by rtdosen | Nov 26, 2014 | Ryan Dosen Real Estate Articles
Code Concerns Can’t Cool Builder Expectations By Ryan Dosen Builders, faced with increasing costs and stricter building codes, remain optimistic about the future and the demand for their product. The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) just reported a Housing Market Index (HMI) of 58—the second highest monthly reading in 9 years. Despite their optimistic mindset, some builders still feel the walls closing in with the onset of high-cost, low-return code mandates. Stricter Building Codes Paul Emrath of the NAHB wrote that “originally, building codes were designed to establish minimum safety standards for newly built structures, but codes have increasingly been seen as a tool for advancing other public policies, such as energy efficiency.” Emrath says that this trend is causing builders to become concerned about some of the code changes increasing costs “substantially, as well as needlessly.” The NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index polls home builders every month to gauge their sentiment for the housing market. October’s HMI survey asked builders a new question: “How concerned are you about building codes becoming too stringent and driving up costs without a measurable improvement in safety or other benefits.” Builders were asked to respond on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being “not concerned at all” and 5 being “extremely concerned”. 35 percent of surveyed NAHB members responded to October’s new survey question by stating that they were “extremely concerned” about building codes overall becoming “too stringent and driving up costs without a measureable improvement in safety or other benefits.” Only 6 percent of surveyed home builders reported that they were not concerned at all. 58 percent of...
by rtdosen | Nov 17, 2014 | Ryan Dosen Real Estate Articles
Top 5 Home Selling Myths By Ryan Dosen Selling your home may be the last thing on your mind this time of year. The holidays are coming. Maybe the in-laws are coming, too. There will be presents to wrap, parties to plan, turkeys to roast and plenty of things to do other than thinking about selling your home. You’ll worry about that in the spring, right? Well, let’s take a look anyway. Maybe you’ll think twice. Myth number 1: Price it High; You Can Always Come Down Later When looking to sell a home, every seller should want to achieve the highest price possible. So, naturally, the inclination for sellers is to price their homes high and near the maximum they could conceivably achieve on the open market. They say they want to test the waters. You never know, right? I mean, couldn’t that random person come along with a giant bag full of money and absolutely fall in love with your home? And maybe they’d be willing to pay whatever you ask so that they can have that one house that will complete them and help them achieve spiritual and residential nirvana. Or maybe not. The thing we tell our sellers is to put themselves in the hypothetical shoes of these head-over-their-heels buyers. Even if you found that house — THE house — would you pay more than you needed to in order to get it? Of course not. We have better things to do with our money than throwing it away. A seller might also think that if they price it high, they can always accept...
by rtdosen | Nov 7, 2014 | Ryan Dosen Real Estate Articles
Midterm Elections a Win for the Real Estate Market By Ryan Dosen The midterm elections are over and the news is good for the real estate market. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reports that “real estate issues stand to be well represented in Congress over the next two years as REALTOR® Party-backed candidates on both sides of the aisle won closely watched races in (this week’s) national midterm elections.” The victors are expected to do what they can in Washington to protect our somewhat fragile housing recovery. Mortgage Interest Deduction Massey Knakal Realty Services Chairman Robert Knakal said on Fox Business earlier this week that the biggest threats to the real estate market are interest rates and tax policy, including capital gains rates and the popular mortgage interest deduction. The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this year that homeowners in the U.S. last year received roughly $70 billion in federal tax breaks through the mortgage interest deduction. The deduction makes homeownership more affordable by allowing homeowners to write off their mortgage interest payments every April. Detractors argue that the deduction benefits the wealthy and not the lower-income Americans that typically rent. This may be partially true, but if we’re looking for the housing market to continue to improve, removing the deduction would be a bad idea. Homeownership would be more expensive and difficult without the deduction and less homes would sell. NAR reports that Realtor-backed candidates Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), Joe Heck (R-Nev.), Patrick Murphy (D-Fla.), and Krysten Sinema (D-Ariz.) all emerged victorious this week. In fact, whether Republican or Democrat, Realtor® Party-backed...
by rtdosen | Nov 4, 2014 | Ryan Dosen Real Estate Articles
A Not-So-Scary End to QE3 By Ryan Dosen This morning I will no doubt have a battle on my hands. The battle is a yearly one. And it tends to get messy. Chocolate, after all, does melt pretty easily. My boys, armed with light sabers and an inexhaustible supply of energy, will have no doubt returned from last night’s escapades with a mixed bag of the finest goodies Chester County’s residents have to offer. The war I will wage will be with the young Jedis and myself. I need to make sure we all avoid consuming too much sugar and that we keep the candy casualties to a minimum. Fortunately, consuming a bit of tasty real estate news doesn’t come with a high calorie count or sugar crash. Fed ends bond buying The big news of the week is that the Federal Reserve has decided to terminate its bond buying program, also known as QE3. Last December, the Fed started tapering its monthly creation of billions of dollars for the purpose of buying US Treasuries and mortgage bonds. $85 billion dollars in monthly purchases has gradually and steadily dwindled since late last year and the printing presses are finally stopping. With its easing program, the Fed had hoped to decrease long-term interest rates and boost job and economic growth. Skeptics of QE3 feared that the mass creation of money and the slashing of interest rates could feed bubbles or produce rampant inflation. Historically speaking, interest rates are certainly very low. The unemployment picture is looking much better as well. According the Bureau of Labor Statistics, unemployment peaked in...
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