn a 2bed 2bath closed for $290,000

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Fed cuts rate 1/4 pt

The Federal Reserve cut benchmark U.S. interest rates by a modest quarter-percentage point on Tuesday. Many economists were expecting a 50 basis point cut. The central bank's decision takes the federal funds rate, which governs overnight lending between banks, down to 4.25 percent. Wall Street was disappointed with the modest cut, but is is still a move that should help mortgage rates.

Now on to the Deerfield Realty market for December 11th 2007

Single Family Homes
-1 New listing at 1248 Hackberry. It is a 4bed 2.5bath home listed for $489,000
-23442 Wildwood was reduced from $1,269,900 to $1,239,900
-151 Willow a 4bed 3.5bath home closed for $920,000

Attached Homes
-No new listings
-1 $50 price reduction not worth mentioning
-No Closings

Monday, December 10, 2007

Mortgage Rate Freeze

The big news story of the week was undoubtedly the Bush administration's mortgage rate freeze negotiated with the country's largest lenders. The plan, dubbed Hope Now, is an alliance of financial-industry stalwarts, (including Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo) that could provide relief to up to 1.2 million borrowers.
Hope Now offers assistance in one of three ways: freezing rates (up to five years), refinancing into a new private mortgage, or obtaining a loan backed by the Federal Housing Administration. Borrowers who have rates scheduled to adjust between January 2008 and July 2010 and who are current on their payments and have been no more than 60 days late in the past year qualify for the deal.
The timing of the announcement was fortuitous, to be sure; the Mortgage Bankers Association reported that homeowners fell behind on their mortgage payments at the highest rate in more than two decades last quarter.
Fortunately, the economy continues to mitigate some of the subprime damage and defy conventional wisdom that it's headed toward a recession. On the contrary, employers hired more workers than forecast in November, with payrolls rising by 94,000 and hourly wages increasing 0.5% to $17.63.
Just as important, workers – new and old – were found to be more efficient: Worker productivity accelerated more than forecast in the third quarter, rising at an annual rate of 6.3%, while labor costs dropped 2%, the most in four years. Greater efficiency eases pressure for companies to raise prices to counter rising energy costs, further diminishing the threat of inflation.
Last week the 30-year fixed-rate loan averaged 5.96%, while the 15-year fixed rate loan averaged 5.65%, according to Freddie Mac's weekly survey. These are levels unseen in over two years.


Eric P. Egeland
RE/MAX Advanced - Deerfield
847.337.7090
www.DeerfieldHomesOnline.com

Deerfield November 2007 Closing Stats

Due to numerous requests, I will be posting the Deerfield's closing stats for the month of November.

Single Family Homes
-There were 11 single family homes that closed
-Prices ranged from $292,000-$1,300,000
-Average Sales price was $594,091
-Average market time was 110 days
-Sold properties closed averaging 94.4% of their Final List Price

Attached Housing
-There were 6 attached homes that closed
-Prices ranged from $160,000-$445,500
-Average Sales Price was $252,500
-Average Market Time was 182 days
-Sold properties closed averaging 96.71% of their Final List Price

Eric P. Egeland
Re/Max Advanced
847.337.7090
http://www.deerfieldhomesonline.com/

Thursday, November 29, 2007

Updates for 11/28/07

Not a lot of activity in the RE market yesterday.

Single Family homes
-1028 Hazel went under contract with a list price of $1,159,000
-2 New listings
-30 Ellendale a 4bed 2.5bath home listed for $659,000
-1160 Deerfield Rd. a 5bed 3.5bath home listed for $849,900
-425 Willow was reduced from $409,900 to $389,900

Attached Homes
-610 Robert York Rd. a 2bed 2bath condo listed for $299,900 closed for $292,000

Not a lot of stats to report, but as I've been saying things are actually somewhat busy. This is the busiest Nov. I've ever experienced (not in sales, but activity of people looking...although I have had a number of deals come together here at the end of the month).

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Back with updates

I would like to apologize to all of my readers. I've been out for about 2 weeks. Surprisingly for this time of year I've been extremely busy, I've been sick, & traveling for Thanksgiving.

Anyway I'm back & will try to get everyone up to speed on whats been happening.

My last Blog was on Nov. 13th, so I'll just summarize the activity since.

For Single Family Homes
-614 Westgate went contingent with a list price of $1,769,000
-2 New listings
-950 Woodward a 3bed 1bath was listed for $249,900 (the price is correct, its being sold as-is)
-75 Mulberry a 4bed 2.5bath home was listed for $579,000
-5 Price reductions
-9 cancelled listings
-3 Closings
-1423 Deerfield closed for $406,000
-2 Tamarisk Ln. closed for $850,000
-1414 Hazel closed for $1,300,000
-4 Pending Listings
-1026 Central for $316,100
-1023 Greenwood for $323,900
-923 Stratfor for $349,900
-626 Appletree for $1,079,000

In the attached homes
-4 Properties went under contract
-464 Inverarry went under contract with a list price of $199,900
-422 Kelburn went under contract with a list price of $267,000
-849 Bluebird went under contract with a list price of $324,900
-420 Pintail went under contract with a list price of $339,900
-New listing at 297 Tanager a 3bed 2.5bath townhome for $339,900
-1 Price reduction...reduced by $100, I won't mention the address
-2 Reactivated listings
-3 Cancelations
-2 Closings
-331 Redwing closed for $200,000
-451 Elm closed for $217,500

The equity markets have tumbled again over the last 2 weeks & banks continue to cry about their exposure to the subprime loan markets. We'll monitor this through the rest of the year.

As a slight bit of optimism, I'm seeing more activity on my listings & my buyers seem to be more proactive on looking & buying before year end.

I'll try to keep more current with the updates & apologize again for the gap.

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Deerfield Realty & finally a Great day on Wall Street

Well we finally had a good day on Wall Street...actually a great day. After 4 straight days of down markets, the equities rebound big time. If we have a few up days & market concerns lessen, I'll quit boring those of you who only read this for the Real Estate updates.

Dow +2.46%
Nasdaq +3.46%
S&P +2.91%

Also, today the NAR reported that pending home sales in September rose unexpectedly but the numbers were off 20% from the previous year.

Yesterday's Single Family Home Report for Deerfield
-2 New listings
-1155 North a 5bed 3full 2half bath home was listed for $1,275,000
-1524 Crabtree a 5bed 5.5bath home was listed for $1,695,000
-2 Price Reductions
-1 Pending home @ 1423 Deerfield Rd.
-No closings

Yesterday's Attached Home Report for Deerfield
-2 New Listings
-463 Elm #1I a 2bed 1.5bath condo was listed for $194,900
-610 Robert York #105 a 2bed 2bath condo was listed for $319,000
-2 Price reductions (so minimal not even worth listing the addresses)
-No Pendings
-No Closings

As always feel free to search any specific properties in Deerfield or the surrounding areas on my website www.DeerfieldHomesOnline.com

Monday, November 12, 2007

Weekend activity for Deerfield

Once again I'll be commenting on the equity markets due to the continued slide.
We had another down day on Wall Street.
Dow -.42%
Nasdaq -1.67%
S&P -1%

Its getting a little ugly in equity land.

Now on to the Deerfield weekend report

Single Family Homes
-2 New Listings
-1200 Kenton Rd. a 3bed 2.5bath home listed for $479,000
-657 Colwyn Ter. a 5bed 4.5bath home listed for $1,499,000
-1730 Overland Trl was reduced from $619,900 to $594,900
-3 Closings
-1010 Greenwood was listed for $314,900 & closed for $295,000
-421 Willow was listed for $424,900 & closed for $385,000
-825 Deere Park ct. was listed for $774,900 & closed for $752,000

Attached homes
-4 New listings
-1156 Osterman #56c a 1bed 1bath condo is listed for $199,000
-1356 Barclay a 2bed 1bath is listed for $234,900
-459 Elm #1b a 2bed 2.5bath is listed for $249,900
-402 Kelburn st. #222 a 2bed 2bath is listed for $269,500
-1 price reduction....619 Martin was reduced from $319,900 to 4314,999
-2 Closings
-462 south Commons Ct. was listed for $459,900 & closed for $445,500
-407 Winston Dr. was listed for $304,900 & closed for $283,000

Friday, November 9, 2007

Slow day for the Realty market...bad couple of days for the Stock market

I know this is a Real Estate blog, but today we saw another terrible move to the downside in the stock market.
11/9/07
Dow -1.69 Nasdaq -2.52% S&P -1.43%

What does this have to do with the Deerfield Real Estate market?... Actually a lot. These recent moves down are due to credit concerns with more banks reporting more problems. This effects consumer confidence, lending, & the list goes on & on.


Back to Deerfield Real Estate....we had a very slow day yesterday.

Single Family Homes
-New Listings @ 1444 Greenwood...3bed 1.5bath home listed for $639,000
-Price reduction @ 1513 Dartmouth...reduced from $799,900 to $789,900

Attached housing
-Nothing to report

Like I said, a very slow day yesterday.

Have a good weekend everyone & I'll be back on Monday.

Thursday, November 8, 2007

Deerfield updates

Minimal action in yesterdays market, there were a few updates.

Single Family Homes
-1 New listing...2Bed 1Bath home for $330,000
-2 Price reductions
-1111 Park was reduced from $533,000 to $495,000
-23442 Wildwood was reduced from $1,299,999 to $1,269,900
-No Closings

Attached housing
-1 New listing...4bed 2.5bath townhome @ 849 Bluebird for $324,900
-2 Price reductions
-754 INverrary was reduced from $187,750 to $187,650 (yes $100)
-422 Kelburn was reduced from $270,000 to $267,000

Stock market had another large sell off, but rebounded somewhat at the end of the day.

Major U.S. Indexes
Dow -33.73
Nasdaq -52.76
S&P -0.86

Wednesday, November 7, 2007

Deerfield Activity for 11/6/07

Reports for Deerfield's Single Family Homes

*We actually had a reduction of inventory yesterday in the Deerfield market....it's been awhile
-2 Properties went under contract
-923 Stratford is under contract...list price was $349,900
-1246 Laurel is under contract...list price was $549,000
-1 New Listing...A 3bed 2bath home @ 1347 Carlisle Place is new on the market for $565,000
-1 Price reduction...715 Byron Ct. was reduced from $849,900 to $799,000
-1 Closing....1506 Central closed for $455,000

Reports for Attached Housing
-1 New listing....A 2bed 2bath home @ 1422 Inverrary Ln was listed for $185,000
-2 Price reductions

Its been awhile since we've seen inventory lessen. I know that it is nothing dramatic, but it is good to see.

Tuesday, November 6, 2007

Updates for Nov 3rd-5th

We have a few updates for the Deerfield market for Nov. 3rd-5th

-Single Family Homes
-1 new listing... A 3bed 2bath home @ 950 Appletree Ln. listed for $424,900
-1 pending listing....1044 Chestnut
-1 price reduction...838 Rosemary was reduced from $649,900 to $599,999
-2 closings...831 Foxhunt Trail closed for $620,000 & 855 Smoke Tree Rd. closed for $850,000

-Attached Housing
-No new listings
-2 price reductions
-1 closing...560 Inverrary Ln. closed on 11/5 for $160,000

-Land
-Lot 3 of Maya Ct. came back on the market $579,000

The trend for the Deerfield market (and surrounding areas as well) seems to be that the lower end of the market is still selling fairly well. I see this trend continuing into the end of the year & hopefully we'll see a pickup in the spring market.

Due to a few requests, I will be giving market stats for the month of Oct. within the next few days.

Friday, November 2, 2007

Slow Day

Not much new to report in Deerfield Real Estate.

No new listings today, no closings.
I'm not in the habit of reporting price changes, but due to the fact that there is nothing else to report...here we go
-195 River was reduced from $1,300,000 to $1,289,000

In the national picture
-Foreclosure rates are on the rise
-Mortgage rates end lower on the week
-30 yr. fixed 6.33%
-15 yr. fixed 5.99%
-1 yr. adjustable 5.66%

Thursday, November 1, 2007

Day 1 of Deerfield Real Estate

For my limited audience:

Please bear with me as I post my first Blog on Deerfield Real Estate.

As we now enter the last 2 months of year, things have definitely cooled of in Deerfield as well as the surrounding areas.

-We have 5 single family homes that went on the market ranging from $324,999-879,000.
-851 Northwoods Drive (4bed 3bath) closed on 10/31/07 for $1,100,000

-No condos/townhomes listed today/yesterday
-423 Millford Rd. (3bed 3.5bath ) closed on 10/31/07 for $511,250

The Federal Reserve lowered the Fed Funds Rate on 10/31/07 by .25
The Federal Funds Rate is currently 4.5%