Archive for January, 2009

Credit crunch?  Can’t borrow?  For those who are overleveraged or have bad credit then it possibly is true.  However, for the great majority of Berkshire and Bennington County buyers, credit is readily available particularly at small and midsize local and regional banks where mortgage lending continues to be a mainstay of their business model.  Here in our special corner of New England, I talk to bankers frequently, and they all tell me the same thing:  “Stop watching the news!  We have money to lend to good customers, we want their business, and we are very competitive on rates.  Send them in to us, we can help!”   

The high level of negative news has certainly put a chill in the market and scared many.  Meanwhile prices of real estate have dropped significantly boosting affordability levels that haven’t been this attractive in years. 

Interest rates are at historic lows with long term financing readily available under 5% at some area lenders as I am writing this (though there are indications that rates may soon rise so this may prove to be the very lowest point).  How fantastic is that?!  Says one local mortgage loan officer, Deb Corey of Chittenden Bank  a top regional lender with substantial available capital and resources:  “We have plenty of money to lend and are continuing to close many mortgage loans each month. With rates this low, now is the perfect time for buyers to speak with a mortgage lender and determine what they can afford to purchase.” 

The best advice we can offer is to get yourself to a local lender, learn the options, and get yourself prequalified to determine just how much of a loan you may qualify for in today’s low interest rate environment. Obviously rates and programs vary from one lender to another.

We do not recommend on-line sources of financing for a host of reasons. Often they have hidden costs, their processes can be very long and frustrating, you wind up dealing with a bank or mortgage company from anywhere in the country and lose the local control and advantages our area banks offer.

The bottom line message here is that money for residential loans is plentiful, available and relatively “cheap”. The prices of homes and real estate in general are very attractive and good buys can be made. Local lenders and experienced real estate brokers like ourselves are here to guide and help you through the purchasing and financing process with ease and efficiency.

This same  message is true across the board for residential, land, or commercial lending and echosed by all the other lenders in our market area. Here is a partial list of who to call:  Myra Wilk, Williamstown Savings Bank 458-8191; Cindy Salt or Myra Wilk, Hoosac Bank 663-5353; Nancy Hunt, South Adams Savings Bank 458-2141; Darcy Field, TD Banknorth 458-8321 (Option 3); Debbie Kushnet,  Greylock Federal 458-3104; Patty Szukala, Adams Co-op Bank 664-4571; or Debbie Corey, Chittenden/Berkshire Bank, 802-442-7608.

Please feel free to contact me at phil@harschrealestate.com or at 413-458-5000.  We can point you in the right direction.  We welcome your business and yes, there is money to lend! 

Posted by Phil Coleman January 21, 2009

Home sales decreased only 3.6 percent in December 2008 over December 2007 compared to a decrease of 20.5% from November 2008 to November 2007 indicating that the “slippery bottom” described in previous reports is alive and well.  While one month of improvement does not signal the end of the housing recession, it does indicate that despite the gloomy economic environment housing shows signs of stabilizing.

Several regions showed significant improvement over November results.  The West region reported that transactions were up 33.1 percent from December 2007 to December 2008 compared to a rise of only 9.4 percent from November 2007 to November 2008.  The Midwest reported that sales were down 8.7 percent in December versus 25.7 percent in November; on the same basis the South reported transactions were down 12.5 percent in December 2008 versus being down 30.4 percent in November 2008 and the Northeast was down 18.8 percent from December 2007 to December 2008 versus being down 27.4 percent from November 2007 to November 2008.

Prices for sales nationally were off 14.4 percent from December 2007 to December 2008; the best region for prices was the Northeast where prices have fallen only 8.7 percent from the same month a year ago while the West had the largest average decline with the average price down 28.9 percent from December 2007; Both the South and Midwest regions reported price declines similar to that seen in earlier months.

REAL Trends Comment: December showed that housing sales held up much better than anticipated and while prices were down the decreases are similar to those recorded in prior months.  These results indicate that while recovery may be a way off, price declines and drops in sales are leveling off.  Record low mortgage rates, lowered home prices and rising affordability are offsetting the effects of rising unemployment to some extent.

30-year fixed-rate mortgage ties record low 

The benchmark 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell 5 basis points, to 5.28 percent, according to the Bankrate.com national survey of large lenders.  The mortgages in this week’s survey had an average total of 0.42 discount and origination points. One year ago, the mortgage index was 5.75 percent; four weeks ago, it was 5.42 percent.
 
The benchmark 15-year fixed-rate mortgage went the other way, rising 4 basis points, to 4.89 percent. The benchmark 5/1 adjustable-rate mortgage fell 21 basis points, to 5.51 percent.  At 5.28 percent, the benchmark 30-year rate ties its record low in the Bankrate survey’s 23-year history. It was 5.28 percent June 11, 2003.
 
Source: Bankrate.com

Mortgage rates continue to drop, and some of the nation’s largest banks are offering loans below 5 percent. Chase Bank advertised a 4.75 percent 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage, Wells Fargo’s rate was 4.875 percent, and Bank of America was at 5 percent on their Web sites recently. The rates are for borrowers who have a 20 percent down payment and an excellent credit rating.
 
The new, lower rates are a result of the Federal Reserve’s $500 billion purchase of mortgage-backed securities guaranteed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Ginnie Mae. These new lower rates should increase demand for mortgage refinancing, but it is unclear whether they will be enough to spur a growth in new mortgages.
 
The average rate for a 30-year mortgage dropped for the tenth consecutive week, according to Freddie Mac’s weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey, which indicated the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rate dropped nearly 2 percent from 5.10 percent for the week ending January 1, to 5.01 percent for the week ending January 8. The rate is down nearly 15 percent from this time last year, and is at its lowest level since Freddie Mac began tracking the data in 1971.  The Fed buy-up of mortgage-backed securities has boosted the price of securities, and in turn, dropped interest rates.
 
Source: DSNEWS.com

Top 10 Museum Exhibits

1. Sol LeWitt: A Wall Drawing Retrospective

The wall drawings of Sol LeWitt are art’s equivalent of gifts that come with “some assembly required.” LeWitt was a pioneer of Conceptual art. For him the idea behind a work was all important, the execution a secondary matter. So a LeWitt wall drawing was simply a set of instructions devised by him to be carried out by others. Often he didn’t even see the final result. But from this very cerebral recipe all kinds of vivid, sensual results emerged. Before his death last year LeWitt agreed to have more than 100 massive drawings from all periods of his career executed at MASS MoCA, the contemporary arts center that inhabits a group of converted industrial buildings. And the plan is for the drawings to remain in place for a minimum of 25 years. So this isn’t just an exhibition. It’s a great new American art-world destination.
The Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, North Adams, Mass. (11/16 – 2033)

Click the link below to view all top 10 of 2008: http://www.time.com/time/specials/2008/top10/article/0,30583,1855948_1863352_1863353,00.html

Timeless words of course, and the essence of what real estate ownership truly is all about.  My name is Phil Coleman, I am a Realtor Sales Associate and Land Specialist with Harsch Associates here in Williamstown, Massachusetts.  I have been in the land business or affiliated forest related companies for over 30 years.  I am pleased to join our Harsch “Blog Team” and offer the first in what I hope will be a regular column about land.  I am very unusual in this regard throughout the Berkshires.  There are just a few of us here with this kind of specialty, but if you are a land nut like I am, come back to our website often to check this blog!  There is a lot to write about, and I promise you will enjoy it.

Our modern American legal codes regarding real estate ownership, and the English common laws that came before them, owe much of their existence to the original concepts of land ownership.  These were first adopted all the way back in the Middle Ages as the struggle between societal classes played out over land ownership and rights.  Before widespread use of printed or coined money, mutual funds, any kind of modern bank or savings accounts, ownership of shares, etc., wealth was primarily measured in terms of the land you owned.  In some societies even today that concept still is very valid and a part of 21^st century thinking.  Here in the Berkshires land ownership is very much a part of how local wealth has been held over the centuries, and is a magnet indeed for thousands of out of town investors and second home owners as well.

In essence,  everything that happens in modern real estate conveyance has its roots in the land underneath, the land itself.  When you buy a home, you are buying the land and its improvements.  When you buy a condo or coop, you may be buying with a group of people, but at the bottom of the building is the parcel of land.  And buying land just for the sake of buying and owning land is a time tested and highly valid investment strategy, especially here in the Berkshires.  The volatility and uncertainty of the times we are living in now only enhance the attractiveness of land as an asset class that merits a portion of any astute investor’s portfolio.  Putting all your resources into financial assets has been a slippery slope to say the least.  The land will always be there, underneath it all!

In the future, I hope to cover a wide variety of topics, anything from bank lending for land (there is plenty of money available for borrowers with good credit!);  understanding value;  site development and engineering;  surveying and mapping;  market trends and historical activity, and  Top Ten Tips for Land Buyers and Sellers.  I can think of dozens more, too.   You can have a look right now in the land section of our website—check it out, there is a lot of good stuff in there!  I am also open to writing about subjects that readers ask about, or to answer your questions.  I am available at phil@harschrealestate.com.  I look forward to hearing from you, and wish you a very Happy New Year! 

Posted by Phil Coleman, Realtor Sales Associate

Those of us fortunate enough to live in Williamstown are really rather reluctant to tell too many people about it because, well, we like it like this. Everyone knows how beautiful Martha’s Vineyard and Block Island are, how swanky the Hamptons are, how upscale Newport is, and just how crowded and expensive they all are but well, again, we really would rather keep Williamstown the way it is. So you see, with only one traffic light, no malls, no McDonalds, and yes, really, no traffic, we love it like this. We love the unspoiled vistas of mountains surrounding the valley in ever changing hues as each season progresses. We love the quaint small historic shopping street of town, we love the fact that Williams College is the raison d’être of the town and provides art, theatre, music and fabulous facilities they share with the community of only 6,000 souls plus their own 2,000 students. It’s the best small liberal arts college in the entire US, so says US News just about every year. 

So, in case you like scenery to relish year ‘round, in case you like safe and quiet streets with no traffic, no crime that I know of (well actually I did hear that there was a camera taken from the front seat of an unlocked car with its windows open, one summer) , reasonably priced real estate, and so long as you don’t tell too many other people about it, we hope you’ll consider checking out what life would be like for you, at any age and stage of life, here in the fabulous Berkshires. We still have a few places available.

See you soon we hope.