The EBA Way - A Better Way to Buy a Home

Just The Facts!

NC FORECLOSURE FACTS

• Foreclosures in North Carolina during May dropped nearly 32% from the same month a year ago.
• Foreclosure filings from April 2009 to May 2009 declined 16 percent.
• The Home Foreclosure Prevention Project – a plan launched by the governor’s office and the N.C. Office
  of the Commissioner of Banks – has helped more than
  1,000 homeowners avoid foreclosure since its
  inception in November.

NC ECONOMY

• In 2008, North Carolina was the sixth most visited
  state in the nation with travelers spending $16.9
  billion.
• N.C. cities continue to receive national recognition.
  Recently, Raleigh has been named among Kiplinger’s
  10 Best Places to Live and Work; Durham was dubbed
  one of the best places to live by U.S. News, and
  Winston-Salem gained recognition as one of the best
  cities to “start over,” according to BusinessWeek.
• North Carolina continues to be a magnet for people
  looking for work as an additional 26,042 people held
  jobs in April compared to March.
• North Carolina created “clean-energy economy”
  jobs at more than twice its overall job-growth rate from 1998 to 2007.
• The Raleigh-Durham area and Charlotte ranked
  No. 1 and No. 3, respectively, in a ranking of nine
  Southeastern metro areas on a range of factors
  affecting economic growth.

HOMEOWNERSHIP

• President Barack Obama’s recently released 2010
  budget includes an increase in funding for the U.S.
  Department of Housing and Urban Development – a
  pleasing sign to the housing industry.
• According to the National Association of Home
  Builders, the median income American family
  (earning $61,000 a year) can now afford to buy a
  $290,000 home with a 20 percent downpayment.
  Nationally, construction of new homes jumped in May
  by the largest amount seen in three months, a 17.2
  percent increase.
• Recent studies indicate that owners’ wealth exceeds
  that of renters by a factor of 50-to-1: a
  median of $205,200 versus a median of $4,200.
• The number of newly built single-family homes on
  the market shrank to 297,000 units in April, thinning
  supplies to their lowest level since May 2001.
  

Source: FOR THE RECORD, The Real Facts of N.C. Real Estate, Issue 4, July/August 2009

Recent indicators in the housing market will convince prospective homebuyers that the time to move is now. New construction permits increased 14.4% in June and home builders’ assessments of market conditions in July, as well as the forecast for the remainder of 2009, have strengthened to a ten month high. Sales of existing homes are also up for a third consecutive month; and the Mortgage Bankers’ Association has reported an increase in mortgage applications. Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist at the National Association of Realtors, reports that sales are expected to continue the upward trend “due to tax credit incentives and historically high affordability conditions.”

At Buyers Advantage Group Realty, we too have seen an increase in activity over the last few weeks. This is especially true with respect to inquiries from folks who are interested in taking advantage of the first time homebuyer tax credit. It is important to understand that the tax credit is only available to those who purchase and close on their first home before November 30, 2009.

I expect we will be getting a lot of frantic calls in October and early November. Those callers may be too late. If you think this could be the time for you to purchase your first home, my advice is to contact us today and get all the information you need to make an informed decision and to take advantage of this remarkable buyers market!