The worst price declines in 2011...

In a list published by Inman news today, the areas with the largest price declines in 2011 were cities in Michigan, Florida, California, and Georgia.  Delaware was no where close to making this list based on how well values are holding here in our local market.  Interestingly enough, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania was ranked in the top 9 markets in the country for rising real estate values.  That is a good sign so close to home. 

Real Estate Tip: Deal with the Defects

If you are selling a home, the buyers will probably include a home inspection clause in the offer. This will allow them to hire an expert to make sure that the house is structurally sound and all the systems are working properly.

The time to get ready for the home inspection is before you sell your house! Owners usually know about most of the defects in their house, such as plumbing or electrical problems or leaks that occur when it rains. When you decide to put your home on the market, you should repair any defects immediately. Most purchase agreements require sellers to convey the property with all systems and appliances in working order. You won't save money by delaying repairs, and buyers may be frightened away by an inspection report that contains a long list of needed repairs.

Eliminating maintenance as a potential issue in the sale can help you ensure that the transaction goes as smoothly as possible. This is especially important when there is active construction of brand-new homes in the area.

New Listings at Legacy at Odessa National

We have new listings and pricing for 2012 within Legacy at Odessa National - Delaware's premier 55+ retirement community!  Call Erik for more information and great savings.

Marketed by Erik Hoferer & Associates
Direct 302 299-1111 or 610 268-5727

Erik JUST SOLD Another One!

29 Stone Tower Lane in Wilmington

Second agent to list it.

First one to get it sold.

Same asking price.

Your agent matters...

We have another happy client and new friend.  Life is good.

Marketed by Erik Hoferer & Associates
Direct 302 299-1111 or 610 268-5727

Quick Delivery Home in Hazel Farm

THIS HOME IS AVAILABLE NOW! Dover's best priced single family homes in an amenity-filled community. Hazel Farm's neighborhood amenities include a clubhouse, pool, tennis court, basketball court, a tot lot and 45 acres of open space.

The VENICE celebrates easy living with style and grace. A welcoming foyer leads into a formal room, which can be used as a living room or dining room. A hallway is flanked by a convenient powder room on one side and stairs leading up to the 2nd level. Through the hallway, the magnificent great room awaits. The dining area and kitchen flow right from the family room. The large kitchen boasts a walk-in pantry, ample cabinetry and a gourmet island. A convenient mudroom accesses the two-car garage. Upstairs, four spacious bedrooms await, with two bathrooms including a large owner's bathroom. The laundry room is discreetly tucked away on the upper level.

Marketed by Erik Hoferer & Associates

Direct  302 299-1111 or 610 268-5727

A Quick Delivery Opportunity...

IMMEDIATELY AVAILABLE! Delaware’s #1 Homebuilder presents Worthington, which offers the lowest priced new garage townhomes in Smyrna, DE. The BEETHOVEN is a townhome that lives like a single family. On the main level, a huge Country Kitchen provides plenty of room for cooking and entertaining, and is open to a large Living Room over a breakfast bar and a 8x10 deck. The upstairs offers three bedrooms and two full baths. The owners bedroom includes a walk-in closet and an upgraded owners bath with combination soaking tub and shower. This floor plan features a convenient second floor laundry closet with room for side-by-side washer/dryer and a storage shelf. The entry level offers more living area with a finished Recreation Room and powder room. AVAILABLE NOW!

marketed by Erik Hoferer & Associates
Direct:  302 299-1111 or 610 268-5727

Looking to invest in real estate? Here is a great way to get started!

Ryan Homes offers a great investment opportunity for the new Florence model home at Goldsborough Farm. Ryan Homes will lease the model back from the buyer for $2,500/month for a 12 month term (and month to month thereafter). What a great way to create cash flow while you're waiting to move into your new home! The community is located in the Appoquinimink school district and is close to shopping and daily conveniences in downtown Middletown.

Marketed by Erik Hoferer & Associates
Direct:  302 299-1111 or 610 268-5727

New Models and Pricing at St Annes

Ryan Homes has announced their updated models and pricing at The Estates at St Annes in Middletown, Delaware.  The market leader is value simply keeps getting better and better!  Are you thinking about a new home in 2012?  Call Erik today for the latest listing and availability information. 

Marketed by Erik Hoferer & Associates
Direct:  302 299-1111 or 610 268-5727

Real Estate Tip: Negotiating

So, you found a house that seems perfect and you really love it. The chemistry is there, and the asking price is right. If you are like many buyers, you start off by asking the real estate agent if the sellers will take less than they are asking.

A real estate agent doesn't know what the sellers' bottom price is. The sellers often don't know themselves until they get an offer. In many cases, the price is negotiable, but the only way to test it is to make the sellers a written offer to accept or counter.

Attractive, well-priced homes usually sell quickly in any market - even this one. If you get involved in offers and counter offers, another buyer could come in with a better offer while you are negotiating back and forth. If you cannot qualify for financing at the asking price and you are willing to risk losing the house, you can make a lower offer. But if the house is already priced right, and it will break your heart to lose the home you really love and you can afford, it may be better to avoid a lot of negotiating and simply pay closer to the asking price.

Erik has brand new listings...

Erik has new listings at the Estates at St Annes in Middletown, Hickory Hollow in Smyrna, and Eden Hill in Dover.  Updated models and pricing are available for your review.  Call today for details.

Marketed by Erik Hoferer & Associates
Direct:  302 299-1111 or 610 268-5727

Ryan Homes - Rare Quick Delivery Home

AVAILABLE NOW! Delaware’s #1 Builder presents Smyrna’s best priced community. Hickory Hollow offers single family homes with a convenient location from the $180’s. The Venice Model – IMMEDIATE move in, celebrates easy living with style and grace.

Normally only built to order, this home is a rarity in today's market.  Call Erik today for more details and to schedule a private showing.  This home will be sold by next week!

Marketed by Erik Hoferer & Associates
Direct: 302 299-1111 or 610 268-5727

Behind on your mortgage? Work with your lender!

In Delaware, lenders may foreclose on a mortgage in default by using the judicial foreclosure process.

Judicial Foreclosure

Lenders in Delaware are given a number of options in which they may pursue judicial foreclosure, but the most commonly used procedure is the Scire Facias.

This proceeding is quite different from other judicial foreclosures because instead of the lender having to prove the borrower is in default of the mortgage, the borrower has to prove he isn't. Although the suit to obtain an order for foreclosure is filed by the lender, the borrower must appear in court within twenty (20) days of being served a writ to provide evidence as to why the foreclosure should not take place. Unless the court is satisfied with the borrowers explanation and evidence, they will authorize a foreclosure sale.

Said sale must be conducted by the sheriff and held either at the courthouse or at the property itself at least fourteen (14) days after the notice of sale is posted on the property and in other public places throughout the county in which it is located.

The buyer has no right of redemption once the court has confirmed the sale.

If you or someone you know is behind on their mortgage, please have them call us here at Erik Hoferer & Associates.  We work with lenders every day, and know what they are looking for and how to get this situation under control.  I want to be clear here - the bank does not want the house back!  They want their money and that is the dialogue we are able to open with them.  Call us today at 302 299-1111 or go to our web site www.shorttosold.com and register.  Its that easy.

5 Top Real Estate Stories in 2011

by The KCM Crew on January 2, 2012

In 2011, we experienced one of the most volatile housing markets in American real estate history. Things we never anticipated happened. Events we were sure would take place didn’t. Today, we want to review the five headlines we think had the biggest impact in 2011.

1.) Interest Rates remained at historic lows

In order to help stabilize the economy in 2010, the Fed took certain actions which kept mortgage rates at or near historic lows (approximately 4%). Most felt this would be a short term tactic and once abandoned would result in rates returning to long term averages (6-7%).
However, the government has continued to support lower rates with the hope of fostering a recovery in the housing sector. The 30 year fixed rate mortgage (as measured by Freddie Mac) stood at 4.77% to begin 2011. A month later, it was over 5% and many, including us, believed this was the beginning of rates returning to normal levels. Instead, rates continued to fall ending 2011 at 3.91%.
The lower rates along with great prices have had a favorable impact on home affordability leading more buyers to enter the market.

2.) Sales up over 2010

At the beginning of 2011, we all realized that a year-over-year (Y-O-Y) comparison of home sales would not be a true “apples to apples” comparison as home sales at the beginning of 2010 were bolstered by the Home Buyers Tax Credit. Likewise, comparing home sales over the summer would not be a fair comparison as many sales in 2010 were dragged forward so that buyers could take advantage of the credit. However, many thought Y-O-Y comparisons would again be useful later in 2011 as the impact of the 2010 tax credit waned. Yet, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) Existing Homes Sales Report shows that over the last three months sales have increased quite nicely. The October and November reports each showed a Y-O-Y gain of in double digits and the December report gain was 12.2%. These numbers showed closed sales were increasing even though more contracts were falling through.

3.) Contract cancellation rate surges

Probably the most troubling trend to emerge in 2011 is that the number of sales contracts that are cancelled before closing has skyrocketed in the last year. The cancellation rate has jumped from 9% in August 2010 to 33% each of the last two months.
Some of the increase can be attributed to the higher level of difficulty in distressed property transactions. However, NAR also says cancellations are caused largely by “declined mortgage applications or failures in loan underwriting from appraised values coming in below the negotiated price.”

4.) Foreclosures were delayed

The robo-signing debacle of late 2010 caused a delay in many foreclosures entering the market. It DID NOT prevent the banks from continuing to put homes into the foreclosure process. The delays jut prevented banks from repossessing the homes and putting then up for sale as REOs (foreclosures owned by the banks).
For most of 2011 the banks and the state governments worked on a set of standards that would be enforced before a bank could repossess the house. They are currently working on a settlement to be paid for those homes that where foreclosed on without the proper paperwork.
As these procedures and settlements are completed, more and more of the backlog of distressed properties will come to market. Distressed properties sell at a discount. They will have a substantial impact on the prices of all houses in the region.

5.) Prices move up then down

Many experts expected prices to continue to slide downward as we entered 2011. However, a large inventory of distressed properties was held back (see #4). That turned out to be good news for prices as supply decreased throughout the year and demand increased in the second half of the year. That actually caused prices to ‘bottom out’ and ten nudge upward in the late summer and early fall.
As the foreclosed properties again began to enter the market in the last quarter, prices again began to slip. Most believe this downward trend will continue through the first half of 2012.

We spent today looking into the rearview mirror. Tomorrow, will share some of the trends we think we will see in 2012.

Mortgage Rates Breaking Records Again...

Demand for purchase loans still off from last year

By Inman News

Inman News®

Mortgage rates surveyed by Freddie Mac hit new lows this week, but low rates alone may not be enough to spur homebuyer demand, a separate survey by the Mortgage Bankers Association suggests.
Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey showed rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaging 3.91 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending Dec. 22, down from 3.94 percent last week and 4.81 percent a year ago.

Rates on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 3.21 percent with an average 0.8 point, unchanged from last week's record low but down from 4.15 percent a year ago.

For five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) loans, rates averaged 2.85 percent with an average 0.6 point, down from 2.86 percent last week and 3.75 percent a year ago.
Rates on one-year Treasury-indexed ARM loans averaged 2.77 percent with an average 0.6 point, down from 2.81 percent last week and 3.4 percent a year ago.

Rates on 30-year fixed mortgages have been at or below 4 percent for the last eight weeks and are almost 0.9 percentage points below where they were at the beginning of the year, said Freddie Mac chief economist Frank Nothaft. That translates into $1,200 in annual savings for a homebuyer taking out a $200,000 mortgage.

Looking back a week, the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey showed demand for purchase loans was down 7.5 percent during the week ending Dec. 16, and off 6.9 percent from a year ago.

"Remarkably low rates are not enough, as many homeowners continue to hold back due to lack of equity in their properties, poor credit and a weak job market," Michael Fratantoni, the MBA's vice president of research and economics, said in a statement.

Looking back a month, the National Association of REALTORS® said Wednesday that existing-home sales increased by 4 percent from October to November, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.42 million homes. That's a 12.2 percent increase from a year ago, when existing homes were selling at a pace of 3.94 million a year.