With real estate agents being independent contractors and fiercely loyal to their respective brand the vote quickly garnished huge attention. It went viral through various social media networks, blogs and emails encouraging agents to vote.
In the end an astonishing 11,355 agents voted, casting just over 390,000 votes for 33 different real estate franchise brands making this — according to knowledge — the largest survey of its kind in the industry. The survey required real estate professionals to vote for a franchise on a scale from 0 – 5; starting from “Never heard of the brand” all the way up to “Excellent brand.” The brand’s scores in all categories were taken into consideration to determine the overall rankings. In the end there was a significant difference in the vote count between most of the top 10, thereby solidifying the placement of the brands.
Although another survey can produce different results and rankings, we are confident that this is a very good reflection of the real estate brokerage industry’s current opinion and awareness of the franchise brands that serve them.
The Top 10 real estate franchises, most recognized by the real estate industry as quality national brands are:
Keller Williams Realty
Coldwell Banker Real Estate
RE/MAX International
Century 21 Real Estate
Prudential Real Estate
Sotheby’s International Realty
EXIT Realty
ERA Real Estate
Weichert Real Estate Affiliates
Better Homes & Gardens Real Estate
The franchises that made it to the Top 5 were to be expected and are also the five largest real estate franchises in the country. The Top 5 also comfortably attracted more votes than the second five on the list, strongly pointing to the industry’s own internal belief that these are the top five franchise brands that agents would like to work for.
Keller Williams Realty’s surprising #1 ranking was most likely due to the strong, above average online and social media presence of their agents and the fact that during 2009 KW surpassed RE/MAX in agent count according to a widely published REAL Trends survey..
The 103-year old Coldwell Banker franchise has been the beneficiary of many NRT, Inc. acquisitions that have allowed the brand to remain at the forefront of many agents in a positive way. RE/MAX with their powerful consumer portal has also enjoyed the highest profile on national television of all the brands, thereby probably contributing to their high ranking.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Reasons To Sell Your Home During The Holidays
12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS MEANS 12 TERRIFIC REASONS TO SELL YOUR HOME DURING THE HOLIDAYS!!! OR… 8 DAYS OF CHANNUKAH PROVIDE 8 REASONS TO SELL YOUR HOME DURING THE HOLIDAYS!!!
READ OUR IDEAS HERE
1. People LOOKING NOW are great buyers – they are more focused if they are looking now!!
2. Less inventory while others gear down means less competition for your home now!
3. Lots of people wait until January so why should you? Be first and Be done!
4. Houses show beautifully when decorated for the Holidays!
5. Emotional holiday buyers want your beautiful home and are more likely to pay your price!
6. Some buyers have time off work and can look now!
7. Some people must buy before the end of the year for tax - or other - reasons!
8. January is new jobs month. Catch those transferees now!
9. You can schedule around your family needs during the holidays and buyers will understand.
10. If you sell now, you can delay closing or extended occupancy until early next year!
11. If you sell now, you will be ready to buy right away with a non-contingent offer! Sell high and buy low!
12. And isn’t that the best reason to have a HAPPY HOLIDAY!??
From our family at Keller Williams Gold Coast to Yours, May we Wish you a
HAPPY HOLIDAY AND A GLORIOUS NEW YEAR!
READ OUR IDEAS HERE
1. People LOOKING NOW are great buyers – they are more focused if they are looking now!!
2. Less inventory while others gear down means less competition for your home now!
3. Lots of people wait until January so why should you? Be first and Be done!
4. Houses show beautifully when decorated for the Holidays!
5. Emotional holiday buyers want your beautiful home and are more likely to pay your price!
6. Some buyers have time off work and can look now!
7. Some people must buy before the end of the year for tax - or other - reasons!
8. January is new jobs month. Catch those transferees now!
9. You can schedule around your family needs during the holidays and buyers will understand.
10. If you sell now, you can delay closing or extended occupancy until early next year!
11. If you sell now, you will be ready to buy right away with a non-contingent offer! Sell high and buy low!
12. And isn’t that the best reason to have a HAPPY HOLIDAY!??
From our family at Keller Williams Gold Coast to Yours, May we Wish you a
HAPPY HOLIDAY AND A GLORIOUS NEW YEAR!
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Tricia Fox Group Sells Chicago
Look for the Tricia Fox Group advertisement appearing in the January issue of Chicago Social!
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Wednesday, December 02, 2009
First Time Buyer Event at the New Park Monroe
Thursday December 3rd, Park Monroe, the Tricia Fox Group of KW Luxury Homes and Guarantee Mortgage are hosting a First Time Buyer event at the newly opened Park Monroe Penthouse Room at 65 East Monroe from 5-7:30. Guests will enjoy cocktails and appetizers and a real estate discussion followed by a tour of several hand-picked Developer Units The new condominium project offers spectacular views and unique roof top amenities, perched high above the 55 East Monroe office building.
Tricia Fox states, "This is a unique opportunity to talk real estate and view the New Park Monroe. Andrew Surma from Guarantee Mortgage will discuss first time or repeat buyer incentives and the current market conditions. 2009 has produced the Tricia Fox Group's second best year in real estate sales. Interestingly, our group results mirror the Gold Coast area stats - most of our sales were either Luxury Category over $1.2m or First Time Buyer category, under $500k. Tax incentives, lower interest rates and good old-fashioned great pricing favor the latter New Buyer Category. Why the surge in executive luxury sales? An educated guess is our buyers seem to want a nice place to live and enjoy and are moving away from the financial corrections of 2008."
The next Fox Group informational seminar will be on December 16th at 5:30 at the new Trump International Condominiums. The Fox Group has sold in excess of $42m at Trump this year. There will be informative discussions from financial industry expert Justin Cozart and Realtor Tricia Fox relevant to the luxury market place, followed by holiday wine and appetizers and a tour of available Trump Residences. Justin Cozart states, "2009 is the year to get a great deal in real estate, from negotiated prices of inventory to outstanding interest rates".
Interested parties for either event can RSVP to attend by contacting marygeorge@triciafoxgroup.com or call 312-981-5361.
Tricia Fox states, "This is a unique opportunity to talk real estate and view the New Park Monroe. Andrew Surma from Guarantee Mortgage will discuss first time or repeat buyer incentives and the current market conditions. 2009 has produced the Tricia Fox Group's second best year in real estate sales. Interestingly, our group results mirror the Gold Coast area stats - most of our sales were either Luxury Category over $1.2m or First Time Buyer category, under $500k. Tax incentives, lower interest rates and good old-fashioned great pricing favor the latter New Buyer Category. Why the surge in executive luxury sales? An educated guess is our buyers seem to want a nice place to live and enjoy and are moving away from the financial corrections of 2008."
The next Fox Group informational seminar will be on December 16th at 5:30 at the new Trump International Condominiums. The Fox Group has sold in excess of $42m at Trump this year. There will be informative discussions from financial industry expert Justin Cozart and Realtor Tricia Fox relevant to the luxury market place, followed by holiday wine and appetizers and a tour of available Trump Residences. Justin Cozart states, "2009 is the year to get a great deal in real estate, from negotiated prices of inventory to outstanding interest rates".
Interested parties for either event can RSVP to attend by contacting marygeorge@triciafoxgroup.com or call 312-981-5361.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Keller Williams Luxury Homes by Keller Williams entered the Chicago real estate market as a division of Keller Williams Realty, the third-largest and only profitable real estate firm in the United States. The Keller Williams Luxury Homes division has provided the resources and opportunity to luxury real estate agents and their clients to expose their business to an international marketplace in a seamless and cohesive fashion. KW Luxury Homes is honored to be named Chicago’s favorite luxury home real estate company by the Chicagoland real estate community.
NOMINEES:
Prudential Rubloff Properties
Sudler Sotheby’s International Realty
Friday, November 20, 2009
Trump International Hotel & Tower were honored by the Chicago Architecture Foundation
Donald Trump's Trump International Hotel & Tower and Kirkland & Ellis LLP's 300 North LaSalle were honored by the Chicago Architecture Foundation on Thursday at the group's annual Patron of the Year awards luncheon.
The coveted honors, given to those who commission buildings, are among the few awards handed out in town that are kept a secret until they're announced from the stage.
This year was no different, as attendees made off-the-cuff bets as to who would win.
The afternoon affair sponsored by Stein Ray & Harris LLP was held at the University Club just off Michigan Avenue and featured a number of high-profile guests, including Michael McCaskey, chairman of the board of the Chicago Bears, and Sunny Fischer, executive director of the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation.
The two served on the jury led by famed architect Stanley Tigerman, who drew a crowd of visitors around his table in his first public appearance since being hospitalized for heart-bypass surgery.
"It's good to be out of there," said Mr. Tigerman, whose recent work includes the Holocaust Museum in Skokie.
Other projects honored were the Charles H. Shaw Technology & Learning Center and Richard J. Klarchek Information Commons in the institutional category and the Chicago Cultural Center: Preston Bradley Hall Dome Restoration and Chicago Main Branch Riverwalk in the government category.
Copyright © 2009 Crain Communications, Inc. Posted by Shia K.
The coveted honors, given to those who commission buildings, are among the few awards handed out in town that are kept a secret until they're announced from the stage.
This year was no different, as attendees made off-the-cuff bets as to who would win.
The afternoon affair sponsored by Stein Ray & Harris LLP was held at the University Club just off Michigan Avenue and featured a number of high-profile guests, including Michael McCaskey, chairman of the board of the Chicago Bears, and Sunny Fischer, executive director of the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation.
The two served on the jury led by famed architect Stanley Tigerman, who drew a crowd of visitors around his table in his first public appearance since being hospitalized for heart-bypass surgery.
"It's good to be out of there," said Mr. Tigerman, whose recent work includes the Holocaust Museum in Skokie.
Other projects honored were the Charles H. Shaw Technology & Learning Center and Richard J. Klarchek Information Commons in the institutional category and the Chicago Cultural Center: Preston Bradley Hall Dome Restoration and Chicago Main Branch Riverwalk in the government category.
Copyright © 2009 Crain Communications, Inc. Posted by Shia K.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
2 Trump Hotel Unit Owners Face Foreclosure
(Crain’s) — Donald Trump’s ritzy new downtown hotel is attracting guests no property owner wants to see: foreclosure lawyers.
In another bad sign for the New York developer, lenders have filed foreclosure suits on two condominium-hotel units in his 92-story Chicago skyscraper, which has been clobbered by the condo bust and the worst hotel market in decades.
The investors who bought the two units from the developer last year are trying to sell them at steep discounts through so-called short sales, or for less than the debt owed on the units. One hotel room is on the market for less than half of what it sold for in March 2008.
Foreclosures and short sales have become routine in the current real estate market, and two lawsuits don’t represent a trend. But they rarely happen so quickly at high-end projects like the Trump International Hotel & Tower, which just opened last year.
The cases also raise questions about how low condo-hotel prices in the riverside project can go. And one broker with listings in the building expects more foreclosure suits in the future.
“No question about it,” says Andrew Glatz, president of Chicago-based brokerage Crown Heights Realty. “There will be a flood of them.”
Mr. Glatz is trying to sell a condo-hotel unit on the 20th floor for $379,000, less than the $493,589 loan balance on the unit. The owner bought the room from a Trump affiliate for $664,000 in February 2008. Wells Fargo Bank N.A. last month filed to foreclose on the unit.
Wells Fargo has also sued to foreclose on a unit on the 24th floor with an original mortgage of $712,000. The unit is on the market for $389,900, 56% less than the $895,000 Trump sold it for in March 2008. Wells Fargo would have to approve both sales if the investors can’t repay the loans in full but want to be released from the mortgages.
Mr. Trump says the two suits and potential short sales say nothing about the project at 401 N. Wabash Ave., which includes 486 residential condos and 339 hotel units. The development is “doing very nicely,” he says, and foreclosure suits in new condo developments are “common all over the place,” not just in his building.
Still, Mr. Trump ran into major loan problems of his own last year, when he and a lending syndicate led by Deutsche Bank Trust Co. Americas sued each other over a past-due $640-million construction loan. The two sides signed a truce in March, and Jason Greenblatt, general counsel and executive vice-president of the Trump Organization, says he expects to reach a more formal settlement in the coming weeks.
That would be good news for the project, which has struggled with slow sales amid the depressed condo market. Sales of residential condos are stuck at 365 units, or 75% of the total, and haven’t really budged in three years, according to Appraisal Research Counselors, a Chicago-based consulting firm that tracks the downtown condo market.
Investors can also buy hotel suites in the building, like they would a residential condo, with the option to occupy the units or have them rented out. But condo-hotel sales stalled out a few years ago and are currently stuck at 191 units, according to Appraisal Research. Though a hot concept during the boom, the condo-hotel has been a tough sell during the bust. Skeptics say hotel units are a bad investment structured in a way to benefit the hotel developer, not the owners.
In a lawsuit filed in September, a Trump condo-hotel investor alleged that the company formed to develop the project broke earlier promises over the hotel units, deciding, for instance, to keep profits from the hotel’s ballroom and meeting space after stating earlier that the money would go to the hotel unit owners. Mr. Greenblatt says he can’t comment on the complaint because hasn’t seen it.
A group of four condo-hotel investors filed a virtually identical suit against the project in 2008 that “was resolved to everyone’s satisfaction,” says Shelly Kulwin, an attorney for the investors in both suits. Terms of the settlement are confidential, he says.
The market for hotel units is especially thin these days because many lenders, leery of the risks, won’t finance purchases of them. And the hotel market is in a deep slump, driving down occupancies and room rates at many hotels. Declining room revenues would make it tough for many owners to cover the mortgage payment, property taxes and assessments.
Unless an investor can buy a unit at a steep discount, owning a hotel suite “absolutely doesn’t make sense in today’s market,” says Mr. Glatz, the broker. “Right now, people have to feed them on a monthly basis and they’re losing money.”
While acknowledging the difficult hotel market, Mr. Trump says his hotel is doing well and has managed to keep its occupancy high. He declines to disclose the hotel’s occupancy or average daily room rates, but Mr. Glatz says the hotel has slashed rates to fill rooms.
Where the hotel market goes from here will be a key factor determining the future value of the Trump condo-hotel suites. But some units in the building could be poised for a big fall based on estimated values of comparable properties; the recent sale of a minority stake in the Peninsula Chicago, one of the city’s most expensive hotels, valued the property at $460,177 a unit, well below the $1-million-plus Trump received for some of his hotel units.
Distress could play a role, too. While two short sales aren’t likely to depress values of other units in the building, a higher number could, says Gail Lissner, vice-president of Appraisal Research, the consulting firm.
“I think it’s all about the quantity,” she says.
By Alby Gallun, Nov. 18, 2009
The condo hotels are a separate company from the residential units which continue to sell well. Maybe Trump should buy them back and just run this as a hotel like Elysian is doing? The hotel is beautiful and is has a high occupancy - and having a hotel instead of hotel condos would solve the problem of difficult financing for those beautiful residential homes at Trump!
In another bad sign for the New York developer, lenders have filed foreclosure suits on two condominium-hotel units in his 92-story Chicago skyscraper, which has been clobbered by the condo bust and the worst hotel market in decades.
The investors who bought the two units from the developer last year are trying to sell them at steep discounts through so-called short sales, or for less than the debt owed on the units. One hotel room is on the market for less than half of what it sold for in March 2008.
Foreclosures and short sales have become routine in the current real estate market, and two lawsuits don’t represent a trend. But they rarely happen so quickly at high-end projects like the Trump International Hotel & Tower, which just opened last year.
The cases also raise questions about how low condo-hotel prices in the riverside project can go. And one broker with listings in the building expects more foreclosure suits in the future.
“No question about it,” says Andrew Glatz, president of Chicago-based brokerage Crown Heights Realty. “There will be a flood of them.”
Mr. Glatz is trying to sell a condo-hotel unit on the 20th floor for $379,000, less than the $493,589 loan balance on the unit. The owner bought the room from a Trump affiliate for $664,000 in February 2008. Wells Fargo Bank N.A. last month filed to foreclose on the unit.
Wells Fargo has also sued to foreclose on a unit on the 24th floor with an original mortgage of $712,000. The unit is on the market for $389,900, 56% less than the $895,000 Trump sold it for in March 2008. Wells Fargo would have to approve both sales if the investors can’t repay the loans in full but want to be released from the mortgages.
Mr. Trump says the two suits and potential short sales say nothing about the project at 401 N. Wabash Ave., which includes 486 residential condos and 339 hotel units. The development is “doing very nicely,” he says, and foreclosure suits in new condo developments are “common all over the place,” not just in his building.
Still, Mr. Trump ran into major loan problems of his own last year, when he and a lending syndicate led by Deutsche Bank Trust Co. Americas sued each other over a past-due $640-million construction loan. The two sides signed a truce in March, and Jason Greenblatt, general counsel and executive vice-president of the Trump Organization, says he expects to reach a more formal settlement in the coming weeks.
That would be good news for the project, which has struggled with slow sales amid the depressed condo market. Sales of residential condos are stuck at 365 units, or 75% of the total, and haven’t really budged in three years, according to Appraisal Research Counselors, a Chicago-based consulting firm that tracks the downtown condo market.
Investors can also buy hotel suites in the building, like they would a residential condo, with the option to occupy the units or have them rented out. But condo-hotel sales stalled out a few years ago and are currently stuck at 191 units, according to Appraisal Research. Though a hot concept during the boom, the condo-hotel has been a tough sell during the bust. Skeptics say hotel units are a bad investment structured in a way to benefit the hotel developer, not the owners.
In a lawsuit filed in September, a Trump condo-hotel investor alleged that the company formed to develop the project broke earlier promises over the hotel units, deciding, for instance, to keep profits from the hotel’s ballroom and meeting space after stating earlier that the money would go to the hotel unit owners. Mr. Greenblatt says he can’t comment on the complaint because hasn’t seen it.
A group of four condo-hotel investors filed a virtually identical suit against the project in 2008 that “was resolved to everyone’s satisfaction,” says Shelly Kulwin, an attorney for the investors in both suits. Terms of the settlement are confidential, he says.
The market for hotel units is especially thin these days because many lenders, leery of the risks, won’t finance purchases of them. And the hotel market is in a deep slump, driving down occupancies and room rates at many hotels. Declining room revenues would make it tough for many owners to cover the mortgage payment, property taxes and assessments.
Unless an investor can buy a unit at a steep discount, owning a hotel suite “absolutely doesn’t make sense in today’s market,” says Mr. Glatz, the broker. “Right now, people have to feed them on a monthly basis and they’re losing money.”
While acknowledging the difficult hotel market, Mr. Trump says his hotel is doing well and has managed to keep its occupancy high. He declines to disclose the hotel’s occupancy or average daily room rates, but Mr. Glatz says the hotel has slashed rates to fill rooms.
Where the hotel market goes from here will be a key factor determining the future value of the Trump condo-hotel suites. But some units in the building could be poised for a big fall based on estimated values of comparable properties; the recent sale of a minority stake in the Peninsula Chicago, one of the city’s most expensive hotels, valued the property at $460,177 a unit, well below the $1-million-plus Trump received for some of his hotel units.
Distress could play a role, too. While two short sales aren’t likely to depress values of other units in the building, a higher number could, says Gail Lissner, vice-president of Appraisal Research, the consulting firm.
“I think it’s all about the quantity,” she says.
By Alby Gallun, Nov. 18, 2009
The condo hotels are a separate company from the residential units which continue to sell well. Maybe Trump should buy them back and just run this as a hotel like Elysian is doing? The hotel is beautiful and is has a high occupancy - and having a hotel instead of hotel condos would solve the problem of difficult financing for those beautiful residential homes at Trump!
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Far From Shore
This is written by one of my best child-hood friends from Rugby Row in Madison, Wisconsin. I've known Marge since she was 3 and this is a true story of what happened to one of her sons just a few years ago in California. Riveting!
Far From Shore: A Mother's Memoir of a Shark Attack
Available on Amazon
Please visit our website
Far From Shore: A Mother's Memoir of a Shark Attack
Available on Amazon
Please visit our website
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Trolley Tour of New Construction
Trolley Brunch Tour
Join us for a city tour of select New Construction Buildings.
Enjoy some food and drinks, and talk real estate!
* What: A trolley tour of some of our fine New Construction properties
* Where: Meet at the offices at 676 N Michigan, on Huron, next to the Omni Hotel
* When: Sunday, November 15th from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
* RSVP: triciafox@triciafoxgroup.com or (312) 446-7373
RSVP is mandatory as seating is limited.
Please provide us with your name and the name of your guest.
Tour Schedule
1. 10 E Delaware
2. Walton on the Park
3. Aqua
4. 65 E Monroe
5. The Legacy
Click here for more information or to RSVP
Join us for a city tour of select New Construction Buildings.
Enjoy some food and drinks, and talk real estate!
* What: A trolley tour of some of our fine New Construction properties
* Where: Meet at the offices at 676 N Michigan, on Huron, next to the Omni Hotel
* When: Sunday, November 15th from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
* RSVP: triciafox@triciafoxgroup.com or (312) 446-7373
RSVP is mandatory as seating is limited.
Please provide us with your name and the name of your guest.
Tour Schedule
1. 10 E Delaware
2. Walton on the Park
3. Aqua
4. 65 E Monroe
5. The Legacy
Click here for more information or to RSVP
Credit buoys sellers' hopes
When Congress voted overwhelmingly Thursday to expand the first-time homebuyer tax credit to include repeat buyers, it brought a ray of hope to segments of the Triangle housing market that have not had much to cheer about of late.
The bill, which awaits President Barack Obama's signature, adds a credit worth up to $6,500 for repeat buyers who have lived in their houses at least five years. The legislation also significantly raises the annual income limits required to be eligible to qualify for the tax credits.
The number of people eligible for the new credit is large, and real estate agents hope it will increase sales of houses that are priced beyond the reach of most first-time buyers.
Laurie Kelly, whose North Raleigh house is on the market for $430,000, is optimistic that the new credit will help her both sell her house and buy one in Virginia.
Kelly's husband recently started a new job in Washington, and the family's house has been for sale since the summer.
The Triangle housing market has a glut of houses priced above $400,000.
"We have a beautiful home," she said. "We just have so much other beautiful competition."
The offers Kelly has gotten have been contingent on the buyers selling their existing homes. Kelly hopes the $6,500 tax credit will help those people sell, which in turn will benefit her.
"It's just a domino effect," she said.
Most people who have taken advantage of the first-time homebuyer tax credit in the Triangle bought houses priced below $300,000, which has greatly reduced the inventory of houses at those price points.
About 1.42 million U.S. taxpayers have qualified for the credit through August, including nearly 45,000 in North Carolina, according to the Internal Revenue Service.
Real-estate agents in the Triangle and across the country had grown increasingly nervous about what might happen if the tax credit were allowed to expire Nov. 30.
In the Triangle, the credit was thought to be the main reason that house sales bottomed out this fall. The number of houses sold during September in Durham, Johnston, Orange and Wake counties was 1,595 - up a half percent from the same period a year ago, Triangle Multiple Listing Services data show.
It was the first year-over-year increase in any month since 2007.
Stacey P. Anfindsen, a Cary appraiser who analyzes MLS data for Triangle real estate agents, said he's doubtful the higher priced homes will receive the same boost from the repeat buyer tax credit.
"There are more people with $50,000 jobs than $200,000 jobs," he said. "If you try creating buyers in the $400,000 and up price range you're really just going back to what we were doing before."
Among the causes of the meltdown in the housing sector were the lax lending standards applied to homebuyers. Anfindsen agrees lenders have stopped making risky loans, but he said the $6,500 tax credit may be small when compared to the decline in personal savings and home values experienced by many.
April, June deadlines
The repeat buyer tax credit is already getting the attention of people who have been casually looking to move into a new home but were not in any hurry. The bill passed by Congress requires that first-time and repeat buyers put homes under contract by April 30 and close by June 30.
Chris Shelton, 32, has been considering selling his North Raleigh townhouse and buying a larger single-family house. Shelton works as a mortgage banker for SunTrust, and he said many of his clients are in the same boat as he is.
"If they were looking now they're really going to want to buy," he said. "It would allow you to knock $6,500 off the price knowing that you're able to get that tax money back."
In voting to extend and expand the first-time homebuyer tax credit, policy makers agreed with the real estate industry that removing the incentive would endanger the housing market's fledging recovery.
"You have a combination right now of the real-estate community not only very pleased but breathing a big sigh of relief," said Ross Rhudy, general manager of Ammons Pittman GMAC Real Estate in Raleigh. "If there's going to be any real recovery in the housing market this was a crucial piece to it."
The question now is when the housing market will reach the stage when such incentives are considered no longer necessary.
Michael Walden, an N.C. State University economist, said that question is increasingly being asked about a number of different government programs that have been launched over the past 18 months to help stabilize the economy.
"The argument for this [program] would be this recession is a residential housing-induced recession and we have to get the residential housing market back on track in order to solidify this emerging economic recovery," Walden said. "You could make the argument that although it's costing us money in the short run, if it is getting us out of the recession quicker it's worth it."
BY DAVID BRACKEN - STAFF WRITER, NewsObserver
The bill, which awaits President Barack Obama's signature, adds a credit worth up to $6,500 for repeat buyers who have lived in their houses at least five years. The legislation also significantly raises the annual income limits required to be eligible to qualify for the tax credits.
The number of people eligible for the new credit is large, and real estate agents hope it will increase sales of houses that are priced beyond the reach of most first-time buyers.
Laurie Kelly, whose North Raleigh house is on the market for $430,000, is optimistic that the new credit will help her both sell her house and buy one in Virginia.
Kelly's husband recently started a new job in Washington, and the family's house has been for sale since the summer.
The Triangle housing market has a glut of houses priced above $400,000.
"We have a beautiful home," she said. "We just have so much other beautiful competition."
The offers Kelly has gotten have been contingent on the buyers selling their existing homes. Kelly hopes the $6,500 tax credit will help those people sell, which in turn will benefit her.
"It's just a domino effect," she said.
Most people who have taken advantage of the first-time homebuyer tax credit in the Triangle bought houses priced below $300,000, which has greatly reduced the inventory of houses at those price points.
About 1.42 million U.S. taxpayers have qualified for the credit through August, including nearly 45,000 in North Carolina, according to the Internal Revenue Service.
Real-estate agents in the Triangle and across the country had grown increasingly nervous about what might happen if the tax credit were allowed to expire Nov. 30.
In the Triangle, the credit was thought to be the main reason that house sales bottomed out this fall. The number of houses sold during September in Durham, Johnston, Orange and Wake counties was 1,595 - up a half percent from the same period a year ago, Triangle Multiple Listing Services data show.
It was the first year-over-year increase in any month since 2007.
Stacey P. Anfindsen, a Cary appraiser who analyzes MLS data for Triangle real estate agents, said he's doubtful the higher priced homes will receive the same boost from the repeat buyer tax credit.
"There are more people with $50,000 jobs than $200,000 jobs," he said. "If you try creating buyers in the $400,000 and up price range you're really just going back to what we were doing before."
Among the causes of the meltdown in the housing sector were the lax lending standards applied to homebuyers. Anfindsen agrees lenders have stopped making risky loans, but he said the $6,500 tax credit may be small when compared to the decline in personal savings and home values experienced by many.
April, June deadlines
The repeat buyer tax credit is already getting the attention of people who have been casually looking to move into a new home but were not in any hurry. The bill passed by Congress requires that first-time and repeat buyers put homes under contract by April 30 and close by June 30.
Chris Shelton, 32, has been considering selling his North Raleigh townhouse and buying a larger single-family house. Shelton works as a mortgage banker for SunTrust, and he said many of his clients are in the same boat as he is.
"If they were looking now they're really going to want to buy," he said. "It would allow you to knock $6,500 off the price knowing that you're able to get that tax money back."
In voting to extend and expand the first-time homebuyer tax credit, policy makers agreed with the real estate industry that removing the incentive would endanger the housing market's fledging recovery.
"You have a combination right now of the real-estate community not only very pleased but breathing a big sigh of relief," said Ross Rhudy, general manager of Ammons Pittman GMAC Real Estate in Raleigh. "If there's going to be any real recovery in the housing market this was a crucial piece to it."
The question now is when the housing market will reach the stage when such incentives are considered no longer necessary.
Michael Walden, an N.C. State University economist, said that question is increasingly being asked about a number of different government programs that have been launched over the past 18 months to help stabilize the economy.
"The argument for this [program] would be this recession is a residential housing-induced recession and we have to get the residential housing market back on track in order to solidify this emerging economic recovery," Walden said. "You could make the argument that although it's costing us money in the short run, if it is getting us out of the recession quicker it's worth it."
BY DAVID BRACKEN - STAFF WRITER, NewsObserver
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