The Houses By Harlan Team's Blog

Tax Credit in Sioux Falls Real Estate

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 02:00:00 GMT

KELOLAND TV interviewed me about the tax credit for move-up buyers and the first-time home buyers tax credit.

To read the entire article, click here.

Instructions for Tax Credit

Mon, 15 Feb 2010 02:00:00 GMT

For information on the First Time Homebuyer Credit and Repayment of the Credit

Click here: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i5405.pdf

Information About Homebuyer Credit

Wed, 06 Jan 2010 02:00:00 GMT

Ten important facts about the extended first-time Homebuyer Credit

First-Time Homebuyer Credit Expanded and Extended

Homebuyer Credit Extended to April 30, 2010. Some Current Homeowners now also qualify.

Tips For Saving Energy At Home

Mon, 04 Jan 2010 02:00:00 GMT

We have a couple items on Energy Efficiency that we would like to share with you. They come from the US Department of Energy. The first one is a 36 page booklet called Energy Savers Booklet. It’s table of contents shows articles on Saving Energy & Money, Your Home’s Energy Use, Insulation and Sealing Air Leak, Heating & Cooling, Water Heating, Windows, Lighting, Appliances, Home office & Home Electronics, Driving and Car Maintenance, & Renewable Energy. This booklet shows you how easy it is to reduce your energy use at home and on the road. The easy, practical solutions for saving energy include tips you can use today throughout your home-from the roof, walls, and insulation that enclose it to the appliances & lights inside.

The second free handout we can share with you is a Home Buyer’s Energy Efficient Checklist. This is a 2 page checklist to give you ideas of what to check for while looking at houses. We would gladly email either of these to anyone that asks for it. If you want a printed copy we will mail that to you as an alternative to sending this through your email.

Sioux Falls Ranked 12th Best Performing Small City

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 02:00:00 GMT

We have continued great news! Sioux Falls was ranked #12 Best Performing Small Cities in Milken Institute annual ranking. Sioux Falls moved up from the #23 position from 2008. Cities are ranked on their ability to create & sustain jobs. This shows that our city is doing well economically especially compared to the rest of the cities. This is an additional compliment to our housing market & also our industry here. Here is a link to the article on the web http://tinyurl.com/siouxfallsranks12th The other 2 Midwestern that are in the report are Bismark, ND (#8) & Fargo ND (#10). We are definitely living in a great place.

Homebuyers Tax Credit Changes

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 02:00:00 GMT

Homebuyer Tax Credit Questions

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 02:00:00 GMT

Sioux Falls Fifth In Job Outlook

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 02:00:00 GMT

Survey shows employers will hire more in fourth quarter

Brenda Wade Schmidt

bschmidt@argusleader.com

By some accounts, Sioux Falls is poised to see job growth in the fourth quarter of 2009.

Retail stores are hiring for the holiday season, some employers are more optimistic, and a recent survey shows that the Sioux Falls area ranks fifth in the nation for its employment outlook for the last three months of the year.

A Manpower Employment Outlook Survey shows area employers are expecting to hire at a steady pace during the fourth quarter. About 15 percent of local companies interviewed plan to hire more employees, while 7 percent expect to reduce their payrolls, according to the survey.

That's lower than third quarter expectations in which 19 percent of companies planned to increase staff and 9 percent planned cuts, said Manpower spokesman Rob Meyer of Sioux Falls.

Nationally, 12 percent of employers are expected to increase their staffs and 14 percent plan reductions, the survey of 28,000 businesses showed.

Sioux Falls typically has ranked high in the survey, Meyer said. He has seen employment picking up, too, with companies needing both temporary and full-time workers. One client needs a large number of people through December to finish an order but isn't yet hiring permanently, he said.

"They're just a little uncertain yet," he said. But Meyer said the outlook is good. "A lot of people have been not buying things for so long. Now, there's kind of a surge."

Jeff Taylor, senior operations manager at Esurance, said the company is working on hiring 20 or more employees and is having a career fair today.

"Our business is starting to pick up a little bit, and we are in the process of growing our client base," he said. The customer service employees are important so the company can take care of those clients' needs, he said.

Retail hiring probably will be as strong as last year, too, based on projections at The Empire Mall. Job postings on the mall's Web site have picked up, said Chrissy Spoo, marketing manager. "It hasn't been a tremendous increase, but we have seen a gradual uptick in the number of positions listed."

The mall will have a job fair next week in which stores will look for seasonal help. "The indication we've gotten from our department stores specifically is they're planning on hiring just as many workers this year as last year," Spoo said. "They're not planning for a down season. They're planning to staff fully."

Sioux Falls' diverse economy helps when it comes to maintaining jobs.

"We have more employment here than they do in other parts of the country. So if you have more employment you hope that consumer spending will continue to be good," said Mary Medema, director of work force development for the Sioux Falls Development Foundation.

Manufacturing and commercial construction will take longer than other industries to catch up again, she said. "I'm optimistic, and I think that we continue to have a real meaningful payoff from the diversity that does exist in our market," Medema said.

Housing Market See Increase

Wed, 19 Aug 2009 02:00:00 GMT

Seen on Keloland:

Money Matters: Housing Market Sees Increase

http://www.keloland.com/videoarchive/index.cfm?VideoFile=081809mm

We keep hearing the housing market is on the rebound and there are now some numbers to prove it. Home sales in 14 states saw double digit gains in July, including South Dakota, where sales were up nearly 20 percent compared to a year ago.

The last time we checked in on the Sioux Falls housing market in June, home sales were down 17 percent. But what a difference a month can make.

"If you look at this year's July versus last year's July, at least a 20 percent increase and last year was a pretty good year for us, our fifth or sixth best year on record. So to have that kind of swing from June to July is a real good indicator we've got some positive things happening," Barton Hacker of the Realtor Association of the Sioux Empire said.

Hacker credits the $8,000 dollar first-time homebuyers tax incentive for making a big difference. But he also says more expensive homes are also starting to sell and that's why home prices are down only about 2 percent, compared to 5 percent earlier this year.

"We went for a while, everyone was going after homes $120,000 to $130,000 or less. Now what you're seeing happening is the average buyer looking at your $150,000 to $160,000 home, which is increasing our medium and average price for the year," Hacker said.

There are still more homes on the market and they're staying on longer, about 100 days instead of about 90. But Hacker thinks that gap could close in the next few months.

"But we are anticipating a good fall mostly because of people coming out at the last minute to take advantage of this tax credit," said Hacker.

Closing can take up to a month, so first-time homebuyers looking to take advantage of that tax credit really need to do so by October. The deadline to close is November 30.

Angela Kennecke
© 2009 KELOLAND TV. All Rights Reserved.

Tax Friendly City, Sioux Falls #7

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 02:00:00 GMT

Sioux Falls made into some national headlines again. We were listed as # 7 in the top 10 of tax friendly cities.

http://tinyurl.com/nuk7vb

Check it out for yourself. Any publicity we get nationally is pretty good.

On the local level sales continue pretty strong in the price ranges up to about $300,000 We are happy with what is happening with our listings & buyers are finding good homes to purchase. Interest rates have declined a little in the last couple weeks again. So now is a very good time to buy & move up in your housing!

Housing Market

Mon, 18 May 2009 02:00:00 GMT

Tough Times Push Buyers Toward Modest Homes

Homebuyers looking for bargains and others buying up foreclosed properties are driving down the median sale price of Sioux Falls-area homes.

But most homes still are holding value, those in the industry say.

A national report released earlier this week said the median sale price of existing single-family homes in the metro area fell almost 30 percent in the first quarter of the year, compared to a year ago. The median price - the single sale that ranks in the middle of all existing sales - was $95,500, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Local Realtors say that drop is out of line with the numbers they have tracked locally.

Instead, the median sales price for March has fallen 7.4 percent in the Sioux Falls metro area, to $132,000, said Barton Hacker, chief executive officer of the Realtor Association of the Sioux Empire. The organization tracks local statistics for Realtors.

"Our market is not 30 percent off in price," Hacker said.

While the national and local organizations both defend their numbers, they also agree that homebuyers are looking for bargains and, because of government and other incentives, many first-time homebuyers are able to buy less expensive houses. In addition, several foreclosed properties, which vary in price but often include low-priced homes, also have been selling.

All of those things push the median sale price down. The median is not affected by one or two very high- or low-priced sales as dramatically as the average home price.

The drop in the price of homes that have been selling is not reflective of the value in the market, said Walter Molony, spokesman for the national association. The agency is finding the same kind of drop nationwide, he said.

Half of all houses selling nationally are called "distressed," often meaning foreclosed homes, Molony said. In addition, half of all houses sold are going to first-time homebuyers who buy at the low end of the price range.

"If you have got half of the homes being sold at deep discount, you see how that can affect the price," he said.

Sioux Falls Realtors see lower-priced homes selling more often than higher-priced homes, as well.

"Buyer preferences have gone to less expensive homes," Hacker said.

"We've got consumers going into houses and lowballing offers," he said. "People have this unrealistic expectation of what's going on in the marketplace."

Sellers still are getting about 92 percent of their asking price, compared to previously getting about 96 percent, said Hacker, citing local real estate data.

Realtor Rick Sawvell with Hegg Realtors said that after 20 years handling foreclosed properties, he can tell that the market is up.

"From my perspective, my inventory has doubled compared to what it used to be two years ago," he said.

While he used to have 15 to 25 homes in the process of being foreclosed and sold, at the beginning of this year, he had as many as 60.

Because of a moratorium on foreclosures, that business has slowed some recently, he said.

"The banks are still trying to work out arrangements with previous owners," Sawvell said.

Realtor Sheila Hoff with Lloyd Cos. said sales have been slow, and high-end home sales have slowed dramatically.

Shoppers want to negotiate for a home these days, and they often walk away if a seller doesn't negotiate, she said.

"They want to feel like they're getting a bargain."

Other Realtors see the same trends. Harlan TenNapel with AmeriStar Real Estate said sales numbers show that fewer homes overall are selling, and many homes are staying on the market longer.

In the $300,000-and-above price category, sales are hurting, he said.

When it comes to the supply of homes on the market, homes priced up to $100,000 are shrinking in supply, according to numbers TenNapel tracks. Three months ago, data showed there was an eight-month supply of those homes. Now, it is down to a 5.8-month supply.

The reverse is true for higher-priced homes. The supply for homes in the $450,000 category is 81.2 months, compared to 30 months three months ago.

Some of that shift comes from first-time homebuyer interest.

Incentives from taxes to offerings from Lutheran Social Services are exciting for first-time buyers, said Bill Zortman with Key Real Estate. The $140,000 to $165,000 price category is competitive, he said.

"We're starting to see money that is being generated to try to get people in the door," he said. "People are back in the market. They're starting to see there are houses there."

But people are not finalizing sales as quickly as they once did, he said. "What we are finding is your professionals have got to be really hands on," he said.

SD Ranked #2 for Long Term Care

Wed, 13 May 2009 02:00:00 GMT

I found some more good news about our great state. It seems that South Dakota is ranked #2 in the country in long term care.

Here is a link to a study of where the best choice & most affordable long term care is at in the United States.

http://tiny.cc/x6rZr

Here we have just another reason to be proud of our Great Faces, Great Places, South Dakota.

What recession? Places like Sioux Falls, S.D., Prove Resilient

Wed, 15 Apr 2009 02:00:00 GMT

One positive sign in Sioux Falls, S.D., in November was construction work on the main library branch.

States in the country's midsection have largely avoided the current economic misery. Some businesses are even expanding.

By Nicholas Riccardi
April 11, 2009

Reporting from Sioux Falls, S.D. -- Mayor Dave Munson drove past acres of chopped-up prairie and pointed matter-of-factly at signs of economic health that are hard to come by in most of the country.

"This is going to be a very strong retail center," he said, waving at one graded lot where a Target store is to be built. He gestured at the other side of the road. "There's another development."

A few years ago, many cities were pocked with freshly overturned dirt soon to be retail or residential developments. The most severe recession in 70 years has changed that in most places, but not in this community of 150,000 and others like it in the midsection of the country.

One chunk of the nation has avoided much of the current economic misery: the region from North Dakota to Texas, most of it sparsely populated. This area includes five of the six states that analysts at Economy.com have classified as not yet in recession. And other states in the Rocky Mountain West -- from New Mexico to Idaho -- are facing relatively mild downturns.

States like South Dakota rarely figure in the national economic discussion, which focuses on population and business centers on the coasts or in the Rust Belt and Southwest.

But the nation may end up looking a little more like Sioux Falls. Home prices inched up 2% last year, but didn't increase more than 5% a year during the preceding housing boom. There is a mall and a couple of shopping centers, but a lower density of stores than in most metropolitan areas.

The city has an unemployment rate of 4.8% -- up nearly 2% in the last three months, but still less than half that of Los Angeles -- with jobs in service fields such as healthcare and call centers rather than manufacturing. Home-building is healthier than elsewhere; permits for new single-family homes are half of what they were here at their 2003 peak, but nationwide have fallen by two-thirds from their peak.

Residents know they have a modest lifestyle, but feel that brings security. "It's a slower pace, so you don't have much money to play with," said Rod Hersrud, 49, pest-control worker.

South Dakota and other states that have avoided recession -- North Dakota, Oklahoma, Texas and Wyoming -- have been protected partly because of lingering effects of the commodities boom, be it in natural gas or corn. Energy and crop prices have plunged, but they are still high enough to provide some shelter.

But, perhaps more significantly, analysts say, most of the high plains and Rocky Mountain West was left out of the real estate boom. The median home price in Sioux Falls in the fourth quarter of 2008 was $177,200, up only 38% since 2000. Home prices in much of California doubled or tripled in that time.

"These are areas where you did not have a significant buildup in population and income," said Chris Connell, who tracks Western states for Economy .com. "You did not have the pressure of inflating real estate prices."

For decades, Sioux Falls was a modest agricultural outpost, a place for farmers to pick up new equipment or have a fancy dinner. Its main employer was a hog-butchering plant. But in the early '80s, Citibank and other financial companies began to open branch offices here to escape New York usury laws that hampered their efforts to expand into the credit card market.

"People were very proud," Munson recalled. "It lifted the whole being of Sioux Falls to say we can get a corporation like Citi to come here."

Now Wells Fargo, HSBC and other banks have joined Citibank in plunking down call centers and back-office functions in office parks north of downtown. Despite the pummeling the financial sector has taken, the banks have only made limited cuts in Sioux Falls because it is so much cheaper to operate here. Citibank, for example, has slashed 53,000 jobs around the world but only 122 here.

Nowadays the top employer is neither the banks nor agriculture, but healthcare, a sector that has been fairly resistant to the downturn. The city is home to two large and growing health systems -- Sanford Health and Avera McKennan -- that employ 13,500 people.

Helped by a $400-million donation from a local credit card magnate, Sanford has increased its staff by 1,200 since 2007. It just finished a new children's hospital shaped like a castle and plans to break ground on a 185-acre medical research park.

Ruth Krystopolski, Sanford's vice president of growth and development, said she had noticed that it has become easier to persuade medical specialists to relocate.

"The higher-end people are looking at Sanford and Sioux Falls as opportunities they may not have looked at when the organizations they were with were flush with capital," she said.

Business leaders say that old-fashioned heartland values have kept the city financially safe. "We don't do bubbles," said David Link, a Sanford executive vice president. "People have a very conservative attitude about paying as we go."

Mike Keller, dean of the business school at the University of South Dakota in Vermillion, said the blessing of slow growth in home prices is that it never tempted residents with home-equity loans and adjustable-rate mortgages.

Sioux Falls on Best Small Places for Business and Careers

Tue, 31 Mar 2009 02:00:00 GMT

Sioux Falls SD On Best Small Places For Business And Careers
Sioux Falls SD ranks 1 on Best Small Places For Business And Careers 2009

http://www.forbes.com/lists/2009/5/bizplaces09_Sioux-Falls-SD_2405.html?partner=email

Tax Credit Chart

Mon, 23 Feb 2009 02:00:00 GMT

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 is #1!!

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 02:00:00 GMT

Sioux Falls #1 to Find a Job

Job seekers with no ties to any particular location often seek jobs in big cities like New York, Chicago, Los Angeles or San Francisco. But are these the places where they're most likely to find a job?

Not according to the most recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Job seekers are better off looking in such cities as Sioux Falls, S.D., Idaho Falls, Idaho, and Rapid City, S.D. All of these cities registered some of the lowest unemployment rates in September 2008.

Low unemployment rates seem harder to come by in today's economy. Unemployment rates were higher in 349 of the 369 U.S. metropolitan areas surveyed, which means 92 percent of cities have seen an increase in their unemployment rates. Only 25 areas reported lower rates, while six areas had no change. The national unemployment rate in September, 6 percent, was up 1.5 percent from 4.5 in September 2007.

Ten cities recorded jobless rates of at least 10 percent and nine areas registered rates below 3 percent. Eighty-four metropolitan areas posted unemployment rates of at least 7 percent, up from only 17 areas the year before. Only 46 cities had jobless rates below 4 percent, down from 133 areas at the same time last year. In total, Among the 310 metropolitan areas for which nonfarm payroll data were available in September 2008, 140 areas reported over-the-year employment gains, 164 reported losses, and 6 had no change.

*Based on preliminary September numbers accessed October 31, 2008.

Rachel Zupek is a writer and blogger for CareerBuilder.com. She researches and writes about job search strategy, career management, hiring trends and workplace issues

Local Market Trends

Tue, 14 Oct 2008 02:00:00 GMT

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.

Local Rates

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 02:00:00 GMT

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

Good Monday Afternoon

Thu, 18 Sep 2008 02:00:00 GMT

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!

First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 08:52:00 GMT

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