It took three decades, but finally first time home buyers in this Country has fallen to its lowest percentage in three decades. Typically, according to National Association of Realtors (NAR) first time home buyers make up at least 40% of all home purchases.

Even though mortgage rates are still at record lows it is not enticing first time home buyers to continue the record of sales. Contradicting what the market says, these numbers are providing that even though with record low mortgage rates it is not enough to pursue buyers out of their rent. Even though rent is becoming like a mortgage payment for a lot of people it still makes more sense and is easier financially. The fact of the matter is that, it is not that these younger people do not want to buy at this time: according to Zillow 83% of people 23-34 are expecting to purchase a home.

Some of the attributes that are going to the lack of sales to first time home buyers is the amount the day to day life is costing now. Prior to this most recent decline debt was not as high as many individuals and couples are facing prior to even thinking about the purchase of a home. The increase in college tuition every year and incomes that are not matching that of the price in the housing market. Especially, in urban areas where people want to but the most, incomes are no where close to being where they need to be in order to allow these young people to buy and further the economy.

Furthermore, to accompany the idea of not having enough money to purchase (even though you can get a loan with no money down USDA), with rising rents, it is very difficult for the millinia’s to save any money for a down payment. With student debt rising, and income falling lending companies also have had to make changes to their protocol. Strict lending standards have been put in place, especially to those who are carrying thousands of dollars in student loan debt. Loan companies were interviewed and they stated that they will now be looking at student loan debt, just as if it were credit card debt.

One suggestion that was voiced in order to try to make a change to current protocols in order to encourage first time home buyers is to have less strict credit laws as well as introduce risk based pricing. By this it means depending on credit scores, debt, income ext. this is how a loan should be determined as well as overall price. If this idea were to come into fruition it would help first time home buyers get something within their price range and set them up for success in the repayment of it. Yes the loans may take longer to re-pay, but it would allow the premiums to fit with in the dynamic of the buyer.

The other factor is that these first time home buyers are competing against established people that are buying their second or third homes. When there is cash involved it tends to make the borrowing and purchasing process a bit easier.
There are odds against the first time home buyer but where there is a will there is a way. Please do not hesitate to call Omni Real Estate with any of your needs and we will always be there to help to find a solution!

House Hunting Seasons: Autumn Highs and Lows

House hunting is largely considered a seasonal activity where springtime is the best time to participate. After all, why not look for newer, shinier digs after being cooped up in your existing place all winter?

But what many people don’t realize is that autumn can also be the perfect time to buy – but it may depend on where you live. Instead of slowing down, many regions of the country buck the trend an experience high levels of activity in the fall.

A new report on the seasonality of house hunting reveals just where home buying is the hottest and coldest during this time of year.

Fall Slow Down

Activity in the home shopping space majorly slows in many warm and beach climates during the fall months. Case and point: Hawaii and Florida show a 10% dip below the national annual average in September and October. Perhaps cooler temperatures cause house hunters to stop thinking about warm weather locations?

In major metro regions, house-hunting activity during the fall drops the most in the South and Southwest portions of the United States. The Cape Coral/Fort Myers, Florida for example, dips 18% in September and October compared to the national average. Search activity plummets 12% in Austin, Texas, and Phoenix, Arizona. In Charleston, South Carolina hunting goes down 11%.

In addition, search activity slows in many warm weather vacation sports such as Punta Gorda, Naples/Marco Island, and Key West.

Bucking the Trend

There are several areas in the country where autumn is the busiest time of year for home searching. The most active of these regions are vacation areas near ski resorts and in mountain and forest areas.

The county of Lincoln, NM (which is close to winter resort Ski Apache), experiences 16% higher search activity during the fall when compared with the annual average. The area around Ellsworth, ME (known for the fun winter carnival) boast 13% higher house hunting activity in the fall compared to the rest of the year.

Big Bear/Lake Arrowhead, a ski region located east of Los Angeles, also has high number of house hunters in the fall, presumably preparing themselves for fun weekend days on the slopes and dinners by bustling fireplaces. In Summit County Fall is a great time to purchase. In fact in 2013 there were 434 closed transactions from October 1, to December 31, 113 – SFH, 225 Condos, 59 Townhomes, and 37 Duplexes. In 2014 from October 1 to October 31, there have been 208 properties closed and are currently 266 pending/under contract transactions. With numbers like these November and December and sure to be extremely active and we could see as much as 10% or more closings in 2014 over 2013.

Fall is a great time to purchase so call Anne Marie or Aly to set up a showing today at 970-468-2740.

Based on information from the annual COO breakfast where COOs Alan Henceroth, A-Basin; John Buhler, Keystone; Gary Rodgers, Copper; Pat Campbell, Breckenridge; and Rob Goodell, Loveland participated to give updates on rental and on mountain improvements. The following improvements have been made to the resorts:

A-Basin
Once again A-Basin was the first to open, for the season, this last weekend. With hundreds of people camping out to get first chair it was a great opening day.

A Basin is continuing to work on the ski area’s 430-acre Beavers expansion proposal. Its environmental impact statement is currently under review by the Forest Service. Officials hope to have approval early 2015 and for construction to begin in 2016.

Breckenridge
New Colorado Chair located at the base of Peak 8 will replace the old chair with a new six-seat chair and increase rider capacity from 2800 to 3600 skiers/riders per hour.

Keystone
Some of the Outback terrain has been redesigned and the Outback life has been expanded by 20%, the unloading area has been expanded and a viewing deck has been added to take in the surrounding views.

Copper
Copper Mountain is focusing on the12s, which is the terrain above 12000 feet, continuing last years efforts with 2 new tow lifts above tree line. Additionally, Copper is expanding their Sherpa program with the Sherpa 2.0 smart phone app designed to assist guest in navigating the mountain.

Loveland
Last year Loveland received the most snow of any Colorado Resort and was able to start their snow-cat operations ahead of schedule. This year the mountain will add a new warming hut, complete with rest rooms; finish the renovations to the cafeteria, and is adding a new magic carpet in the learning area.

With all the new improvements on mountain and the improved rental rates based on a good season last year, 2014 is shaping up to be another great year. So, no matter where you ski in Summit County there will be something new to discover and enjoy. If you want to take advantage of the upcoming season with a rental or vacation property, call Anne Marie at 970-468-2740.

Are you thinking of renting your Summit County property and letting your home work for you? 1040.com offers the following information on tax breaks for rental properties:

“Renting Part or All of Your Home”

Renting part of your main home or renting a second home can put more money in your pocket. Becoming a landlord may move you to a higher tax bracket, but you may also be eligible for certain tax advantages that lower your taxable income. You may be able to deduct some expenses that are normally nondeductible, lowering your taxable income even lower.

Renting All of Your Home

Renting a second home means you must report rental income on your return. This includes any advance rental income, where the tenant pays ahead for any month in the next year. Rental income also includes money a tenant pays you to cancel a lease early.

You are able to deduct certain rental expenses, including:
• Management fees
• Insurance
• Cleaning and maintenance
• Taxes
• Utilities – electricity, water, and sewer

Note that some of these, like cleaning, insurance and utilities, are not normally deductible by homeowners.

Now is a great time to consider getting your home ready for rental for the winter. Contact Aly or Anne Marie, 970-468-2740, with any questions about getting your home ready to rent, or to rent your property long term for the season. Any questions regarding tax / rental deductions should be answered by a tax professional.

This summer nationally was very successful in the real estate business and shows promising numbers that our economy is slowly making its rebound. In August of 2014, home resales topped five million units for the third consecutive month, despite there being a severe limitation on homes that are for sale.

The mortgage rates we continue to see at incredibly low rates will not last long into the future. Demand for homes continues to grow and outpace the supply of available homes for sale. With the demand continually growing mortgage rates nor the price of homes will continue to stay at a low price. With the high demands we will begin to see prices begin to raise. To date, we have already seen a snapshot of this in our Summit County market. With the availability of low and no down payment mortgages it is still influencing first time home buyers as well as repeat homebuyers getting fantastic rates.

According to findings from NAR, this August higher than months proceeding it as well as previous years realtors are closing 80% of pending sales within 60 days of the mutually executed contract. again, this is showing positive signs in the rebound of the housing market across the country, not just solely specific to the Summit County region.

The good news is that today’s home buyers are able to finance their purchases via a growing number of mortgage programs, including low-downpayment loans, no downpayment loans, and loans for luxury homes.

Among the most popular options with today’s low-downpayment buyers is the FHA loan. FHA loans require just 3.5% down and offer flexible mortgage approval terms, including an allowance for average and below-average credit scores.

Another common low-downpayment option is the Fannie Mae 95% program. This government-backed loan tends to work well for buyers with above-average credit scores who are buying single-family, detached properties.

For buyers in rural and suburban areas, the USDA loan is an excellent no-downpayment option. The zero-down loan is backed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and can provide below-market mortgage rates to applicants who use it.

With the variety of loans that are available to qualified buyers exhibit another reason why the turn in the housing market is upon us. Loans are available and not at astronomical rates as well as the ability to negotiate on sales price. With more buyers and less homes we will see loan percentages go up with the price of homes, so if you are looking to purchase now is the time!

Another Health Care reform to Help Resort Towns:

Quickly gaining national attention, as it should, the argument to lower health care cost’s in resort areas is gaining steam. For unknown reasons health care coverage in resort towns like Summit County, is sufficiently higher than surrounding cities.
On an average health care premiums for those who live in resort towns or ‘destination towns’ such as Vail, Breckenridge, Aspen, Glenwood and other towns across the country are paying almost 15% more than people with the same demographics in a large city or rural area.

With the price of living being higher in these areas as well, these health care premiums were a cost that most could not take on. One of the main reasons that Colorado senators as well as congress people are adamant about seeing the change in price is that the median income does not support the crazy premiums these same people have to pay. “We did not want to see our hard working middle class citizens be chased from our beautiful mountain towns just because of the increase of price of living” said Senator Salazar.

The last week of May the biggest positive of this reform was “ok’ed” by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Colorado Division of Insurance requested to repeal the 11 current geographic ratings in order to get a more equal price on insurance premiums.

‘Obamacare’ proved that it helped a lot of high country residents, in Eagle County alone it allowed many previously uninsured residence to apply and receive insurance. Although, that is a good sign the prices are still at an unfair rate and the hope by 2015, the insurance companies will even out its prices.

Thus: our local representatives are attempting to make it fair for us that are living or want to live in the mountain communities. Again, with prices of living slightly hire than elsewhere we are doing what we can to make our mountain living more affordable.

Another positive trend has hit the Colorado Real Estate Market. According to Land Title, almost all real estate metrics have risen in the past year. The following are numbers that compared last years first quarter to this years first quarter.

With accordance to a prior blog the numbers from the first quarter echo that residential homes prices are rebounding and going up. From 2013 to 2014 the median average home price has increased 5.26%. Again this is a good example that the market is rebounding and people are getting more and more for their homes. We are seeing less and less foreclosures in the mountains as well.

The average residential price to piggy back the median prices also had risen in the last year. From 2013 the average residential prices have gone up by 4.1 percent. Even though these numbers are not astronomical, these are beneficial gains and more hints that the summer of 2014 will help truly revive the real estate market.

Price per square fooT (PPS) is a huge tool here in the mountains when it comes to listing homes. This price always has to be competitive with comparable’s, or the likelihood of a time efficient sell will not occur. This is the largest increase in any of our Summit County metrics. Price per square foot went up on an average of 16.09 percent.

Transactions in the first quarter of the year have gone down from 2013. Although, this can sometimes be a misleading number because even though the transactions have gone down, the price per transaction is still climbing.

Summit County buyers profiles are as follows: about sixteen percent of the quarter one buyers in Summit County were local residents. Almost fifty percent were buyers from the front range and Denver area. Finally we have not had any international buyers up to this point in the year and only .66 percent were from out of state.

So far the metric’s are great for Summit County home sales. The numbers are only going to get better as the summer moves along. Please do not hesitate to call any of our great Omni Agents for any help we can provide you.

Eagle County:

* Median Residential Price up 19.67% from LY Q1 numbers

* Transactions up 5.67% from LY Q1 numbers

* Average Residential Price up 10.78% from LY Q1 numbers

* Average Residential Price PSF up 10.36% from LY Q1 numbers

* Buyer Profile: 48.26% local, 15.14% front range, 31.55% Out-of-State, 5.05% international

Garfield County:

* Median Residential Price up .55% from LY Q1 numbers

* Average Residential Price up 21.14% from LY Q1 numbers

* Average Residential Price PSF up 11.96% from LY Q1 numbers

* Transactions down 10.48% from LY Q1 numbers

* Buyer Profile: 81.53% local, 3.6% Front Range, 14.86% Out-of-State, 0% international

Grand County:

* Median Residential Price up 23.21% from LY Q1 numbers

* Average Residential Price up 32.76% from LY Q1 numbers

* Average Residential Price PSF up 11.82% from LY Q1 numbers

* Transactions down 21.29% from LY Q1 numbers

* Buyer Profile: 16.91% local, 64.25% Front Range, 18.36% Out-of-State, .48% international

Pitkin County:

* Median Residential Price up 65.54% from LY Q1 numbers

* Average Residential Price PSF up 22.84% from LY Q1 numbers

* Transactions down 1.79% from LY Q1 Numbers

* Average Residential Price up 35.04% from LY Q1 numbers

* Buyer Profile: 66.06% local, .61% Front Range, 30.30% Out-of-State, 3.03% international

Routt County:

* Median Residential Price down 3.65% from LY Q1 numbers

* Average Residential Price down 25.21% from LY Q1 numbers

* Average Residential Price PSF down 18.37% from LY Q1 numbers

* Transactions down 2.26% from LY Q1 numbers

* Buyer Profile: 35.00% local, 13.85% Front Range, 50.38% Out-of-State, .77% International

San Miguel County:

* Median Residential Price down 19.14% from LY Q1 numbers

* Average Residential Price down 11.07% from LY Q1 numbers

* Average Residential Price PSF up 6.85% from LY Q1 numbers

* Transactions up 21.84% from LY Q1 numbers

* Buyer Profile: 34.91% Local, 2.83% Front Range, 61.32% Out-of-State, .94% International

Summit County:

* Median Residential Price up 5.26% from LY Q1 numbers

* Average Residential Price up 4.61% from LY Q1 numbers

* Average Residential Price PSF up 16.09% from LY Q1 numbers

* Transactions down 4.40% from LY Q1 numbers

* Buyer Profile: 16.78% local, 49.34% Front Range, 33.22% Out-of-State, .66% International

Want to learn about Smart Homes in Summit County, Grand County and Park County? Fire alarms, shut off the lights, close the garage door, home alarms, thermostat control and motion sensors are only a few of the new “apps” that can add a new tech age as well as a great value to your home. 2013 was the year of the affordable tech gadgets to hit the home market and in doing so it brought a new evolution of buyers as well as increasing home value.

One of the biggest changes in home technology was the touch screen. Dishwashers, microwaves, televisions, and refrigerators were all controlled by the touch of a button or your smart phone. Refrigerators were one of the biggest moves forward in the “smart home.” LG and Samsung collaborated on fridge with a touch screen that allowed you to monitor the contents of your fridge in your home and on your smart phone. They also made it so you could create a shopping list right there on your fridge and it would automatically sync with your smart phone. The other appliances could also be synced to your smart phone but only allowed the function of turning the appliances on and off. This allows the consumer to be able to pre-heat the oven, start the dishwasher from wherever and make sure appliances are not on when they should not be.

Smaller ideas that went a long way this year in ‘smart homes’ was the ability to turn lights on and off from a remote device like a smart phone or tablet. Many homes and home owners chose to use this application to ensure they were saving money on their power bills being able to view if lights were on or off in their homes. This same application allows the user to close the garage door if they think it has been left open.

Another tech innovation we saw become very popular in 2013 was an app that allowed parents to be able to pay closer attention to their kids safety. There is an app that can connect to your home security system and send you notifications to your smart device, that informs you when your door has been opened with a key. Also, it can recognize the device your child is carrying and informs you that your child has made it home safely.

In the coming years it will be very interesting to see how the investor and Summit County home buyer changes with the technology evolution. Soon enough, we will all be able to control everything in our homes through our cell phones. When you are considering your next house do not forget to look into the ability to make your Summit County home a “smart home.”

Buying Real Estate in Breckenridge has seen more advantages lately. August 15, 2012 the decision was passed to forever change the landscape of the Breckenridge Ski Resort. The white River National Forrest Supervisor, Scott Fitzwilliams signed the record of decision (ROD) to allow the Breckenridge Ski Resort to expand by 550 acres.

On the new 550 acres of skiing there will be two new chairlifts, a new ski patrol warming hut and a restroom facility. A major component to this expansion was the environmental impact that it could possibly make. In 2002 there was a ‘Forest plan’ to introduce more Canadian lynx to the area. All of the additions had to be cleared with Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) making sure it would not affect the lynx in their natural habitat.

Set to open in the 2013-14 season the expansion will make Breckenridge ski resort almost 3,000 acres. The views will be endless, the skiing will be epic, the crowds will not be bad and now you do not have to hike to access all of what Peak 6 has to offer. In order to get to the summit of Peak 6, you will still have to hike, but the process has just become easier.

Being one of the most visited ski resorts in the western hemisphere, this is the largest expansion of Real Estate in Breckenridge that Breckenridge and Vail resorts has ever done. The expansion will help spread out the skiers on the hill so not everything is as crowded. The 2014 ski season will prove to be one of the best in many years, letting people access some of the best skiing in the world.

A foreclosure to fear, a zombie foreclosure. Hundreds of thousands of homes across the country are known being known as zombie foreclosures.

What a zombie foreclosure is: is when a home owner leaves their house knowing it is being foreclosed upon. Many years later the home owner will find out that they still owe years of property tax and other related fees. The banks will decide that these homes are already too far gone and not salvageable, thus they will never actually foreclose on the home.

Since the housing bubble burst seven years ago, almost two million properties have started but never completed the foreclosure process, according to RealtyTrac. While no one knows the exact number, but this is an issue that anyone that has been foreclosed upon or is in threat of foreclosure must be aware of. These are issues that will follow someone around the rest of their life. Make sure the banks do foreclose upon the home and the doors remained locked because looters have also been a problem within the zombie foreclosed homes.

Many of these homes are in low-income communities where foreclosures are so difficult to sell that lenders sometimes delay taking possession to save on taxes and other costs that then stay under the borrower’s name.

Those debts can then go unpaid for years because the borrower is unaware they owe them, further slamming their credit score and making life after foreclosure even harder.

These are just more issues that potential homebuyers must be aware of. The banks attempt to make it look like they came out on top after the real estate crunch, but they were effected as much as the rest of us. Being an informed buyer and seller is the best thing that can keep you protected from issues such as these. Work hand in hand with your professional real estate agent as well as the banks to ensure that you will not have further financial issues down the road when it comes to real estate transactions.