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Buyers- Be Like a Boy Scout

MIBOR just released sales numbers for the month of January, and by all measures the trends of recent months are continuing in full force. Bottom line, sales are up and inventory is not keeping pace with demand. The takeaway is for buyers to be successful in their quest for a new home, they’d best be like a Boy Scout, (ie. “Be prepared”).

Closed sales are up 4% over last January’s numbers, while new inventory only increased 1%. That combination is playing the leading role in giving home prices a boost. They’re up 5% over a year ago, topping $143,700.

At month’s end there were 8,668 homes listed for sale in central Indiana; which is 15% less than a year ago this time. Btw, the current inventory is lower than anything I’ve seen. Ever. Anywhere.

There’s not much you or I can do about any of that, except to Be Prepared ourselves. To learn how to best position yourself to take advantage of opportunities in this market, don’t be shy— call me!

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

Fewer Foreclosures

The year end report for the central Indiana market is just out, and the number of foreclosures has continued to decline. They comprised just 7% of all closed sales in 2016, and inventory fell 38% year-over-year; making the year end foreclosure inventory the smallest this century.

Somewhat surprisingly, the median average sale price dropped 4% to $65,000. One would’ve thought that with declining inventory the average price would have risen— especially since the average price of all other houses rose double digits.

If you’d like more info on the foreclosure market or on how might affect you— call me. I work harder to make good things happen!

Washington Continues to Aid 1%ers

Fannie Mae, originally developed to assist home buyers purchase houses for their primary residence, (for the first time ever) recently issued guarantees for mortgages made by the nation’s largest corporate owner of single-family homes. Invitation Homes, the 2012 buy-to-rent creature of private equity firm Blackstone, and now owner of 48,431 single family homes (courtesy of the Fed’s cheap money spigot) obtained $1 billions in government guarantees for mortgage backed securities. (That’s a billion dollars that we the taxpayers are now on the hook for.)

So let’s recap the story. Just prior to the financial crisis, people were hoodwinked into taking out risky mortgages on over-priced houses by major banks and mortgage companies. The Fed supplied cheap money and overlooked glaring deficiencies in their business practices which enabled the mega banks to make mortgages to anyone who could fog a mirror. When this ponzi scheme blew up, the Fed then enabled the mega banks to walk away with nary a slap on the wrist and literally gave them the funds to rebuild their balance sheets. On the other side of the equation, millions of lowly home buyers lost their homes and were cast to the curb with foreclosure and bankruptcy. If that wasn’t enough, the Fed then coughed up even more cheap money so that firms like Invitation could buy tens of thousands of recently foreclosed homes and turn them into rentals. (Those were houses that you nor I could not buy and fix up ourselves.) Now the plot thickens and when the next downturn in the economy hits, you can rest assured that they’ll be another bailout for the banks and hedge funds— and that the common man will take the brunt of the storm.

Trump promised to drain the swamp. Now, if only he would.

If you’d like a guide through these mine fields, you know who to call. I work harder to make good things happen!