Oklahoma City Condo-Townhouse November 2010 Real Estate Market Update

Oklahoma City Condo-Townhouse November 2010 Real Estate Market Update

	Current	Monthly Change
Active Listings	175	-15
Under Contract	37	+2
Sold (October)	13	-9

• High list price: $635,000


• Low list price: $26,900


• Average list price: $131,695


• Median list price: $94,994

• High sales price/ft: $117.28


• Low sales price/ft: $33.75


• Average price/ft: $67.20


• Median price/ft: $65.18

• Average days-on-market: 72


• Median days-on-market: 47

Oklahoma City Condos For Sale

Oklahoma Condos For Sale – Recent Price Reductions

Oklahoma City Condos For Sale – New Listings

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Originally posted at Oklahoma City Real Estate Blog

Submitted by OKCHomeSeller's Posterous via email from http://okchomeseller.posterous.com/oklahoma-city-condo-townhouse-november-2010-r

New Home Sales Slip In October

After posting a strong September, the number of newly-built homes sold nationwide slipped in October.

Total units sold on an annual basis dropped by 25,000 from September; supplies of new homes climbed 0.7 months. Home supply is back to its rolling, 6-month average of 8.6 months.

Like everything else in real estate, however, the October's New Home Sales results varied by location.

For example, except for the South, each U.S. region posted a loss. In the South, there was a 3 percent gain. This is statistically significant because more new homes are sold in the South than in all other U.S. regions combined.

In October, the South accounted for 58 percent of all homes sold.

The dip in New Home Sales did not surprise Wall Street. New Home Sales is closely correlated to Housing Starts, and Housing Starts fell in July and August. Furthermore, it seems home builders expected the dip and are brushing it off.

In a poll taken 2 weeks ago, builders reported higher confidence in housing, and their respective prospects for the future. Home builder confidence is at its highest point since June.

For buyers in Edmond , the effects of New Home Sales data are unknown. In a normal environment, falling sales volume and rising home supplies would help shift negotiation leverage away from the seller and toward the buyer, resulting in lower sales prices.

However, in this market, the "sellers" (i.e. home builders) are more confident about housing, and that offsets a buyer's statistical edge.

With home prices stagnant and mortgage rates rising, therefore, the best "deals" may come between now and the New Year.

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Originally posted at Oklahoma City Real Estate Blog

Submitted by OKCHomeSeller's Posterous via email from http://okchomeseller.posterous.com/new-home-sales-slip-in-october

How To Find Air-Leaking Windows And Seal Them

Preventative care will minimize your home repair costs and, at this time of year, it's a good idea to sweep your home's exterior for sign of air leaks and drafts around windows.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, drafty windows can account for 30% of a home's heat loss in winter so it's best to find them, and seal them.

In this 4-minute video from the DIY Network, you'll learn how to identify your home's leaky windows, and how to seal them with caulk. The job requires a little bit of elbow grease, but it's manageable for even the notice handyman.

Some of the tips include:

• How to use a lit candle to find windows that leak air
• How to remove existing caulk using caulk softener
• How to "push the bead" of caulk for proper application

The video concludes with a brief tutorial on setting your home's programmable thermostat so, when taken with the window caulking exercise, homeowners in Oklahoma City could stand to save a bundle on their winter heating bills.

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Originally posted at Oklahoma City Real Estate Blog

Submitted by OKCHomeSeller's Posterous via email from http://okchomeseller.posterous.com/how-to-find-air-leaking-windows-and-seal-them

Fed Minutes Help Push Mortgage Rates To 4-Month High

The Federal Reserve released its November 2-3, 2010 meeting minutes Tuesday afternoon. Mortgage rates in Oklahoma have been on the move since.

The Fed Minutes is a comprehensive review of Federal Open Market Committee meetings; a detailed look at the debates and discussions that shape our country's monetary policy. The report is published 3 weeks to-the-day after the FOMC adjourns.

Fed Minutes add depth to the briefer, more well-known "statement" to the markets which is issued upon adjournment. As a comparison:

• The November 3 statement contained 497 words
• The November 3 meeting minutes contained 6,623 words

If the Fed Statement is the executive summary, the Fed Minutes is the novel. And, the extra words matter.

When the Federal Reserve publishes its minutes, it gives clues about the groups next policy-making steps. For example, in November's minutes, it's revealed that the Fed discussed setting inflation targets for the economy; holding occasional policy briefings for the press; and, working to set yields on instruments such as the 10-year Treasury note.

In addition, the Federal Reserve acknowledged a video conference hosted October 15, the second such "unannounced" meeting of the year. The other was May 9, 2010.

Bond markets have not taken kindly to the Fed Minutes. The minutes show a propensity toward Fed "action", most of which markets believe to be inflationary. Inflation leads to higher mortgage rates and that's exactly what we've seen.

As compared to Tuesday morning, mortgage applicants in Oklahoma City are finding conforming and FHA mortgage rates to be higher by as much as 0.375 percent. In "real life" terms, assuming a 30-year term, that's an extra $264 in annual mortgage payments per $100,000 borrowed.

If you're still rate shopping, consider getting locked today. As a result of the recent shift, mortgage rates are now at a 4-month high.

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Originally posted at Oklahoma City Real Estate Blog

Submitted by OKCHomeSeller's Posterous via email from http://okchomeseller.posterous.com/fed-minutes-help-push-mortgage-rates-to-4-mon

Happy Thanksgiving

photo © 2007 David Goehring | more info (via: Wylio)

Wishing you all a great Thanksgiving Day!

Our plans today include a trip to Dallas to spend the day with relatives – and eat! Yesterday I spent the afternoon doing my cooking for today. Cajun cornbread dressing and giblet gravy and a cherry pie!

Thanksgiving

The Thanksgiving holiday dates back to the foundation of our great country. For generations, families and friends have gathered together over a meal to give thanks and offer words of gratefulness.

We wanted to offer here our own words of thanksgiving.

To Our Clients

You’re the reason we do what we do. We appreciate your loyalty and friendship. Thank you for choosing to do business with us.

To Our Friends

The relationships we have built are priceless to us. You have enriched our lives.  Thank you for being a friend. May you experience a new found richness in your lives this holiday season.

To Our Friends Who Have Family In The Military

Words are inadequate to describe how we feel. I have ‘been there and done that’.  I feel I understand. You and your family members who serve in the military are in our thoughts and prayers. We wish you safety and blessings always but especially during the holiday season. Thank you for your service to our country.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

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Originally posted at Oklahoma City Real Estate Blog

Submitted by OKCHomeSeller's Posterous via email from http://okchomeseller.posterous.com/happy-thanksgiving

October Existing Home Sales : Buyers And Sellers In Balance

After two months of surging sales, home resales fell by 100,000 units last month to 4.4 million homes nationwide.

October's Existing Home Sales tally is slightly below the report's 6-month rolling average, according to the National Association of REALTORS® -- a time span which includes this year's $8,000 federal home buyer tax credit's tail end.

Housing statistics have been wildly inconsistent during that period.

For the future of Oklahoma City housing markets, though, it's encouraging that first-time and investment property buyers were both outnumbered by "move-up" buyers; buyers that have sold their respective homes in favor of larger ones. It's the move-up buyers that power housing.

In October, buyer profiles broke down as follows:

• First-time buyers : 32 percent of all buyers, unchanged from September
• Repeat home buyers : 49 percent of all buyers, down one tick from September
• Investors : 19 percent of all buyers, up one tick from September

As a point of comparison, first-timers represented 50 percent of all purchases in October 2009.

For Muirfield Village home buyers, October's Existing Home Sales report is neither weak nor strong. It signals that, with mortgage rates low and home affordability high, housing may be reaching some form of balance. Because -- although home sales are down -- home supplies are down, too.

We can infer that buyers outnumber sellers, but probably not by much. In most areas, negotiation leverage is still up for grabs.

At the current pace of sales, the complete housing stock would be depleted in 10.6 months.

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Originally posted at Oklahoma City Real Estate Blog

Submitted by OKCHomeSeller's Posterous via email from http://okchomeseller.posterous.com/october-existing-home-sales-buyers-and-seller

Applying For A Mortgage Soon? Don't Open New Credit Cards On Black Friday.

Black Friday is 3 days away. It's the official start of the 2010 Holiday Shopping Season.

Sales are expected to top $111 billion this year and, already, businesses are vying for shoppers and their dollars. Newspaper circulars are getting larger, and in-store discounting is more prevalent.

But one discount that shoppers should think twice about is the popular "Open A Charge Card, Save 20%" promotion. The short-term savings may be tempting, but the long-term costs may be huge.

It's because of how credit scores work.

According to myFICO.com, "new credit" accounts for 85 out of 850 possible credit scoring points, with new credit defined by such traits as:

• Number of recently opened accounts


• Number of recent credit inquiries


• Time since recent credit inquiries


• Proportion of new accounts to all accounts

These traits are negatives against a FICO score so with each new, in-store credit card application, a person's credit score will fall. The fall will be especially pronounced for persons lacking credit "depth", or who have made a disproportionately large number of new credit applications recently.

For soon-to-be homeowners, or would-be refinancers in Edmond , credit scores are worth keeping high. This is because credit scores change the mortgage rates and/or loan fees for which an applicant is eligible.

As an illustration, assuming 20% equity on a $200,000 conforming loan:

• 740 FICO : No added loan costs


• 720 FICO : 0.250% increase in loan costs, or $500


• 700 FICO : 0.750% increase in loan costs, or $1,500


• 680 FICO : 1.500% increase in loan costs, or $3,000


• 660 FICO : 2.500% increase in loan costs, or $5,000

It's expensive to have a low credit score -- more expensive than the money saved by opening a card at the mall, anyway.

That said, if you know you won't need your credit for a mortgage within the next 6 months, the risk of applying for in-store credit cards is likely small. But if you'll need your FICO soon, consider paying for your gifts full price.

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Originally posted at Oklahoma City Real Estate Blog

Submitted by OKCHomeSeller's Posterous via email from http://okchomeseller.posterous.com/applying-for-a-mortgage-soon-dont-open-new-cr