Pending Home Sales: Real Estate Rebounding

FThe Pending Home Sales Index is a leading indicator for the housing sector, based on pending sales of existing homes. A sale is listed as pending when the contract has been signed but the transaction has not closed, though the sale usually is finalized within one or two months of signing.
The index is based on a large national sample, typically representing about 20 percent of transactions for existing-home sales. In developing the model for the index, it was demonstrated that the level of monthly sales-contract activity parallels the level of closed existing-home sales in the following two months.
An index of 100 is equal to the average level of contract activity during 2001, which was the first year to be examined as well as the first of five consecutive record years for existing-home sales; it coincides with a level that is historically healthy.

Boulder, CO Real Estate Rebound

Boulder Area Markets Continue Rebound


March 2012 single family home sales in Boulder area markets improved significantly from February 2012; 270 compared to 172 respectively, up 57%. When compared to the 212 single family home sales in March 2011 there is a strong 27% increase. Condo and Townhome sales improved in March 2012 over February 2012 by more than 42%, 88 units versus 62. And, when compared to March 2011’s 75 units sold, March 2012 saw a 17% increase in units sold. Go to http://www.baraonline.com/sites/bara/files/statistics/March12stats.pdf to view stats. http://www.baraonline.com/sites/bara/files/statistics/March12PricePoints.pdf to view sales by price point

Tax-Free Income

Some residents of Augusta, Georgia have purchased tickets to the Master's for years but have never attended the famous golf tournament. It's because they include the tickets as a bonus to the people who rent their home during the event.

Each year, owners rent their home for a big premium during the Masters and make tax-free income. Homeowners benefit from a little known provision in the tax code that does not require taxpayers to recognize the income derived from renting their home for less than 15 days per year. See Rental of property also used as home on IRS.gov.

Large sporting events like golf and tennis tournaments, championship games and other high attendance events increase the demand for a temporary rental of a private residence. Obviously, there are challenges with personal belongings and damage but getting a premium rental rate with a substantial deposit and not having to recognize the income could be worth it.

You'll certainly want to discuss this with your tax professional prior to making this decision. You'll probably also want to get some help from an experienced real estate professional.

Great Schools and Home Prices

Insightful article on the connection between great schools (as measured by high test scores) and strong home prices. When working with people who are relocating from out of state, the first requiement is often that the neighborhood schools are top rated. Those same neighborhoods are always the ones with the highest home values. This often explains why an otherwise great area and neighborhood has weaker pricing. Check it out here: http://bit.ly/J96zIH





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Save Money...Be Comfortable

Automatic thermostats can lower your monthly utility costs while conveniently regulating your comfort by adjusting temperatures on your heating and cooling systems. These can be particularly effective in homes with zoned systems where you live in one area during the day but sleep in a different zone.

There are programmable thermostats available at home improvement stores that can make the adjustments for specific times during the day and specific days of the week. They'll allow you to override the setting when needed without tampering with the programming. They'll even remind you to change your filter.

An exciting development is the Wi-Fi enabled thermostat that allows adjustments from any Internet connection such as computer or Smartphone. Imagine how convenient it can be to change your temperature from the car before you get home.

Reasonably priced under $100 for most models, it makes it easy to recapture the cost of the thermostat quickly. Most of the thermostats are designed for do-it-yourselfers; however, you can always have a heating and cooling professional install it for you.

Have You Backed Up Your Home?

Personal computers have been around long enough that everyone has experienced or knows someone who has lost their data due to a hard drive crash, accident or burglary. If they had a backup, the loss was inconvenient but not critical.

Do you have a backup for your personal belongings? Not that you need duplicates of all the items but do you have a journal listing of all the items with a description and their approximate values? That record becomes the backup that supports the claim for your insurance.

If a building sustains a total loss, the insurance company will usually pay the face amount of the policy. When it comes to personal property which might be 40% to 50% of the insured value of the dwelling, the insurance company is going to expect an accounting with receipts or at least, a relatively recent inventory.

The better your inventory, the less likely you'll have difficulty with the claim. Almost everyone has a digital camera that can take stills and probably even videos. The combination of the images as well as a written description will help you replace the belongings and serve as proof to the insurance company.

Once you've made the inventory, store it off site for safe keeping. Online storage in the "cloud" might be the best place to insure you'll always know where it is. Contact me for a free Home Inventory form; it's my way of helping you be a better homeowner.

Latest Market Watch Boulder, County, Boulder, Co Real Estate

Boulder Area Markets Continue Rebound

March 2012 single family home sales in Boulder area markets improved significantly from February 2012; 270 compared to 172 respectively, up 36%. When compared to the 212 single family home sales in March 2011 there is a strong 21% increase. Condo and Townhome sales improved in March 2012 over February 2012 by more than 29%, 88 units versus 62. And, when compared to March 2011’s 75 units sold, March 2012 saw a nearly 15% increase in units sold. Go to http://www.baraonline.com/sites/bara/files/statistics/March12stats.pdf to view stats.

http://www.baraonline.com/sites/bara/files/statistics/March12stats