Mortgage Rates

Here is why some economists are projecting a strong spring for the Real Estate Market. Interest Rates are still at an all time low. Rates change daily but the short term forecast is for them to stay low.
The following rates are for Monday February 26, 2007 from http://www.bankrate.com/

LOAN TYPE TODAY LAST WEEK
30 yr fixed mtg 5.75% 5.77%
15 yr fixed mtg 5.52% 5.54%
5/1 ARM 5.54% 5.56%
30 yr fixed jumbo mtg 6.02% 6.02%
5/1 jumbo ARM 5.70% 5.70%

For all of those buyers out there that have been waiting to buy, there has never been a better time than now. Rates are low and home prices have leveled off from a recent decline. A Wall Street Investor (who is used to buying low and selling high) would say “BUY, BUY, BUY!”

If you need additional mortgage information visit Chad’s site at http://www.chadpeach.com/ and if you have Real Estate questions as always visit ryanpeach@firstrealtyhomes.com and either of us would be happy to assist you.

Blogging in Real Estate

Well, there is quite the buzz going on here at my office. I let the cat out of the bag about this blog. Many agents have been inquiring how I got started. Well here it is. This is my secret weapon... "Realty Blogging" by Richard Nacht and Paul Chaney.

My father-in-law gave me this book for Christmas. He is an agent in Nashville and he told me that blogging is the craze down there right now.

So I read the book and got started. I was very worried about what I was going to write about, but once I got started it is so easy to come up with topics and I am having a lot of fun with it.

I would really appreciate you leaving me your opinions on topics or just drop a note telling me what you think of my blog. If you have a blog of your own I would be happy to trackback and would love it if you would add a backlink to this site from yours.

Have You Zillowed?

I just read an interesting article in Fortune Magazine. I find it interesting that I pay for this magazine, read it and then I go online and find out that I could read it for free... (that is an entire different blog).

The article that I was interested in can be found here http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2007/02/19/8400262/index.htm?postversion=2007020810

It is about the website called Zillow.com that claims to assist people with pricing their homes. As you read the article note that their margin of error is 10% nationwide (a little more than I am comfortable with). The article also shows that Iowa has "Zestimates" for between 1% and 19% and their accuracy in Iowa is not yet estimated. So let me sum up this site.

I loved the assistance that both buyers and sellers will find here. They hit it right on the head from choosing an agent to prepairing your home for sale. However, contrary to the title of the 'Fortune' article, buyers and sellers should use caution when finding the home prices posted for the Des Moines Area. All properties that I pulled up from this site were Assessed Values from the County Assessors. This number is used for tax purposes (budget based) and may not be reasonable for estimating the actual value of a home.

Another problem that I found was that not all of the Des Moines area is mapped yet. My own home was not mapped correctly because there is no data for my neighborhood.

The coolest thing that I found was that I could pull up a home in Polk County and see the tax valuations of all of it's neighborhoods on one screen! At least a person could see if their home is being assessed appropriately!

I will visit again, and maybe one day Iowa will have some good data.

Strorage Storage Storage

Have you noticed any trends in new construction? When was the last time you saw a new home with less than a 3 car garage? In fact, many new home buyers are requesting 4 and 5 car garages!

This begs the question, do this many people really have 3 cars?

My own house has a 3 car garage, but we have 3 cars. All but one of the 60 or so homes in the neighborhood have 3 car garages but I know for a fact that only 3 of us have 3 cars. So how did 3 car garages become the norm?

So I couldn’t help but to notice the many open garages in my neighborhood. I quickly learned the answer to my question. In most homes two of the stalls have cars and the third is used as an attached shed. In some homes one car is in the garage, one is in the driveway and 2 stalls are floor to ceiling storage. In fact, I was amazed when I saw one home where both cars sat in the driveway and the entire garage was storage (the more kids, the more stuff one family has!).

My wife and I realized this trend with the recent addition to our family. We recognized the fact that we had just enough storage for our stuff but then began picturing all of our daughters toys, bikes etc. and knew that we would soon be one of those families with a car in the driveway.

We did some cost/benefit analysis and decided to add on a storage room off of the garage. We know that we will not recover the entire cost when we go to sell the home, but we will not have to put a car in the driveway either. I am also very confident that with the newer demand for storage, the addition of a storage room will certainly bring value to my home!

Cabin Fever

Well, now that the Super Bowl is over we begin searching for things to do on our weekends.

LET THE SHOWS BEGIN!

This is my favorite time of winter in Iowa. The time when there is nothing to keep us home. It is too cold to do much outside, we begin to get Cabin Fever, so we Iowans head to the number of shows and activities that invade the fairgrounds and events center. This weekend is a perennial favorite. The Des Moines Home and Garden Show. We can go and see those vendors that we haven't seen since the Iowa State Fair and begin to dream up ideas of improving our homes! What perfect timing. My wife and I will return from the show this weekend and I will have a gigantic "Honey Do List" that she will come up with because of the show.

Now for those of you thinking about moving in 2007, this is a great time to meet vendors to get your existing home ready for sale. Don't forget that attending those Home Interior Seminars can give you some great ideas but don't get too crazy. Remind yourself that no one is as good as you and few agree with your great taste! KEEP IT NEUTRAL! NEUTRAL! NEUTRAL!

Visit the show's website: http://www.desmoineshomeandgardenshow.com/ME2/Sites/Default.asp?SiteID=BC4FBBC17BFA4E4DA09F1E395EADE51D for more information and a link to purchase discounted tickets!

Show Dates & Hours
Wednesday February 7 2:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m.
Thursday February 8 Noon-9:00 p.m.
Friday February 9 Noon -9:00 p.m.
Saturday February 10 10:00 a.m.-9:00 p.m.
Sunday February 11 10:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m.

Admission
Adults: $8.00
Children (6-12): $4.00
5 & Under: FREE

Location
Iowa Events Center
833 Fifth Avenue
Des Moines

See you at the Iowa Events Center!

Des Moines Real Estate Blog: Ice Skating in Downtown Des Moines

Des Moines Real Estate Blog: Ice Skating in Downtown Des Moines