Leonard Ryden Burr Real Estate

Is the market coming back?

2011-01-24T12:43:00.004-05:00

At LRB we just closed the best December in our history. January and February are also tracking to be the best of those two months in our history as well.

The view from Glade Street looks good indeed!

Here is a national view from our friends at KCM:

http://kcmblog.com/2011/01/21/is-the-housing-market-starting-to-come-back

Existing-Home Sales Move Up in August

2010-09-23T11:06:00.000-04:00

Existing-Home Sales Move Up in August

'Sexy' Homes Spice Up North Carolina Market

2010-09-10T11:19:00.000-04:00

'Sexy' Homes Spice Up North Carolina Market

Real-Estate Investing: the Best and Worst Markets - WSJ.com

2010-08-25T16:15:00.000-04:00

Real-Estate Investing: the Best and Worst Markets - WSJ.com

We put the RE in relocation

2010-07-28T09:29:00.000-04:00

Homebuyer Tax Credit Ends, But Other Incentives Emerge - Yahoo! Finance

2010-04-30T16:18:00.000-04:00

Homebuyer Tax Credit Ends, But Other Incentives Emerge - Yahoo! Finance

Most Americans say now is time to buy a house-poll | Reuters

2010-04-06T22:39:00.000-04:00

Most Americans say now is time to buy a house-poll | Reuters

What’s “Normal”?

2010-03-18T12:51:00.000-04:00

Great post from a broker in Illinois:

What’s “Normal”? « ShoesViews

LRB Wins National Awards

2010-03-18T10:49:00.000-04:00

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: We are excited to announce that LRB won a national award for 1st Place: Brand Advertising, 2nd Place: Property Advertising, 2nd Place: Letterhead/Business Cards/Stationary from Leading Real Estate Companies of the World at the annual convention last week in Las Vegas! We were also 1st Runner Up for the Award of Excellence for Referral Production and Incoming Conversion for referrals!

Facebook | Leonard Ryden Burr Real Estate

2009-12-21T11:17:00.000-05:00

Facebook Leonard Ryden Burr Real Estate: "We are very pleased to announce that Debra Marshall has joined our company in the position of Director of Business Services and Relocation. Debra has an extensive background in corporate calling and a proven history of bringing new business to real estate agencies. This is a great opportunity and reflects our commitmen...t to the growth and development of LRB, our agents and our community.See More"

CONGRATULATIONS Wendy Shelton Butler!!!

2009-11-11T11:55:00.004-05:00

LRB gives a big shout out to Wendy Shelton Butler, winner of the Winston-Salem Regional Association of Realtors Citizenship Award. Wendy received this distinguished award last night from her fellow colleagues at the Benton Convention Center. The award is given annually to the Realtor that best exemplifies work toward the betterment of the community through outstanding public service.

Congratulations Wendy!

We are very proud of you and your work!

10 Common Mistakes Home Sellers Make

2009-10-29T17:18:00.001-04:00

10 Common Mistakes Home Sellers Make at SmartMoney.com

Discussions continue over $8k tax credit extension

2009-10-14T16:42:00.000-04:00

Realty Times - Washington Report: $8,000 Home Buyer Tax Credit

Quick passage by the House last week of a bill extending the $8,000 home buyer tax credit next year for military, diplomatic and intelligence personnel serving overseas increases the odds that Congress will agree to an extension, maybe even an expansion, of the entire credit program well into 2010.

The White House is also signaling that it sees the overall tax credit program -- currently set to expire November 30 -- as an important element in cutting the unemployment rolls and stimulating new jobs next year.
After an economic policy strategy meeting last week in the Oval Office involving President Obama, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, congressional aides said Democrats generally support an extension of the housing credit.
Reid already has made clear he wants an extension. He is co-sponsoring a Senate bill that would do so for six months.
Congressman Charles Rangel, chairman of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, sponsored the one-year extension of the credit for military and other personnel serving overseas, and is reported by aides as favoring an extension for the entire program.
The White House has not publicly committed to an extension, but has confirmed that the President is seriously examining that option.
An unexpected development that emerged following last week's White House meeting was the possibility of opening up the credit to a broader group of buyers next year - people who sell their current homes and buy a replacement home.
Though details were scanty, Capitol Hill sources said one option on the table would be to provide a tax credit -- most likely at the $8,000 level -- to replacement home buyers whose incomes do not exceed some limit.
The current credit phases out for single taxpayers with incomes above $75,000, and married purchasers earning $150,000.
A politically sensitive issue hovering over the entire debate on extending the housing tax credit is its cost - what it would add to the federal budgetary deficit. Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody's Economy.com, estimates that widening the credit to all buyers through next August could cost the government upwards of $30 billion.
Rangel's 12-month extension of the credit for service personnel is estimated to cost more than $300 million, but it's mainly being paid for through an increase in penalties levied by the IRS on taxpayers who fail to file corporate or partnership returns.
The New York Times reported that one possible solution to the cost problem would be to divert money not yet spent out of 2009's $800 billion stimulus legislation.

Good News on Short Sale Process changes!

2009-10-14T14:23:00.001-04:00

October 14, 2009 at 12:00 pm

Great news! As we have been suggesting would happen, the U.S. Department of the Treasury is launching a new program to help homeowners escape foreclosure. The Chief of the Homeowner Preservation Office (it is amazing there actually is such a department) at the Treasury, Laurie Maggiano, released information on the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives (HAFA) while speaking at the Mortgage Bankers’ Association Annual Convention in San Diego yesterday. The official launch is expected in the next week or so.

The program allows borrowers in imminent default to “make a graceful exit” from their home. HAFA will help the current owner from having the stigma of foreclosure associated with them. Obviously, it will also be better for the neighborhoods around the distressed property. It is always better to have a new family move in as opposed to having an empty house on your block.
HAFA will offer financial incentives to both servicers and borrowers, and associated secondary investors, in order to facilitate a short sale or deed in lieu of the property.

Laurie Moore-Moore, a specialist in this area reports the following proposed changes:

Change #1:There are clearly defined steps which the servicer’s loss mitigator must follow in sequence when a loan is in default (or imminent default ). If attempted refinancing or a loan modification do not work — then and only then — will a loss mitigator consider the possibility of a short sale. This is the only time during the loss mitigation process when a short sale will be a possibility. The loss mitigator will use a specific net present value formula to determine if the lender/investor will net more from a short sale than from a foreclosure. The decision is strictly a financial one. This means the short sale attempt will be approved in advance if it is financially to the lender’s advantage.

Change #2:You will continue to list with the seller, but the loss mitigator sets the price and the listing term. The listing term can range from as few as 90 days to as long as 365 days. The servicer/lender still must accept the contract which your seller has approved.

Change #3:Good news! Fannie Mae’s Servicing Guide Announcement #09-03 clearly says there is to be no negotiation of short sale commissions. “..closing of pre-foreclosure sales may not be conditioned upon a reduction of the total commission to be paid to real estate agents to the level below what was negotiated by the listing agent with the borrower, unless the fee exceeds 6% of the sales price of the property in aggregate.” In other words, if you’ve negotiated a listing fee with the seller, the servicer/lender may not ask you to reduce that fee.

Thanks to Steve Harney!

This is a cool interactice chart showing volume and prices in different regions of the US over the past 40 years--

2009-09-17T15:28:00.000-04:00

From the National Association of Realtors (NAR)

Annual Sales Volume and Median Sales Price of Existing Single-Family Homes

New Sales Center at Mill House Place

2009-09-13T12:02:00.004-04:00

We are excited to announce our latest development! A sales center in MHP!

Please stop by our new sales center in Mill House Place on Saturdays or Sundays from 1:00 to 4:00 pm. You can tour the available houses in the development, learn more about the development and discuss building your own custom home on one of our fabulous lots. This is a private, gated community of 26 homes with lake access and lake view lots. Garden homes are available for easy living as well.

Sales Center located at 4457 Della Crescent Court.

http://www.millhouseplace.com/

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/pages/Winston-Salem-NC/Leonard-Ryden-Burr-Real-Estate/201376585071?ref=ts

Walkability

2009-09-08T17:03:00.000-04:00

Click this link to the National Trust for Historic Preservations blog on how walkability affects home values in neighborhoods.

PreservationNation

Market Share

2009-09-02T14:31:00.003-04:00

Despite the incorrect information our "competition" insists on publishing, numbers are numbers. The most recent market share report run through the new Triad MLX system shows LRB with 9% of the market YTD as of 9-2-2009 based on sales volume. I don't know why they insist on publishing misleading and somewhat libelous information except that they are seeing our share growing at their expense which smacks of desperation.
New times, new leaders.

On a record roll.....

2009-09-01T13:52:00.002-04:00

Pending Home Sales on a Record Roll
Washington, September 01, 2009
Contract activity for pending home sales has risen for six straight months, a pattern not seen in the history of the index since it began in 2001, according to the National Association of Realtors®.
The Pending Home Sales Index,1 a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in July, increased 3.2 percent to 97.6 from a reading of 94.6 in June, and is 12.0 percent higher than July 2008 when it was 87.1. The index is at the highest level since June 2007 when it was 100.7.

http://www.realtor.org/press_room/news_releases/2009/09/record_roll

First-Time Buyer Tax Credit Extension Possible

2009-08-27T16:26:00.000-04:00

REALTOR® Magazine-Daily News-First-Time Buyer Tax Credit Extension Possible: "First-Time Buyer Tax Credit Extension Possible
Bills to extend the maximum $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers, which expires Nov. 30, are pending in both the U.S. House and the Senate.

Sen. Christopher J. Dodd, a Connecticut Democrat and chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, is co-sponsor of a bill with Georgia Republican Sen. Johnny Isakson that would raise the credit amount to a maximum of $15,000.

Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid of Nevada favors an extension of the current credit. He was quoted by the Las Vegas Sun saying, 'It's something we can get done.'

Odds are that the credit will be extended and broadened to cover all buyers next year, but the chances of the amount increasing aren’t as good, observers say.

Source: Washington Post Writers Group, Kenneth R. Harney (08/22/2009)"

Open houses 8-30-2009

2009-08-27T16:22:00.001-04:00

Click for open houses this week:

http://www.lrbrealestate.com/openhouses.aspx?searchtype=open

Pending home sales up for 5th straight month - Real estate- msnbc.com

2009-08-04T13:07:00.000-04:00

Pending home sales up for 5th straight month - Real estate- msnbc.com

Interesting from the Wall Street Journal -- High-End Homes Frozen Out of Budding Housing Rebound - WSJ.com

2009-08-03T14:40:00.000-04:00

High-End Homes Frozen Out of Budding Housing Rebound - WSJ.com

LRB's Toni & David Phillips announce Camel City Carriage Company, Winston Salem, NC

2009-07-23T12:24:00.000-04:00

We are excited about a new horse drawn carriage service for downtown starting soon by Toni & David Phillips.

Camel City Carriage Company, Winston Salem, NC

LRB market share posts large increase

2009-07-15T16:42:00.002-04:00

In difficult times, new leaders emerge. Leonard Ryden Burr Real Estate is pleased to report that our market share increased by 42% during the first half of 2009 as compared to the similar period in 2008. Fewer homes are being sold this year than last, but we are selling a much larger percentage of those homes. LRB is now the third largest real estate company in the Winston-Salem area as measured by the closed volume of business.

Rotarian of the Year

2009-06-25T18:01:00.002-04:00

Congratulations to our very own Susan Joy Neely, Clemmons Rotary Club Rotarian of the Year!!!

Vote for us in the Winston-Salem Journal Readers Choice awards

2009-06-24T16:44:00.002-04:00

Write LRB in as the best real estate agency--click below

http://readerschoicejournalnow.com/

Winston-Salem named top 10 best place to start over in US...

2009-06-23T22:01:00.001-04:00

Number 7 by BusinessWeek----

http://images.businessweek.com/ss/09/06/0611_cities_to_start_over/8.htm

2009-05-27T17:29:00.005-04:00

I am receiving a lot of positive comments on this blog. I am glad you are finding it useful. All posts below are the results of overall market conditions of member firms in the Triad MLS. It is not LRB's internal numbers. This post will detail some of LRB's numbers compared with the local competition.

LRB's numbers are looking much better than any other member firms in the Winston-Salem area. Sellers are flocking in droves to LRB for assistance in marketing their homes. The dollar value of homes listed from January 1st through May 21st with LRB is up a whopping 36% over 2008. Meanwhile Pru is down 17%, Coldwell Banker is down 25%, Allen Tate is down 27%, Remax is down 28%, and Keller Williams is down 31% over the same time period. Clearly, sellers are turning to the experienced agents at LRB in this difficult market.

We are not in a cocoon and are lagging in sales over this same time frame however not suffering nearly as badly as our local competitors. Through May 21st, LRB's dollar volume of sales is down 9%. Contrast that with Pru down 52%, Coldwell Banker down 43%, Allen Tate down 44%, Remax down 51%, and Keller Williams down 33%.

New leaders emerge from difficult times and the data show LRB pulling ahead.

West End Sales

2009-05-27T10:57:00.003-04:00

This data reflects numbers from the entire Triad MLS

The West End neighborhood through May 27th:

2008 avg sales price $188,333
2009 avg sales price $307,100

An increase of 63%. This is due to low unit volume each of the past two periods:

7 units in 2008
5 units in 2009

2009 numbers contain 613 Summit at $600,000, one of the more expensive houses sold in West End in recent memory. 2008 numbers include 4 condo's sold for under $200,000.

2008 DOM 183
2009 DOM 75

Ardmore Sales YTD through May 26,2009

2009-05-26T16:00:00.004-04:00

This data reflects numbers from the entire Triad MLS

Ardmore prices have dropped 11% in 2009 over the same time period in 2008 (Jan 1 through May 26th, 2008 & 2009):

2008 avg sales price $171,259
2009 avg sales price $151,775

2008 DOM 84
2009 DOM 114

2008 units sold #64
2009 units sold #44
a 31% drop in units!

Clearly we are seeing more people who used to be first time home buyers opt to rent this year than purchase. The $8,000 tax credit and historic low interest rates, coupled with lower prices is still failing to get buyers off the fence.

Sales in Buena Vista

2009-05-26T15:41:00.004-04:00

This data reflects numbers from the entire Triad MLS

There has been a 22% decrease in home sale prices in Buena Vista YTD (as of May 26th, 2009).

2008 avg sales price $501,187
2009 avg sales price $390,857

It's important to keep in mind that this neighborhood contains some of Winston-Salem's most expensive homes. A handful of high end sales can dramatically affect these averages. So far this year the most expensive home sold was $1,020,000. In 2008 the most expensive sold through May 26 was $1,523,174.

DOM has increased from 93 in 2008 to 125 in 2009.

Units sold is fairly flat at 28 in 2009 and 32 in 2008.

Sales in the 27104 Zip Code

2009-05-26T15:31:00.003-04:00

This data refelcts numbers from the entire Triad MLS

Sales in the 27104 zip code area if Winston-Salem, NC

YTD (as of May 26, 2009)

2008 avg sales price $262,232
2009 avg sales price $250,385

This shows a 4.5% drop in prices for 27104 on average from 2008 to 2009. This zip code is fairing better on whole than the Winston-Salem average.

2008 DOM 105
2009 DOM 94

Slightly improving DOM numbers for 2009.

Units Sold

2008 #135 units
2009 # 89 units

35% fewer units sold in 2009

Winston-Salem home prices through today

2009-05-26T15:18:00.004-04:00

Through today, there has been continued downward pressure on home prices in Winston-Salem.

Here are the numbers for Winston-Salem from Jan 1 through May 26:

2008 avg sales price $171,312
2009 avg sales price $155,244
Decrease in price 9.4%

2008 DOM 111
2009 DOM 120

2008 Units Sold 2315
2009 Units Sold 1476
Decrease in units 36%

S&P: Home prices fall by record 19.1 percent in 1Q - Yahoo! Finance

2009-05-26T14:54:00.000-04:00

S&P: Home prices fall by record 19.1 percent in 1Q - Yahoo! Finance: "The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller National Home Price index reported home prices tumbled by 19.1 percent in the first quarter, the most in its 21-year history."

Update on local home price levels

2009-05-26T14:52:00.002-04:00

This data refelcts numbers from the entire Triad MLS

I ran some numbers today (5/26/2009) to see where we stack up locally after the latest headline stating home prices fell 19.1% nationally in the first quarter of 2009. Here is what I found for the Winston-Salem area:

Q1 2008 average sales price was $168,333
Q1 2009 average sales price was $153,717

This is an 8.7% drop, far better than what was reported nationally.

Days on market (DOM) was pretty flat going from 114 DOM in 2008 to 118 DOM in 2009.

More noticeable is the number of units sold:

Q1 2008 units 1379
Q1 2009 units 867

This is a 37% drop and one reason local real estate agents are feeling some pain.