March Average Percent of Last List Price

Measure and compare to available inventory

<img width="400" height="300" src="http://hgar.stats.showingtime.com/infoserv/s-v1/7vv0-L85?w=400&h=300" />

It's apparent that the market is shifting.  Prices are trending up...

Now would be a good time to contact me to see what this means and how this trend will affect your moving plans.

<img width="400" height="300" src="http://hgar.stats.showingtime.com/infoserv/s-v1/7vvN-kik?w=400&h=300" />

Months Supply of Homes for Sale

Another clear indication that the time to sell is now! Demand is much greater than available inventory!

<img width="400" height="300" src="http://hgar.stats.showingtime.com/infoserv/s-v1/7vv7-3wB?w=400&h=300" />

Low inventory is causing multiple bid situations, resulting in higher final sales prices reflected below.

<img width="400" height="300" src="http://hgar.stats.showingtime.com/infoserv/s-v1/7vvR-bp4?w=400&h=300" />

Average Days On Market

Days on Market = Date that Contracts are Fully Executed to Actual Closing Date.

<img width="400" height="300" src="http://hgar.stats.showingtime.com/infoserv/s-v1/7vob-ht8?w=400&h=300" />

No matter how you look at it, the numbers clearly indicate a hot "Sellers Market".

<img width="400" height="300" src="http://hgar.stats.showingtime.com/infoserv/s-v1/7vx4-y8I?w=400&h=300" />

What trends or innovations are you most excited about in landscaping?

2015 Second Quarter Sales Show Spring Buying Season Extending into Summer

The 2015 Second Quarter Home Sales in Westchester County show that the Spring Buying season has truly extended into Summer.

Orange County saw the greatest increase at +30.4% followed by Putnam County at +12.3%, Westchester County at +11.4%  followed by Rockland County at +11.2%  all of which contributed significantly to the 2015 Housing Recovery we are experiencing.

So what are you waiting for?

If you or someone you know can benefit from my knowledge of Westchester County Real Estate Please, don't hesitate.....

                Call or Text Me - let's "Get Moving" today!


Click here to enlarge

Click here to enlarge


Visit me at  www.AkimSellsHomes.com for more information.

Akim Smyer - Neighborhood Expert
Licensed Associate Real Estate Broker
Real Living Five Corners
300 Heathcote Road
Scarsdale, NY 10583

An American Family's Net Worth - Bridging the Gap

I'm sure that like most Americans, you take pride in working hard for the money that you earn to take care of your family. You worry about your families future and you want to be sure that everything is taken care of.

Well today is the day that you can begin letting your money work for you!

Let me help you develop a plan.   Let me show you how to get on the road to bridging the gap shown above.
Research has proven that home ownership is and remains the most solid and cost effective investment vehicle for you and your family.  It can be your most valuable asset in your wealth building arsenal.

Let's face it, we all need a place to live.  What if I told you that studies have shown that renting is 35% more costly than owning?  Would you be surprised?

Owning property adds to your family's bottom line, over time increasing in value and growing your Net Worth.

They say charity begins at home, so let's level the playing field while prices and interest rates remain historically low.

No matter your time line or your current financial situation, let's begin by formulating a plan.  One step at a time, one foot in front of the other.  Together, lets take the first step.

The American Family's Wealth According the Lawrence Yun

NAR's Chief Economist, Lawrence Yun dishes on the state of America's Family Wealth

Greater unequal distribution of wealth among American families.

Are Net Zero or Zero Net Energy Homes the Wave of the Future?

With the continuing rise in home energy costs, imagine cutting your Con-ed bill in half.....  The advent of the  "Zero Net" or "Net Zero" energy home will become more common as the process becomes simpler and thereby more affordable.   Click the link below for more information on the new wave of Net-zero home construction ......  Net-zero homes coming soon to a community near you.

More on Net-Zero Homes at Beaconnews.ca

New Financial Advantage of Buying Now

We left off discussing "Why it's a great time to buy" and I want to show you that there's a new financial advantage buying a home right now.  Yes, now.

We know that there are basically two ways to really build wealth in this country.  One is to invest your cash in the next Google, Facebook, or something similar.  The other way, we know is by owning real estate.

Why it's a great time to Buy

There are many reasons why now is a great time to buy.  Reason #1 = Return On Investment.

I will use the infographic below, going back to January 2000 to illustrate what your ROI would have been had you invested in the Dow, S&P and the NASDAQ, or if you had invested in real estate.

Although real estate clearly outpaced each of the other investments over that 13-year period, you may be.

thinking - yeah well Akim that's great, but what about the ROI from 2006 -2013?  During that period, the

"It seems like American's love affair with real estate has returned"

So says,  Greg McBride, Bankrate.com's Sr. Financial Analyst and while most would agree with him - the existing homes sales that we just saw prove it.  Keep in mind that the most studys will show that the "Top 5" reasons that people buy houses really fall into the following categories:

The first four are non-financial, based purely on emotion and personal preferences.  The only financial reason is number 5... the most important reason is that most people understand that owning is simply a better bet or investment than renting.  A recent study just came out a few weeks ago that showed in all of the country's largest 100 largest metropolitan areas...

That's right 35% cheaper on average... and how many were in the "even cheaper end" of the range.  Not to mention the tax benefits homeowners gain.

Stay tuned for more...

Yes - The Market is Definitely Back!

Here it is... in living color - the market is definitely back!  Here's the existing home sales chart going back to January 2011 through July 2013.  The market is back in a big way and while we know that there's no question that finances and economic uncertainty got in the way over the last couple of years .... over the next few days we will explore what's happening now and what it all means at the end of the day for today's buyers and sellers.

stay tuned for more.......

TOP 5 REASONS PEOPLE BUY

Another fantastic infrographic depicting the:

Top 5 Reasons People Choose to Buy A Home

The above information was taken from the following surveys conducted by Gallup:

U.S. Homeowners’ Reasons for Owning More Than Financial

American Dream of Owning Home Lives On, Even for Young

Americans’ Optimism About Home Prices Surges This Year

Courtesy of KCM

Get the Skinny on Westchester Putnam 4th Quarter Housing Trends and Stats

Where People are Moving To and From

According to Atlas Van Lines 2012 Migration Map.... Washington, D.C. is experiencing steady growth...  See what it means for NY and ask yourself, what if any effect these household moving migration patterns have on our local markets?

Pulsenomics Home Price Expectation Survey

As I mentioned in my last post, what Pulsenomics does is they take over a hundred of the leading analysts in the country and say, “What are your guesses going forward over the next few years?”  Then they take all of those hundred plus projections and mesh them into one number.

Following is the analogy, my friend Steve Harney over at the KCM Blog likes to use;If we had a jar of jelly beans in front of a room of a hundred people, if any one of those people guessed how many beans were in the jar, some would guess way too high, some would guess way too low. But if we asked all hundred people to guess and then we averaged out all of their answers, we would come up with a number real close to the number of beans in that jelly bean jar. That is what the Home Price Expectation Survey is. They take over a hundred opinions and mash them into one number.  See below

Mash Up - 2013 Home Price Expectation Survey

It's that time of year again when everyone likes to make their projections as to where they think housing is going to be at the end of 2013.

Following are a couple of those projections. JP Morgan thinks that prices are going to be up 9.7 percent. Barclays Capital thinks they are going to be up 5.5 percent. Capital Economics, 5 percent. Freddie Mac thinks there is going to be a two to three percent increase in pricing.  These are individual entities that are taking a guess based on what their analysis is of the market and the market data as to where prices are going to be at the end of the year.

In my next blog post I hope to have the Home Price Expectation Survey created by Pulsenomics to share with you.  Pulsenomics is the company that takes this survey by talking to over a hundred of the leading analysts in the country; people who know what they are talking about.  Then they mesh their answers together. So it is not one person saying, “This is what we think.” Or one organization saying, “This is what we think.”

Stay tuned for more on Pulsenomics ...............

The New Normal - Is the November 2012 Home Inventory Report Any Indication?

The one thing that I think that could be standing in the way of recovery — and this is going to sound funny to some ..... 

The biggest challenge facing most markets is inventory. This chart shows the month’s inventory of homes for sale from the NAR existing home sales report. 

A normal market is that yellow line going across.   That line reflects 5-6 months of inventory. The challenge sellers have faced over the last two years as you can see was that the inventory was well above normal levels.  That being said - we were knee deep into a buyer’s market.

There was too much inventory for sale compared to the amount of demand there was for that inventory. As pricing is all about supply and demand - clearly, supply was very high while demand was not.  This directly affected pricing and values.

Well,  demand has began to sharply increase. Just take a look at my previous post. And at the same time, inventory is decreasing below normal levels in many parts of the country.

As a nation overall what does that mean?

Well if demand is up and supply is down, prices are going to creep up which is exactly what has taken place.   Buyers have noticed and are moving forward before they are priced out of the market or rising interest rates reduce their buying power.  Will this trend become "The New Normal" for 2013?  Will it become "The New Normal" locally as well as nationally?

These are national trends and local trends may vary.   What is the inventory like in our market?

If you would like a local area market report Call me today at (914) 374-8354.