Posts made in March 2016

How Much is the Payment?

It’s a question I get asked a lot (like all the time, and understandably so). However, it’s actually a more complicated question than most people think, because it involves loan calculations, property taxes, home owners insurance, maybe even flood insurance or HOA dues. Payments are also affected by the type of financing (ie. FHA, VA, RD, Conventional, Contract or RTO) and the amount of the cash down payment.

But, there are some averages you can use to arrive at a “quick n’ dirty answer”. Today I’ll give you what the AVERAGE payment looks like for a home bought on contract with a $5,000 cash down payment. Here goes—

PRICE PAYMENT

50,000 360

70,000 520

90,000 680

110,000 840

130,000 1000

150,000 1160

170,000 1320

190,000 1480

210,000 1640

230,000 1800

250,000 1960

Keep in mind that contract terms are always negotiable between the buyer and seller, and that can sometimes result in payments that are more or less than the averages I’ve listed here. But, these average numbers should work for you when looking at houses and evaluating whether they’re in your pricing wheelhouse or not.

Now, if you’d like to put together a strategy to get the best terms— then give me a call.

“I work harder to make good things happen!!”
-Bob

Sales and Prices Continue to Make Gains

Both closed sales and the median average sales price continued to make gains across central Indiana during February. Sales were up 10% over last February, and were up 8% for the 12 months just ended versus the same period ending February 2015. Prices were up 3% over last February and 6% year-over-year. The median average price now stands at $148,000 in the central Indiana market. Btw, that’s the highest February number on record!

Meanwhile, the number of new listings continued to lag way behind the pace of sales. Inventory is down 6% from a year ago, making available inventory for buyers slim, slim, slim.

All of that is great news for sellers. Now, if you’d like to learn how to take advantage of this seller’s market— give me a call.

“I work harder to make good things happen!!”

As Inventory Tightens Down Payments Increase

It’s basic supply and demand from Econ 101. The number of homes for sale relative to the number of buyers, has been doing a steady march down in recent months. That means there are fewer homes available for buyers to choose from and when they do find a good one they need to pull the trigger (if they truly want to become a home owner rather than a home shopper or renter). On the flipside, those home owners who want to be home sellers— well, now is a good time to do just that.

One measure of the relative tightness of the market can be found in the amount of cash it takes to buy a home on contract (ie with seller financing). A couple years ago, deals were occasionally put together with as little as $2 or 3,000. Now, you can fuggedabout doing that. Double the number. $5000 is now the entry point for making a good deal work.

If you’d like to learn more about developing a winning strategy geared to today’s market— call me.

“I work harder to make good things happen!!”
-Bob