Chris Rooker & The Harrisonburg Homes Team's Blog

Our brokerage, Kline May Realty, created a short list of FAQ's regarding the new First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit. We are passing these out to home buyers to educate them on this exciting new credit.   If I have owned a home in the past, but don't own one now, can I be considered a first time hom...

According to Inman News, mortgage rates are nearing record lows. A month ago, mortgage rates were in the 4%'s, and now they are nearing the 5% mark. This, of course, causes an increase in mortgage application rates (a jump of 45.7% just last week compared to the week before!). These low rates als...

This morning I opened up the new "Commonwealth" Magazine published by the Virginia Association of REALTORS. In it was a spectacular motivational (and brief) column about sales. Here it is (thanks VAR, Commonwealth, and the information they got from JustSell.com!): Today is 20 percent of your sale...

Yesterday, the House of Representatives and the Senate came to an agreement about the Stimulus Plan. President Obama will likely sign the bill by this week's end. So, what does it mean? What will it do for the economy? When will all these changes take place? Here are two brief articles that cover...

Another amendment has been appended to the Stimulus Plan. Senate approved this amendment unanimously. This new amendment would provide a 10% tax credit of the purchase price of any new primary residence for home buyers, up to an amount of $15,000. This put the total package to over $900 billion. ...

There is a lot of buzz going around about the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Some say it is all about PR, but there is more to it than that, especially with regards to the real estate industry. For the Commonwealth of Virginia, if this bill does indeed pass, the benefits include ...

The National Association of Realtors reported that existing home sales rose 6.5 percent from November 2008 to December 2008. This a rare bit of good news for the national real estate market, which saw a drop in sales prices around 15% in from 2007 to 2008. Read more here. The local real estate m...

Maybe. It is certainly a buyer’s market, which means that home buyers have the advantage in negotiations, as well as a broad range of choices. However, since it is a difficult market for sellers, our team’s counsel to inquiring would-be buyers is that they need to be reasonably confident that th...

The Daily News Record reported today that a real estate developer out of Charlottesville, Virginia, will be going in front of the Harrisonburg City Council this evening to propose a 66-apartment project on 2 acres to be developed in Downtown Harrisonburg. "A developer will seek City Council’s he...

As I wrote in a post a couple of days ago, home prices in the Harrisonburg area did not drop significantly in 2008. When I ask friends and clients how much they think prices have dropped, on average, from 2007 to 2008, the answer is reliably between 10% and 25%. On a $250,000 home, that would be...