March Newsletter

Noah’s February newsletter

Home sales rose 17.1 percent across the nation in December 2009 compared to the same month in 2008, according to the REAL Trends House Market Report. This gain came despite the loss of urgency from first-time homebuyers since the related tax credit was set to expire through April 2010.  More surprising is that the average price of homes sold rose .6 percent – the first gain in over four years.

Excerpt from:  www.realtrends.com,  Volume XXIV, Number 1    January 2010

The Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternative Program or HAFA Program has the following guidelines for short sales that are not guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.

• Principle residence of the borrower.
• The mortgage loan was originated prior to January 1, 2009 and it is the first lien mortgage.
• The loan is delinquent OR future default is forseeable.
• The present principle balance is $729,750 or less.
• The borrower’s monthly mortgage payment is more than 31 percent of his gross income.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are expected to release a similar set of guidelines.

Information taken from REALTOR Magazine, February 2010.

I love sharing this information with my clients. This is a snapshot of our current market conditions in Western North Carolina based on the data from the Western North Carolina MLS. I focus mainly on Henderson, Buncombe, and Transylvania Counties. If you would like information about other surrounding counties, let me know and I will be glad to provide.

Henderson County
61 – Total Number of Units Closed
Here is the breakdown:
51 – Single Family Residence
7 – Condos
3– Townhomes
0– Pre-Construction

For Single Family Residences in Henderson County
The average list price for January in Henderson Co. was $222,000
The average sales price for January in Henderson Co. was $244,548 [...] more