Harding Report January 2004
*** News from Jefferson County WV Property Market ***
Each month The Harding Report will include the latest news and information from the Jefferson County, West Virginia, property market. This is a free service compiled by Thomas Harding, a licensed real estate agent with Greg Didden Associates in Shepherdstown, West Virginia.
For additional local information or any other property enquiry contact:
Thomas Harding
www.tharding.com
304 671 7292 (cellphone)
304 876 1999 (home)
304 876 6400 (office)
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Contents:
1. Real Estate News
2. National Property Sales
3. Jefferson County property sales
4. Hombuyer
5. Family
6. Lending
7. Upcoming Events
“I left the District and moved to Jefferson County in 2003, now I have more land and more house for less money - what a great decision” – New resident
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THE HARDING REPORT - January 2004
1. Real Estate News
Another California real estate-related company has the dubious honor of becoming another "first" in Do Not Call law enforcement efforts. In a Dec.
18 certified letter, the Federal Communications Commission cited CPM Funding of Irvine, CA and doing business as California Pacific Mortgage, for violations of the federal Do Not Call registry. The FCC also threatened a $11,000 fine per violation, as prescribed by the law, if the company continued to contact consumers who have placed their telephone numbers on the federal registry of phone numbers of people who do not want to receive telemarketing calls. The company did not dispute FCC charges made a month earlier nor did it demonstrate that it was complying with the law, so the agency issued the citation warning of planned enforcement and requesting the company to demonstrate remedial action. www.mris.com
2. National Property Sales 2003
While final numbers for the year are not in as of this writing, it appears that 2003 is a record-setter for housing. Powered by low interest rates,
especially during the summer, home sales rose in most areas of the country. In the world of new construction, says David Seiders, chief economist with the National Association of Home Builders, "we're projecting 1.084 million home sales for the year as a whole, the first time we've crossed the
million-unit threshold, an increase of 11 percent over 2002ž s record." Meanwhile existing homes also enjoyed a banner year. The National
Association of Realtors says it expects a record 6.07 million existing-home sales for 2003, up 9.1 percent from the 2002 record of 5.57 million sales. Not only are unit sales up, so are prices: The national median existing-home price for 2003 is expected to rise 9.1 percent to $172,600, the strongest increase since 1980 according to NAR. What does it mean for homeowners? For many households, the largest single source of wealth got substantially larger during the past 12 months. realtytimes.com/customnews/mris.htm
3. Jefferson County Property Sales November 2003
Boom in house sales continues in the region.
* Average sales price as percenage listing price was 98% for November 2003
* Average days on market was 46 days in 2003, down from 66 in 2002
* Total houses sold, was up 66% for same period previous year
Jefferson County figures for 2003 will be coming out shortly...
4. Homebuyer
The stocks of publicly traded companies whose primary business is multifamily housing continue to outpace the market as a whole and are poised
to end the year at record high levels, according to the National Association of Home Builders' Multifamily Stock Index released on Tuesday.
"Multifamily stocks have outperformed the S&P 500 over the past 12 months as well as over the last four years, noted Elliot Eisenberg, Ph.D., a housing policy economist at NAHB and creator of the index. "Investors are looking at multifamily companies as good long-term investments and, despite some weakness in the rental market over the past two years, these stocks continue to perform very well."
Over the past 12 months the MFSI, which tracks the total returns (including capital gains and dividends) of 28 publicly traded firms principally
involved in the ownership and management of apartments, has climbed steadily, reaching a record high of 1,730 on the index in December. This
translates into a 20 percent gain in returns for multifamily stocks this year, compared to the 15 percent gain for the market as a whole as reflected
by the S&P 500 with dividends reinvested, which registered 923 on NAHB's index. http://www.inman.com/inf/mris/story.asp?ID=39233
5. Family
There are over 250 registered homeschool families in Jefferson County. The actual number is probably far higher. Homeschooling is a growing activity in the region as the population increases and the number of young families increases. According to local homeschoolers, there are many resources within the region to make use of. From private music teachers, to soccer teams and science classes. The Smithonian is only 60 miles away and easy to reach via the MARC train. The local schools welcome homeschoolers into some of their after-school classes. With over 1 million homeschoolers across the country, this type of alternative education is becoming not only more popular, but more widely supported within the community. A local homeschool web group is http://groups.yahoo.com/group/arc-homeschool/
There is a local homeschool store in Hagerstown http://www.homeschoolconnection.com/loc_hagerstown.html
6. Lending
Here's something few people expected: Despite a rising federal deficit, an expanding economy and a largely "jobless" recovery, mortgage interest rates fell in December -- from 6.02 percent plus .6 points on Dec. 4th to 5.81 percent plus .7 points on December 25th, according to Freddie Mac. The drop is not quite as large as it seems -- a somewhat larger cost for points eats up some of the benefit from lower rates. Still, given economic expansion and big deficits higher rates would seem to have been in order. For a $100,000 loan, a borrower would pay $600.84 per month for principal and interest over 30 years at 6.02 percent. In comparison, the same loan at seven percent -- a "low" rate not too long ago -- would cost $665.30. By the measures of the past several decades 2003 was a wonderful year to be a borrower. What about rates in 2004? No one knows for sure, but for the latest rate information and property trends speak with your local broker.
There may be more -- and good -- surprises in the marketplace.
7. Upcoming Events
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