We are excited as the new tax stimulus bill has some great provisions for the first time home buyers. They have increased the credit a buyer can get, & the buyer’s do not have to pay it back. This could be significant gain to a first time homebuyer. They will not see the actual money until they file their income tax but that is good even if it is not immediate. I wish my kids were in the first time homebuyer category, I would love them to be able to take advantage of this.

Take a good look at the comparison in our blog. Here is a link to see the comparison:  http://www.siouxfallsrealestate.info/agent_files/government_affairs_tax_credit_chart_021308%20(2).pdf

Please pass this good news on to your friends, family & co-workers that there is some good things going on in our market. We would love to explain the details of this to you or your friend that you can introduce us to.

Sioux Falls #1 to Find a Job

Jflajfoi%%&^%*&^KUIOK~!!    If you’re like me that’s about how the information coming out of Washington and Wall Street reads! With all the commotion in those economic hubs and on the campaign trail, many cover their ears and pray that it will all come to a sudden and successful end with no participation (or money) from them. As they say, “not gonna happen”. We are all in for some change, the degree and severity yet to be seen.

It was a chaotic last week for our financial markets in the US and for markets abroad as well. Trust and confidence are words that seem to have fled the scene and the trail after them seems a little cold. But as we see this morning there is some good news with the market up around 400 points. Time will tell.

 As for the real estate market locally here are a few of the latest statistics. Comparing September 2007 to September 2008, closed sales were up for both the city and the four county metro region ; the city was up 2.0% and the metro area was up 3.8%. Market time in the city went from 75 to 80 days on the sold properties. For the metro area it went from 79 to 88 days. Average sales price slipped just a bit. It was down 4.6% in Sioux Falls and down 3.8% in the four county area. Total listing inventory for September was down less than one percent from the same time period in 2006 and 2007. Year to date inventories are off between 5.4% - 6.0% over the last two years. Closed sales in Sioux Falls are down from 2007 by 9.7% so far in 2008.

So what does all this tell you and I? The market has changed for sure and we are feeling some of the effects of the national scene. This will continue for the next 12-18 months probably. We will likely continue to buck the trends on the coasts and other selected “hot” spots. Prices are holding and market time is good. We are seeing a premium on conditioning the house for sale and pricing it well right from the start of marketing. This is always true but is even more critical today. If you are buying, it is a great time to be looking. Rates are still competitive and lenders are competing to find the quality buyers that are in the market.

As always, we look forward to assisting in your real estate needs. Whether you are selling, buying or just interested give us a call or send us a note. We really do want to help! Oh by the way, let us know what you think of our new email newsletter. Hopefully it’s informative and helpful to you and your family. Your comments help us stay relevant to your situation and needs.

Well, it looks like the federal government is going to bail out the mortgage industry giants. We have seen some details but will try to watch, learn and give you the local take on how this is going to locally fall out. With the Fed's now taking strong measures to turn this around, don't be surprised if the market begins heading the other direction again very soon.  

In the short term, rates have gone back up slightly but are still under the 6.0% for the fixed rates.  SDHA had lowered their rates but today have brought them back up to what they have been for quite a while. The first time home-buyer rate for South Dakota is at 5.5%. That is a fantastic rate! 

 Do you know anyone that is considering buying in the long or short term? Now is definitely still the time to buy!!

 Harlan and Mark

Ameri/Star Real Estate

With all the news out of Wall Street surrounding Merrill Lynch, Lehman Brothers and AIG, we may get a little break from all the comments regarding the mortgage industry. However, we are hearing that part of the breakdown in these companies has to do with excessive investment in mortgage backed securities that contain the more speculative adjustable, sub-prime type mortgages. It’s not an entirely personal feeling but one expressed with some regularity over the weekend that the fear and greed that has a home on Wall Street is being pushed into the light of day on a wider scale. These mortgages were marketed as a viable alternative for getting marginal buyers into otherwise inaccessible houses. That was not the original intent for the ARMs and now this misdirection is coming home to roost! With a market that was expanding as much as ours was, it worked for awhile and made investors good money. But with the slowdown in appreciation, the rate adjustments are putting some significant number of homeowners into difficult situations and the resulting breakdown in a market that could no longer sustain the unreasonable expectations for growth is the result. We are starting to hear that the bottom of the market is beginning to be seen however.

Sioux Falls real estate continues to be in a viable, though a bit slower market than sellers would probably like. Values are mostly steady and market time is up some from this time last year.

The good news; there is still plenty of opportunity for all of you who are considering buying or selling. We welcome your inquiries regarding your specific real estate questions.  Call or email, we’d love to see how we can help!

We have all been wondering what form the housing bill (H.R. 3221) would take. With no shortage of pages to read in the bill, deciphering the full effects will take time. We thought that a synopsis of some of the main points would be beneficial to our clients and friends however. As more information becomes available, we will be here with those items for you to digest! Let us know what you think….. Thanks for stopping by!

 http://www.realtor.org/GAPublic.nsf/files/chart_homebuyer_tax_credit_.pdf/$FILE/chart_homebuyer_tax_credit_.pdf

http://www.realtor.org/gapublic.nsf/files/hbtaxcreditqa2008.pdf/$FILE/hbtaxcreditqa2008.pdf

Enjoy the beautiful day!! We continue to run between rain drops but the coming weeks are looking terrific so get busy with summer!

The one thing that seems to be a constant in the market today, as always, is that if you are trying to sell your home, you will have to do everything just right.  You will need to price your home aggressively. (We can help you with that!). You might want to have your home staged and have it looking better than your  competitiors. Professional promotion is a must also.  If you can do this, you will have a fair chance of selling it.  If not, you may wait a while for a buyer to appear for your house. Our current market is not for those who are just testing the water.  Selling your home takes a full commitment to all of the items mentioned.

We're committed and if you are too, call us to see how we can help you accomplish your Real Estate Goals!

 Have an Awesome Week!!

What a Beautiful Morning! It is so wonderful to see the Sun Shining!! We look forward to a great spring. 

 Wow, Sioux Falls makes the national news again! We are including the link to CNN Money Web site where they named Sioux Falls as one of the 100 best places to live & launch a new business. Sioux Falls was ranked as number 45 on the list. It costs about 45 percent less to open a business here than in New York. Here is the link http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2008/fsb/0803/gallery.best_places_to_launch.fsb/45.html

Be proud! We live in a great Place.

The real estate market is looking somewhat better every day. The interest rates have fluctuated in the past week but they are still below 6% for the 30 year, 5.125% to 5.25% for the 15 year loans. Those rates are fantastic! Then you put that together with a good supply of homes on the market, it is not going to be a better time to buy later. The time is NOW! It is also a good time to sell. I have always had good sales in April & this year is starting out the same way!

Have a Great Week!

Welcome to South Dakota reality.  Amazing we think spring is here and we get another snow storm.  Oh, well we know it won't last very long with the warm temperatures we have coming.

South Dakota and Sioux Falls made some positive news again.  This article talks about South Dakota leading the US in growth of income.  I like the part of the article farther down where it talks about more jobs in Sioux Falls.  Take a look here in the link: http://www.argusleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080330/NEWS/803300314/1001/news

We are so blessed to be living in Sioux Falls, SD.

Have a Great Week!!!

Sincerely,
Harlan & Mark

AND HERE'S YOUR MONDAY MORNING COFFEE!!

Do you know any Veterans? Well more appropriately, do you know any Veterans that are totally disabled because of a service related condition? If you do, this bit of information may be for you.

South Dakota has enacted the Property Tax Reduction for Disabled Veterans program. The program is designed to reduce the property tax that a qualifying veteran pays. The first $100,000 of the home valuation is not considered when calculating the real estate tax bill which will be a tremendous benefit for those  that have served so honorably and paid the price of losing the ability to live as they once did. As we have noted, not everyone will qualify but here is link so you can check to see if you or someone you know will be able to use this partial exemption go to the following link and read the information available: http://www.state.sd.us/drr2/propspectax/property/home.htm or 1-800-829-9188.

http://www.state.sd.us/drr2/propspectax/property/relief.htm.  Here is another link for some available tax relief programs for various other persons. It may be worth your doing a little checking to see if any could be used by you or someone you know. Thanks for reading!

Thanks for Your Service!!!