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Do I need a Pre-Approal Letter?

25 Monday Aug 2014

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Pre-Approval Letters are a quick and easy way to tell sellers and your realtor that you are a serious buyer.  It is a quick 10-15 minute conversation with a lender (by phone or in person) that gets your basic information.

Yes, they may run a credit check, but that helps them to determine what kind of interest rate they can give you and consequently how much house you can afford.

Check out this flyer from Tom Tholl at Leader One Financial for more information:

Pre-approval flyer

As always.  Feel free to give myself or Tom a call with any questions!

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Clinton Area Ho…

07 Wednesday May 2014

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Clinton Area House Market: Hot or Not? It depends on the price range. If you are trying to sell a home listed above $175k you are going to have to have some patience.

I get this question all of the time… “How is the market?” and my response is always the same… “It depends on if you are a buyer or seller.” Recently, my Broker took a look at the inventory available in the Clinton, Camanche, and Fulton Markets. Inventory is the statistical average number of months it would take for every home in a price range to sell if no new homes came on the market.

Inventory helps determine where buyers are looking for and purchasing homes and where houses are spending a long time on the market before they sell. As a general rule less than 4 months supply of homes is considered a seller’s market; 5-6 months is more or less neutral; and anything more than 6 months is a buyer’s market. The table below breaks down the inventory available in different price ranges available in the Clinton, Camanche, and Fulton Markets. Only the least expensive price range is showing a neutral market. Everything else is showing a buyer’s market and in many cases it is an extreme buyer’s market, like the $175k-$200k or +$250k price ranges! They are experiencing almost two years of inventory. This tells us that their just aren’t buyers looking for homes in these price ranges. These sellers will have to be patient and wait for the right buyer to come along. It isn’t that your home is worth less, it is just that there are fewer buyers.

Price Range

Number of Homes Sold in 2014

Average Number of Homes Sold Per Month

Number of Homes Currently for Sale

Inventory (months)

<$50,000

27

6.75

34

5

$50,001 – $75,000

15

3.75

41

11

$75,001 – $100,000

22

5.50

44

8

$100,001 – $125,000

9

2.25

29

13

$125,001 – $150,000

10

2.50

19

8

$150,001 – $175,000

4

1.00

10

10

$175,001 – $200,000

2

0.50

13

26

$200,001 – $250,000

6

1.50

9

6

>$250,001

3

0.75

16

21

TOTAL

98

24.50

215

9

Inventory is calculated by taking the number of homes for sale on the MLS and dividing it by the average number of homes sold per month.

In general, this is still a strong buyer’s market, meaning sellers will need to be priced aggressively, have your home updated and staged and offer bonuses like home warranties.

On the other hand, this is a great time to buy!  There are also many, many grant assistance programs (with FREE MONEY!) available in both Iowa and Illinois for first time home buyers, repeat home buyers and veterans!