March 15th, 2010
Energy Efficient Windows & Increasing The Value Of Your Home
A very good friend of mine emailed me while I was trying to decide of a topic for my blog entry.
His question to me was: Does putting in new energy efficient windows help increase the value of a home? Can you send me some ideas that will increase the value of my home please?
The new energy efficient windows… The payback period for selecting energy-efficient units ranges from two years to ten years. When you choose new windows, initial cost is often the first consideration. Which window within the favored style costs the least? Cost really depends on durability and on the energy dollars pumped through the windows each year. Don’t forget, you can try sealing any leaks to prevent air coming into/out of the home, which will always help.
In general, updating your kitchen and bathrooms are always smart investments and offer the best home improvement value. Avoid making expensive improvements that go beyond what is typically found in your neighborhood. You don’t want own the most expensive home on your block when it’s time to sell your home.
The last piece of advice is to avoid getting too fancy. Everyone’s tastes are different, so choose colors and materials that appeal to the majority. This will make a quicker and easier sell.
Thank you Barry for the great topic!
February 23rd, 2010
North End Trends – What a GREAT place to live!!!
Boise’s “North End” is one of this city’s most desirable locations to live. With immediate access to the vast foothills trail system, just blocks from Boise’s downtown metropolitan corridor, host of organic shopping hot-spot the “Co-Op” and a neighborhood filled with historical architecture and eclectic character, who wouldn’t want to live here. I am a resident of the North End and I happily take advantage of our unique neighborhood on a daily basis. As a real estate professional, I am fortunate that my business so often includes transactions within the neighborhood that I reside. I have included below a graph which exhibits the last 15 months of sales activity in the North End. This graph demonstrates relatively stable indicators of listed and sold properties.
It was this time last year(January/February 2009) that sales showed a tendency to rise, as did inventory. The notable difference to me, is that January of 2010 reflects approximately 20% fewer homes on the market and nearly double the amount of Pending sales. It is this trend which best demonstrates stability, as inventory decreases and sales increase. If you would like more information about statistics in the North End or the greater Boise area, please contact me with your inquiry…I will be happy to provide more detailed information.
February 17th, 2010
How Is The Treasure Valley Real Estate Market?
Over the past 15 months the number of homes for sale has decreased, interest rates are at 20 year lows, and demand from buyers has increased. This is what we like to see! Close to 800 homes a month were selling in Ada and Canyon Counties through the summer and into the fall (that’s good!). Sales did seem to fall off a cliff in December and January, but there are two good reasons - the normal seasonal slowdown and the extension of the first time home buyer tax credit.
We should continue to see solid recovery into 2010. A lot of that recovery will depend on local job creation and consumer confidence. Below are the area 2009 sold homes stats by city.
Source: Intermountain Multiple Listing Service
January 8th, 2010
Market Report For January 2010
Information from Idaho Data Providers
Idaho Data Providers Market Report - January 2010
· Complete Foreclosure Numbers for 2009
· 2010 Starting With A Record Level of Distressed Properties
· Real Estate Market Forecast for 20102010 Market Forecast
Nationally, although the government stimulus payments for buyers and record low interest rates have recently given the appearance that the housing market has reached the bottom and is recovering, this is not the case. The trifecta of: (1) continued high unemployment; (2) nearly 30% of all borrowers upside down on their mortgages and; (3) an increasing serious default rate (60+ days delinquent) on loans not yet in foreclosure that is triple the number of loans already in foreclosure (9% versus 3%) means a continued, constant and record stream of distressed properties entering the foreclosure pipeline and keeping inventory levels abnormally high in 2010
Government efforts to stem the foreclosure tide through its loan modification program (HAMP), have failed miserably and there are no other real solutions on the drawing board to stop or prevent foreclosures. The U.S. Treasury Department’s new short sale program (HAFA) will still result in the same number of distressed properties entering the market as just completing the foreclosures to begin with would have. In fact, it may even speed up the rate that new distressed properties reach the market as the new short sales under the HAFA program will come on the market much sooner than if the properties would have had to complete the foreclosure process.
Locally, a continued and increasing flow of distressed properties entering the local real estate market will keep inventory levels very high and further depress market prices during 2010 in the Treasure Valley. For the first time ever active distressed listings have exceeded 4,000 properties. We are entering 2010 with the highest level of distressed properties ever recorded for this area.
Idaho Data Providers not only tracks new foreclosures but also postponements of foreclosure auctions and the trend we are seeing from lenders has been disturbing. Over the last year, the lenders have been repeatedly postponing a vast majority of their scheduled foreclosure auctions.
In past years 50 scheduled foreclosure auctions on any given day locally was considered a heavy day. We are now seeing over 200 properties on the daily auction schedule more and more frequently with only a small percentage of properties actually going to sale. This has resulted in a hidden backlog of thousands of foreclosures with pending auction dates. If the lenders start allowing these properties to go to auction there could be a potential flood of new REO properties hitting the market.
What this all means is that you should brace yourself for a double dip in the housing market in 2010. Look for local prices to still fall another 7% to 10%. A bottom to the housing market and the beginning of a real recovery is unfortunately still at least one year away.
Final Foreclosure Numbers for 2009
Ada & Canyon County Notice of Default Statistics
Ada County Defaults Remain Unchanged in December
December 2009 foreclosure rates dropped slightly from that of November by falling 9% to end the year with another 630 new foreclosure starts for Ada and Canyon Counties. Overall, during 2009 there were an incredible 8,639 new foreclosures filed in Ada and Canyon counties. Compared to 2008 when what was then a record shattering 5,202 new foreclosures were filed, this is an astounding 66% year over year increase to follow up the unfathomable 216% increase in 2008 over 2007. The breakdown of the numbers between the counties is set forth below.
Foreclosure Rates Down 22% in Canyon County for December!
In December 2009 new foreclosure defaults filed totaled 214 which is an 22% drop from November. In total during 2009 a total of 3,304 new foreclosure starts were filed in Canyon County. This is a 240% increase from 2007 when only 969 notices of default were filed and a 56% increase over 2008 when 2,121 defaults were filed.
TheCalm Before the Storm! Short Sales Decline By 1.9%
We very well may be seeing the ‘calm before the storm’ as far as short sale numbers are concerned! In December there were 2,667 short sales listed on the market. This number is consistent with the number we have seen for the past six months. The coming flood of new short sales will primarily be caused by the new US Treasury Department short sale program (HAFA). This program will cause the current number of short sales to skyrocket in mid to late 2010 as all potential foreclosures must now be evaluated for a possible short sale before a foreclosure can be started on the property.
New REO Listings Up Sharply by 7.7%
After remaining virtually unchanged in November, December REOs are up sharply by 7.7% with 1,342 REOs currently listed. As lenders start shedding properties from their all time record levels of REO inventory we can expect the number of REO listings on the market to gradually increase during 2010.
Total Distressed Listings Exceed 4,000 for the First Time!
We are entering 2010 with the highest level of distressed properties on the market ever recorded for this area. The total number of distressed listings at the end of December 2009 reached 4,009. This number is an increase of 38% in only the 11 months that Idaho Data Providers has been tracking this number.
December 31st, 2009
Happy New Year!
All of us at Windermere RE Capital Group are excited for 2010! We would like to thank our clients, families, colleagues, and friends for your continued support in 2009 and look forward to working with all of you again in 2010!
December 4th, 2009
Thanks for attending our New Office Open House!
All of us here at Windermere Real Estate Capital Group would like to extend a sincere thank you to all of you who attended our open house last night! The event was great fun, with good food and drinks, festive atmosphere, and great conversations. We are very excited about our new space and happy to share it with all of you!
November 25th, 2009
OPEN HOUSE: Visit Our New Location!
November 6th, 2009
We Are On The Move!
Windermere Real Estate Capital Group, LLC has officially moved to its new location at 251 E. Front Street! We are located in the same building as George’s Cycles on the 4th Floor. We look forward to starting 2010 in our new working environment and welcome all our clients and real estate agents to stop by and visit us in our new space.
If you would like a personal tour of our new office, please call Shelley at 381-8000.
October 7th, 2009
A Website That Won’t Try To “Capture” You
This is my first real estate blog. It is inspired by a recent email I received that congratulated me on my great web site. The thesis of the email was that he liked the fact that he could cruise through my site and the MLS listings without being required to give his name, rank and serial number. I like that too. My first job was as a telemarketer, my dad didn’t believe woman should work outside of the home ( the best of the male chauvinists, a wonderful man of his time) so when I wanted to earn more money than he would give me in allowance I had limited choices. Telemarketing was allowed because I didn’t work in a place that served alcohol or served food. At 16 that left babysitting and telemarketing. I hated that job, it was intrusive and required that I call people during their dinner hour and invade their privacy. I don’t respond well to that myself, and I do not stay on websites that try to “capture” me. If you do, you will find yourself inundated with countless emails that offer you “free” dinners etc in an effort to hook you in.
Advertising has changed, and consumers are so much harder to reach. People can Tivo through commercials, tape the shows and fast forward through commercials, turn off the radio, stand by the trash can when they go through their mail, and throw the direct mail directly into the recycle bin. Now in movies you might notice that the actors are drinking name brand sodas and eating from boxes of name brand crackers. The idea is you can’t watch the movie and escape the subliminal messages. I ramble, and the mind salad is getting too big. Here’s the point, at Windermere you can go to the websites as often as you want and look through the live listings, updated every hour and no one will bug you or contact you unless you want them to. Sounds good? It is. It’s my kind of website. Visit as often as you want. Call me when you are ready for help. It’s a great time to buy, interest rates are low, inventory is high, and prices are low. It is the classic best time to buy to those who have the desire and means. My website you ask? www.BarbBurnell.MyWindermere.com
Thanks for asking,
Barb
October 5th, 2009
Surprise Valley Sensation Maples
Fall is in the air in Boise and it is fabulous! Being born and raised in Les Bois I’ve grown up loving the autumn changes that fill the air each year! From the heat of the Indian summer to the rainy days & surprise of snow top mountains, these are the signs of fall that surround us. The entrance to our neighborhood in Surprise Valley is lined with the most beautiful trees, Sensation Maples, and each day they change a different color when fall hits, ultimately ending with the most brilliant red leaves I’ve ever seen. It is such a wonderful greeting to come home to each day.
Boise also boasts many of the best public celebrations in the fall, such as, Art in the Park, the Hyde Park street fair, and the Women’s Celebration run. I love all of the outdoor activities and festival that Boise has to offer, along with the changing seasons, chill in the air and smell of BSU football tailgating.
These are the few reasons I love the seasons in Boise, Idaho…the best place on earth! Now this is Living!