We answer some questions this week about foreclosures and how good a deal they really are??  Also, we’ve been involved in some auctions lately and wanted to talk a little about how they work!  Enjoy!

So we’ve been waiting. Well finally it seems our wait may be over. This past summer we got involved in the fundraising efforts at the arena. We supported a fundraising event and have been trying hard to raise money for this organization since then. I am attending board meetings and am happy to report that with some recent, very large donations, we are down to $31K and change, away from opening the rink. Only $31K when not long ago, we were attempting to raise $800K!! What a community, what a great team effort to get funds and we are hoping to open the rink in the middle of June.

With an NHL sized sheet of ice, party rooms, extensive locker rooms and the ability to expand to another sheet of ice, this is no longer the pole barn ice rink of the past. This is going to be a great addition to our community and to North Idaho. We are so excited to be a part of it and, of course, if you want to be a part of it, call us and we can get you a donation form!!!

• Down Payment Gift a Leg Up to Home Ownership, But Know Tax Rules

  We explain the tax details around giving the gift of a home down payment. Read

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Disclaimer: This blog covers the national housing market as a whole. Please check with a local real estate professional to discover how the following information will impact your region. – The KCM Crew

Many sellers want to wait until the spring before putting their home on the market. This might be for any of several reasons:

1. They don’t want to be inconvenienced during the holiday season.
2. They believe that they will see more potential buyers and as a result will get a higher price.
3. In the northern part of the country, they might not want people walking through the snow and then into their house.
4. All of the above

In a normal real estate market, this may make sense. However, this market has been anything but normal. This spring will also see some abnormalities. The biggest difference will be the direction prices will take.

In years past, the spring market would favor the seller because increased demand would outpace any increase in supply: the number of houses coming onto the market would not be as great as the number of buyers newly entering the market. In most situations, when demand is greater than supply, prices increase.

The reason this spring will be different is that the supply of homes coming to the market will be dramatically impacted by foreclosure properties being released by the banks. Many believe this increase in inventory will far outweigh buyer demand. In situations where supply is greater than demand, prices decrease.

Will This Actually Happen?

RealtyTrac, in their latest foreclosure report, explained:

“U.S. foreclosure activity has been mired down  since October of last year, when the robo-signing controversy sparked a flurry  of investigations into lender foreclosure procedures and paperwork. While foreclosure activity in  September and the third quarter continued to register well below levels from a  year ago, there is evidence that this temporary downward trend is about to  change direction, with foreclosure activity slowly beginning to ramp back up.

This will impact prices.

What Do Experts Believe the Impact Will Be?

Here are the pricing projections by several major entities:

• Zillow believes we will not see a bottom in prices until the first quarter of 2012.
• Standard & Poors thinks prices will drop %5 in the next few months.
• JP Morgan Chase believes prices will depreciate 6 to 7% over the next six months.
•  Barclays says prices will fall 7% by the end of the first quarter of 2012.

Bottom Line

You may pay a hefty price for the convenience of not having your property on the market right now.