Market Watch  We are three quarters of the way through the year, sold units through September are 5% ahead of last year and, the median sale price is up 3.3%. Sales this year have exceeded those in the corresponding month last year in 7 of 9 months. Unfortunately, September was one of those two months. I am confident that there is a valid reason for this decline. I have felt for a long time that contested Presidential elections have a short-term, negative impact on real estate sales. Earlier this month I saw a national survey that confirmed my thoughts. According to this survey, 12% of potential homebuyers would definitely delay purchasing a home until after the election and 13% of potential homebuyers might delay t... 10/15/2012

Just a few years ago, home ownership seemed to be the forgotten American dream. Home values were sinking, consumer confidence was shaken, and the economy suffered a stream of bad news. The media pronounced financial doom for homeowners, and an epidemic of willful default compounded the problem of falling values. Headlines called America "a nation of renters." Did that prophecy come to pass? Near the peak of the housing boom, home ownership rates in the United States averaged 69% in 2004. After what homeowners have been through in recent years, it would not be surprising to find ownership rates today beneath 50%. But that hasn't happened. According to a recent article in The Business Journals, the national homeownership rate stands at 65.50%. This ratio of homeowners to renters was relea... 10/08/2012

Whether you are in the process of buying anincome property thisfall or are already an owner, your decision about whether to work with a localproperty manager is pivotal. When you lack the time or capacity to effectively manage your investment, hiring a professional property manager is certainly the right business move. But suppose you have already decided that you will use a pro – does that solve all management issues for your investment? If you have chosen well, the answer may be almost ‘yes’ – but not quite. As you would with any service provider, keeping tabs on their performance is simply prudent. The happy truth is that managing yourEvansville property manager will not command a large amount of your attention: a little will go a long way. And some areas to monitor are more obvious ... 10/05/2012

Getting a mortgage refinance has seldom looked more attractive than it does this October. Ads for seemingly ridiculously low teaser rates are popping up all over the place -- and even if the closing costs are hefty (many aren’t), the underlying rates make them all but irresistible. But do you qualify? Some folks don’t realize that a refi can be just as tough as getting a mortgage in the first place. Or tougher. One client has a stunning property, top credit, and a guaranteed income stream that was more than adequate to fund the refi. She put together all the required paperwork, hosted an inspection (the inspector told her, ‘this is the finest property in the area’), and then waited a week before being told she had failed to qualify. Why? Because her place had a guesthouse -- and that pa... 10/04/2012

September is a transition time for almost everybody. Here inEvansville, the kids have shifted into school gear, adults have moved out of vacation mode, and businesses are already sprucing up for the (believe it or not) Holiday Season. Inreal estate, we are looking with more than casual interest at what’s going on nationally. Especially those measures that tend to affect Evansville home sales. The largest professional association in the country is our own National Association of Realtors®. At the beginning of the month, they broke another piece of welcome news. This one looks like the difference between ‘indicators’ of a strengthening home sales market -- and signs that it’s already fact. The NAR release was about TOM. No, as you have probably guessed, TOM isn’t some real estate broker’s... 09/19/2012

The other day I read an opinion piece that I really couldn’t agree with. The writer expected a pause in the pace of the residential market upturn now that many of the most obvious bargains have been snapped up. He thought that was to be expected, and that a further rebound would be likely to follow. His idea was based on the notion that many otherwise well-qualified prospects – buyers who may have narrowly missed the bottom of the market -- would now be waiting for prices to fall again. They would only reappear once they realize that those super bargains were a once-in-a-lifetime affair. I’d have to say, ‘not so much.’   In my experience, individuals who are even half-serious about buying homes in Evansville are usually not motivated by squeezing every cent from the bottom line. Pricin... 09/18/2012

Success in Evansville home sales depends on many factors -- and when your own home is the one that is being offered, you want to do the most you can with any factor you control Your home’s interior condition and design are likely to be the key considerations after a buyer has decided to make an offer. However, it’s the exterior – the view that initially catches potential buyers’ eyes – that can have a disproportionate impact on whether they get to that stage. Much of how they perceive the entire property will be influenced by that first impression. It’s the home sales industry’s well known ‘curb appeal.’ Any home’s appeal will, of course, benefit from fresh, clean looking surfaces overall. Scrubbing and painting may the first order of the day, but there are a host of other ideas that c... 09/04/2012

As regular readers know, I keep track of the national media spin on real estate matters because our Evansville home sales often reflects the tone we all pick up from the feel of the wider market. So let’s not beat around the bush: again in July, the residential real estate picture continued its rise. It has been sensible to remain cautiously optimistic about the direction of things for a good long while, but at this juncture, it’s finally beginning to look like a trend has taken shape.   “For the fifth consecutive month,” the Wall Street Journal reported in its news pages, “sales of previously owned homes notched another rise.” Evansville homeowners who have gone through literally years of sinking prices and moribund home sales must be worried as they read this –worried that someone wil... 08/28/2012

For everyone who rents (or leases) Evansville rental homes, it’s a choice that comes up every year: rent or buy. In addition to the common sense considerations everyone brings to that important decision, some financial measurements have been developed through the years that attempt to bring an element of rationality to a largely subjective decision. Actually penciling out an answer isn’t always satisfactory because it is literally impossible to quantify elements like peace of mind. To some who own their homes, there is great peace of mind in controlling their own destiny. To others, the worry of being responsible for a home’s maintenance or taxes makes the ‘peace of mind’ factor a wash -- or even a negative. Likewise, those who lease rental homes may find the lack of responsibility lib... 08/27/2012

Some of us have decided that life is too short to spend any time behind a lawnmower. Others decide that the real reason we have a mate is so that we can offer him or her the opportunity to get out in the fresh air and sunshine…to mow. Children can be the recipients of that very same opportunity, which will build character through hard work. Alternatively, a healthy lawn – especially a well-watered one in late August – provides an opportunity to keep the Evansville economy humming by employing a gardening service to keep it in top trim. But for those of us who personally oversee our property’s greenbelt maintenance, earlier this month, CNN’s Money website put together a four-point tip sheet that caught my eye: it rounded up some of the best common sense lawn care ideas I’ve seen in one p... 08/23/2012

Market Watch This month’s Market Watch is about mortgage financing and how it affects the housing market. We all know that our country suffered a terrible recession just a few years ago. Although we don’t hear as much as we used to no one disputes that the primary cause of the recession was mortgage loan defaults caused by lending standards that were far too lenient. The Federal Government, primarily through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac not only loosened lending standards but in many instances mandated, through the guise of the Community Reinvestment Act, that mortgages be extended to unqualified buyers. In addition to being the biggest single cause of the recession Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac sustained billions of dollars in losses on these loans. Since that time, lending standards have b... 08/22/2012

Uncertain economy or not, we Americans remain a highly mobile bunch. In fact, the Census Bureau says that no fewer than 6,700,000 Americans packed up and moved to a new state in the period between 2010 – 2011, the latest year on record. The study sheds light on the movement of people within the U.S. -- and it lets us know that of the most common reason for interstate relocation (43.9%) was for employment-related reasons. The official stats are not yet available for last year, but the relocation numbers are expected to increase as people continue to relocate in search of more stable economic environments.   For just about everyone, even thinking about relocating is a daunting proposition. Although it can turn into a planet-sized headache, if you are one of those considering relocation t... 08/14/2012

One of the most recognizable names in the clothing industry is scheduled to speak at the University of Evansville in October. Calvin Klein is slated to kick off The Institute for Global Enterprise in Indiana's year-long speaker series that also includes a former Harley-Davidson Inc. (NYSE: HOG) executive and a Tony Award winning producer.   The Institute for Global Enterprise in Indiana, part of the Schroeder Family School of Business Administration at the University of Evansville, is proud to announce the 2012-13 Institute Speaker Series, sponsored by Old National Bank. "Our primary objective at the Institute for Global Enterprise in Indiana is to assist regional businesses in improving their global capabilities," said Dan Miller, the Institute's executive director. "The three speakers... 08/02/2012

Designers of today's local new homes are continuing to regard the kitchen as the functioning central gathering place – the family’s social hub, where a great deal more than meal preparation takes place. The trend toward bigger kitchens is on track: many feature kitchens designed with open space for family gatherings as well as multi-generational cooking. Many new homes deck out their kitchens in the hottest new colors (it’s become a widespread international fashion trend).   When you are making decisions about your own kitchen, if you decide to keep future home values in mind, your color choices may differ from what they might have been a decade ago. According to HGTV, "People are viewing kitchens that have too much of any one color as flat, so more color is definitely the way to go." ... 08/01/2012

Your Evansville home is in perfect shape – all set to go on the market. You’ve enlisted an experienced real estate agent with a solid track record. Now all that’s left is…what? What’s that next step? In fact, the next step can be all-important: creating alocal listing that does more than just describe the number of beds and baths. It has to stand out among all the competing listings that will be seen alongside it. That listing is the keystone of the marketing campaign that will ultimately fetch a new owner: its job is to get buyers and agents to take a closer look. To get that job done, it has to be special!  When I sit down to work up an effective listing, I try to pay attention to what creative writers from other forms of advertising advise: first discover what is unique, appealing, ... 07/24/2012

July tends to be a busy month in most Evansville homes. If you have kids who are out of school, it’s up to you to dream up new ways to keep them out of trouble (and away from non-stop video gaming). Even if kids are not at homes, you probably have to get twice as much done anyway – you want to be ahead at work and around the house so you can relax and enjoy your vacation. Or recover from it.   And then there is the likelihood that in the back of your mind is the knowledge that you’ve been putting off what should be an annual maintenance once-over. All homes have areas that need looking after, and July and August are the best time to get at them. On dry days that aren’t too blisteringly hot to work, it’s prime time to fix areas that the year’s wear and tear may be turning into future pr... 07/23/2012

Market Watch   We are halfway through 2012 and I think it is a good time to see where we are this year and compare 2012 to 2011. For the first six months of 2012 our Broker Listing Cooperative, (we used to call this our MLS) has sold almost $260 million of real estate up just over 4% from the preceding year. Homes sold this year have exceeded last year in 5 of the first 6 months and are up almost 5% from last year. In addition the list price to sale price ratio, which is the percentage of list price compared to the asking price has improved slightly and is over 95% so far this year. Days on market (how long a house is listed before it sells) is at 123 days this year. Although I would like for this number to be lower is down from almost 140 days last year at this time. Finally our invent... 07/17/2012

We all know that many Evansville property searchers are looking for homes with more modern, high tech-compatible features. But something that is also interesting is evidence that the trend has broadened to include retirees who are in a downsizing, property-searching frame of mind.   From wireless availability to health monitoring systems, technology is one of the key hot buttons in the senior housing industry. "Many people are trading older houses for new [properties] that offer energy efficiency, great rooms, open floor plans,” according to Jane O'Connor, a specialist who studies trends in the 55-plus population.   Although earlier studies found that most baby boomers preferred to stay in their current home as long as possible, those times are a-changin’. That attitude may have been ty... 07/16/2012

Every homeowner can have all sorts of reasons for selling their Evansville house. Those in the boomer generation can be in one of the traditional phases of retirement (planning, transitioning, initiating) or perhaps in one of the newly-popular phases (postponing, rejecting).   For them and everyone else, the decision about whether to sell the house falls into one of two categories: those triggered by economic pressures -- or all the other reasons. In all cases, being in control of the timing of your house sale will put you in control of the process. That pays off.   Even if the money factor doesn’t rule, it’s vital to first do some hard-nosed dollars-and-cents calculations before putting your house on the market. Find out what a realistic listing price range will be. I or anotherexperie... 07/13/2012

Look to the walls! Homeowners preparing Evansville houses for sale can hesitate when they suspect the overall look and feel of the interior has grown dated. With good reason, they may fear that prospective buyers will be drawn to newer, fresher-looking competitors…yet the cost and delay of all-out remodel is unattractive. One alternative is to ‘look to the walls’ for an easy and budget-friendly alternative to a complete remodel. Few things can date a home the way old wallpaper does. Unfortunately, just painting over it is not a solution that usually works very well. Let’s face it: the old paper has to go! While many newer types come off with ease, it can be downright difficult to remove old wallpaper. Those paisley daisies can be stubborn! Furthermore, many old homes have several layer... 07/12/2012