I was just reading some Notes postings on Facebook and one from my friend, Pat Hiban (a Realtor at Keller Williams) stood out. I started reading it and suddenly realized, "You know, he's right!" Here's what he posted:
"If you study any bear real estate market you'll see that they fold out into 3 stages. Or should I say the foreclosure rates on loans come in 3 stages in a real estate recession.
Stage 1- Resale Homes
Stage 2- Builders/Developers
Stage 3 -Commercial
Proof that stage 3 is starting in Howard County is:
Trapeze Restaurant
Urban Chic
Quizno's Sub
Filene's Basement
Rocky Run Tap and Grille
Lone Star Steak House
Tweeter
Expo
Mammoth Golf
Blockbuster Video
Jesse Wong's Hong Kong
then what happens if these spots don't get leased again soon is the owners or the centers start to default on their loans. Enter stage 3 foreclosures."
In Carroll County, we're seeing more companies going out of business too. One of the big jewelry stores, David's in Westminster, has been restructured in an attempt to stay in business. We've lost two big plant nurseries in the past year. A lot of empty buildings in town and the Westminster Mall is a ghost town.
I'm sad about Rocky Run, our son Eric used to work there and it's one of our son Matt's favorite places to eat. We hadn't been there in a while and I hadn't realized they had gone out of business. My husband Bob and another of our sons, Mark, found out that Mammoth Golf was going out of business when Mark went to buy Bob's Christmas present and it was their last day in business! Bob went to check out Expo in their last days to find us a microwave cabinet and their prices were still sky-high. No one I know shopped there. They would go to Expo to look around and get ideas then go to Home Depot and buy what they liked for less. Trapeze was one of my favorite places to eat lunch at Maple Lawn. It was right across the street from my office and the food was great. So sad that they're gone.
So, what can be done? With the changes in real estate over the past couple of years, I no longer have discretionary income to go out to dinner all the time. Not that we were personally keeping these restaurants in business, but enough people stop going out to dinner and the restaurants close! Jobs are lost and then, as Pat said, there are commercial foreclosures - Stage 3.
I don't know the answer. I am really hoping that someone does.
Showing posts with label Carroll. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Carroll. Show all posts
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
$15000 Tax Credit for Homeowners?
Yesterday, the Senate passed an un-precedented Economic Stimulus package worth $838 Billion, more than the one suggested by the House at $819 Billion, in the hopes that Pres. Obama will sign it on President's Day next week. There's still scant Republican support for the bill and some of the items on it are questionable, in my mind and the minds of many others, (such as $1B for improving parks, which is nice but has nothing to do with stimulating the economy!) but it will provide a great opportunity for home buyers. A $15000 tax credit for people purchasing their primary residence is proposed.
According to the article linked above, "The bipartisan amendment to the stimulus package, offered by Sens. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) and Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.) and approved by unanimous voice vote, would create a $15,000 home buyer tax credit available to all purchasers of a principle residence for one year after its date of enactment. The tax credit would not have to be repaid and buyers could claim it against their 2008 and/or 2009 tax returns.
The $15,000 home buyer tax credit would replace and sunset a much narrower tax credit that was enacted last year. Available only to first-time home buyers, the current $7,500 tax credit works like an interest-free loan that must be repaid over a 15-year period. It is set to expire on July 1.
Extending and expanding the home buyer tax credit will spark the activity the economy needs to stop shedding jobs and begin creating them, said Robson."
While the First Time Buyer tax credit loan was a great idea, I really love the idea of offering ALL buyers a $15000 tax credit that does not need to be repaid! This will help reduce the overloaded inventory of homes available throughout the country, allow first time buyers a huge incentive to purchase a home at a great rate and help slow foreclosures and increase consumer confidence, which is certain to have a positive reaction in recovery from this tough economic time.
While this change affects me directly and that makes me happy, I still can see such a wonderful outcome for the country that I have to applaud it for it's own sake.
I met with Senator Allan Kittleman and our Howard County District 9 Delegates Warren Miller and Gail Bates on Wednesday night at the Dist. 9 Open House in Annapolis - along with a couple hundred other people I guess! However, in talking with Warren and with Gail, who are both Republicans, I can see that they are happy that legislation will be taking place that will help the recovery. They are all working hard to protect our interests in Howard County, and though I now live in Carroll County, I'm still proud of the jobs that they are doing. I spoke briefly with my current Senator, David Brinkley, who is wonderful and always willing to talk with his constituents. I spoke with Senator Larry Haines for Westminster, who is also a Realtor, so I see him regularly, but he does an excellent job also.
If you have the opportunity to meet with your elected officials, please do so. They love to hear what is going on in the community.
According to the article linked above, "The bipartisan amendment to the stimulus package, offered by Sens. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) and Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.) and approved by unanimous voice vote, would create a $15,000 home buyer tax credit available to all purchasers of a principle residence for one year after its date of enactment. The tax credit would not have to be repaid and buyers could claim it against their 2008 and/or 2009 tax returns.
The $15,000 home buyer tax credit would replace and sunset a much narrower tax credit that was enacted last year. Available only to first-time home buyers, the current $7,500 tax credit works like an interest-free loan that must be repaid over a 15-year period. It is set to expire on July 1.
Extending and expanding the home buyer tax credit will spark the activity the economy needs to stop shedding jobs and begin creating them, said Robson."
While the First Time Buyer tax credit loan was a great idea, I really love the idea of offering ALL buyers a $15000 tax credit that does not need to be repaid! This will help reduce the overloaded inventory of homes available throughout the country, allow first time buyers a huge incentive to purchase a home at a great rate and help slow foreclosures and increase consumer confidence, which is certain to have a positive reaction in recovery from this tough economic time.
While this change affects me directly and that makes me happy, I still can see such a wonderful outcome for the country that I have to applaud it for it's own sake.
I met with Senator Allan Kittleman and our Howard County District 9 Delegates Warren Miller and Gail Bates on Wednesday night at the Dist. 9 Open House in Annapolis - along with a couple hundred other people I guess! However, in talking with Warren and with Gail, who are both Republicans, I can see that they are happy that legislation will be taking place that will help the recovery. They are all working hard to protect our interests in Howard County, and though I now live in Carroll County, I'm still proud of the jobs that they are doing. I spoke briefly with my current Senator, David Brinkley, who is wonderful and always willing to talk with his constituents. I spoke with Senator Larry Haines for Westminster, who is also a Realtor, so I see him regularly, but he does an excellent job also.
If you have the opportunity to meet with your elected officials, please do so. They love to hear what is going on in the community.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
New Year, New Business, New Blog, New Everything!
I've cleared out the archives and decided to start over. As of the beginning of 2009, I was back to just being Judi Stull at RE/MAX Advantage Realty. I currently don't have a team or belong to someone else's team and it's really great!
I'm seeing a change in the real estate market locally. In January, I listed three properties, two of which sold within a few days of listing them. Prices have come down some, interest rates are some of the best we've ever seen and it seems that people aren't quite as nervous about making a move. It's encouraging!
According to the latest from the Maryland Association of Realtors (MAR), housing affordability has improved in the fourth quarter of 2008 and the First Time Homebuyers Housing Affordability Index rose to 62.2 percent from the third quarter level of 54.6 percent. "Compared to 2006 and 2007 levels of 46.6 and 49.3 percent respectively, this is a substantial improvement to Maryland consumers." You can read the entire article and see past quarterly statistics here: http://mdrealtor.org/HousingResearchStatistics/HomebuyerAffordabilityIndex/tabid/160/Default.aspx
According to MAR's Housing Statistics for December 2008 and as reported by MRIS, here are a few interesting facts about the Counties where I most often work:
Units Sold, first for 2008 then compared to 2007 and the percentage difference
Anne Arundel Co. - 301, 401, -24.9%
Baltimore City - 319, 445, -28.3%
Baltimore County - 450, 471, - 4.5%
Carroll County - 81, 107, -24.3%
Frederick County - 145, 160, - 9.4%
Howard County - 171, 196, -12.8%
All Maryland - 3227, 3550, - 9.1%
Changes in Average Price for 2008, then 2007 and the percentage changed
Anne Arundel Co. - $364,760, $395,990, - 7.9%
Baltimore City - $169,907, $177,397, - 4.2%
Baltimore County - $284,627, $306,021, - 7.0%
Carroll County - $344,906, $345,820, - 0.3%
Frederick County - $276,595, $326,373, -15.3%
Howard County - $416,933, $463,153, -10.0%
All Maryland - $315,934, $347,209, - 9.0%
Active Inventory for Dec. 2008, then compared to Dec. 2007
Anne Arundel Co. - 3810, 3876
Baltimore City - 4563, 5473
Baltimore County - 4360, 4028
Carroll County - 1160, 1115
Frederick County - 1872, 2006
Howard County - 1622, 1677
All Maryland - 43,674, 44,097
Sorry, all of my carefully composed spacing isn't staying and it's making that hard to read.
However, I'm sure you can see as well as I can that Howard County is staying pretty close to the Maryland average, and is somewhere near the middle of the few counties that I've shown here. While Frederick County has not dropped off quite as much in sales, they have had one of the larger drops in value.
Our Government Affairs group at MAR has given us a list of six items that are some of our 2009 Legislative Issues. The one that I think would be most interesting here is number 6.
Real Estate Taxes: MAR opposes new real estate taxes. Although the real estate industry generates about one-quarter of economic activity in the state, it generates about 45% of total County/City government revenues. Maryland ranks 13th among U.S. states in terms of absolute real estate tax levels.
I will continue to attend meetings in Annapolis throughout this year and speak to our legislators about our opposition to new Real Estate Taxes. I will be in Annapolis on Monday to speak with Senator Allan Kittleman, and Delegates Gail Bates, Warren Miller and Susan Krebs about this and other items. They are all "Real Estate Friendly" legislators already. While I understand that our government does need money to run, I think our home owners pay their fair share already and am working to keep our home ownership costs low. Please continue to vote and to contact our legislators about issues that are close to your heart!
Have a great month!
I'm seeing a change in the real estate market locally. In January, I listed three properties, two of which sold within a few days of listing them. Prices have come down some, interest rates are some of the best we've ever seen and it seems that people aren't quite as nervous about making a move. It's encouraging!
According to the latest from the Maryland Association of Realtors (MAR), housing affordability has improved in the fourth quarter of 2008 and the First Time Homebuyers Housing Affordability Index rose to 62.2 percent from the third quarter level of 54.6 percent. "Compared to 2006 and 2007 levels of 46.6 and 49.3 percent respectively, this is a substantial improvement to Maryland consumers." You can read the entire article and see past quarterly statistics here: http://mdrealtor.org/HousingResearchStatistics/HomebuyerAffordabilityIndex/tabid/160/Default.aspx
According to MAR's Housing Statistics for December 2008 and as reported by MRIS, here are a few interesting facts about the Counties where I most often work:
Units Sold, first for 2008 then compared to 2007 and the percentage difference
Anne Arundel Co. - 301, 401, -24.9%
Baltimore City - 319, 445, -28.3%
Baltimore County - 450, 471, - 4.5%
Carroll County - 81, 107, -24.3%
Frederick County - 145, 160, - 9.4%
Howard County - 171, 196, -12.8%
All Maryland - 3227, 3550, - 9.1%
Changes in Average Price for 2008, then 2007 and the percentage changed
Anne Arundel Co. - $364,760, $395,990, - 7.9%
Baltimore City - $169,907, $177,397, - 4.2%
Baltimore County - $284,627, $306,021, - 7.0%
Carroll County - $344,906, $345,820, - 0.3%
Frederick County - $276,595, $326,373, -15.3%
Howard County - $416,933, $463,153, -10.0%
All Maryland - $315,934, $347,209, - 9.0%
Active Inventory for Dec. 2008, then compared to Dec. 2007
Anne Arundel Co. - 3810, 3876
Baltimore City - 4563, 5473
Baltimore County - 4360, 4028
Carroll County - 1160, 1115
Frederick County - 1872, 2006
Howard County - 1622, 1677
All Maryland - 43,674, 44,097
Sorry, all of my carefully composed spacing isn't staying and it's making that hard to read.
However, I'm sure you can see as well as I can that Howard County is staying pretty close to the Maryland average, and is somewhere near the middle of the few counties that I've shown here. While Frederick County has not dropped off quite as much in sales, they have had one of the larger drops in value.
Our Government Affairs group at MAR has given us a list of six items that are some of our 2009 Legislative Issues. The one that I think would be most interesting here is number 6.
Real Estate Taxes: MAR opposes new real estate taxes. Although the real estate industry generates about one-quarter of economic activity in the state, it generates about 45% of total County/City government revenues. Maryland ranks 13th among U.S. states in terms of absolute real estate tax levels.
I will continue to attend meetings in Annapolis throughout this year and speak to our legislators about our opposition to new Real Estate Taxes. I will be in Annapolis on Monday to speak with Senator Allan Kittleman, and Delegates Gail Bates, Warren Miller and Susan Krebs about this and other items. They are all "Real Estate Friendly" legislators already. While I understand that our government does need money to run, I think our home owners pay their fair share already and am working to keep our home ownership costs low. Please continue to vote and to contact our legislators about issues that are close to your heart!
Have a great month!
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