On another positive note, the average sales price for a single-family home came in at $227,270 vs. $214,980 a year ago, for a 5.7% increase. The median sales price was $161,750 a 7.8% increase over March 2011. The price increases are due to less sales in the low end and stronger sales in the higher end. There were declining sales in the below $80,000 market as well as increased activity in the luxury home sales.

Foreclosures were still a factor in March comprising 19.6 percent of all property sales, but down slightly from the 21.1 percent average over the past 12 months.

March ended the 1st quarter with an increase in sales of single-family homes over the same period last year of over 2600 homes sold.

The lowest increase in March was in the $80,000 – $150,000 price range and the $150,000 – $250,000 price range saw the largest increase.

A few days ago, Mr. DeMarco gave a presentation to the Brookings Institute on the weak housing market and part of his presentation actually included a discussion of principal forgiveness. Although he appears hesitant to allow reduction of loan balances, his presentation seemed to indicate that it could be cost effective in some situations. In some cases it might cost the agencies less to forgive a portion of the principal than going through the foreclosure process.

Mr. Demarco is getting pressure from some lawmakers and the International Monetary Fund to do the loan reductions. The attorney general from Massachusetts as well as other states are also lending support for the principal reduction idea.

Although our real estate market has faired better than most of the country, we have had our share of foreclosures. In the past year, approximately 20-23 percent of single-family homes sold through the Houston MLS were foreclosures. However, I’m seeing some evidence that the trend is changing for our area. It appears that inventories of foreclosures have edged down some.

These days people like the baby boomer generation, are hitting the 62 plus age group in record numbers. As people start reaching their mid 60′s or 70′s, incomes can become fixed and more limited. So the idea of your house paying you while you live there has an attractive sound to it.

However, before you go out and tie up any remaining equity in your home, you need to first educate yourself on how a reverse mortgage works. There are actually counselors available to help you, but if you want to start out on your own first, there are a number of sources on the web that offer information. A good start would be the Department of HUD. Their website is at http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD.html . Also try AARP at http://www.aarp.org. Each site has a search box where you can type in the words “reverse mortgage” and get a ton of information on reverse mortgages. Another good souce is the National Council on Aging. Their website is at www.ncoa.org. The last time I looked, they had a link on their home page for reverse mortgages. Metlife is now one of the larger lenders for reverse mortgages and they provide quite a bit of information through their Mature Market Institute. That website is located at http://www.metlife.com/mmi/index.html.

The subject of reverse mortgages can get quite detailed and a little complicated, so take your time and think it through.

These days, buyers don’t actually have to see your house in person to eliminate it from their list of choices.  In today’s Internet world, buyers are getting a glimse of your home online before they even drive by or see it in person. The MLS systems, especially the larger ones like our own Houston Association, permit large sized photos, virtual tours and videos that give buyers a clear view of your property.

Therefore, it is important to put your best foot forward and get your house in good showing condition prior to putting it on the market. Each home is different, so I won’t try to go into detail here or spell out a list of things to do. I do, however, as part of my service in selling homes, meet with the homeowner and discusss ways to make their home more saleable. I will say this. Having a well maintained home and yard is a good start.

If you have a question or need help, feel free to go to the Contact Page and send me an email.

Overall, it could have been a help to the market.  I wouldn’t say that it helped sell more homes, at least not in the Houston area, but it did help stabilize prices at the right time.  The Houston area had a double whammy.  Our market started declining in 2008 and 2009 plus we saw a slowdown in the market due to Hurricaine Ike.  In the first half of 2010, there was an increase in sales due to the tax credit and then in the 2nd half of 2010 (without the credit), we had a softer market with 5 months of declining sales.  However home prices remained relative steady.  In fact, the average sales price increased in 2010 by 4% over 2009.

The air field property consists of a total of 2200 acres with hundreds of acres still undeveloped.  New developments are in the plans  that will provide $300-$500 million in construction dollars.  The plans call for new facilities including a new tower and terminal as well as expansion of cargo facilities.  The Coast Guard also has plans for expansion.  According to a report by the Texas A&M Real Estate Center, the proposed plans could add 600 jobs to the area.   I also hear rumors that the city is hoping to use Ellington as a spaceport (somewhere in the future, of course).

Total sales of all property types as well as sales of single-family homes increased about 4% in 2011 over 2010.  Total dollar volume increased 5.2%  The sales prices of single-family homes improved only slightly, increasing less than 1%.

There is another proposed bill that looks interesting.  Some of the US senators are proposing that visas be given to foreigners that purchase residential real estate in the U.S.  To qualify for a visa, one must purchase a home or homes with a value of not less than $500,000.  The minimum home cost would be $250,000 per home.  This could help increase the number of homes bought by overseas buyers, who are already spending billions on real estate in the U.S