The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in March, increased 3.2 percent to 84.6 from a level of 82.0 in February, and is 1.1 percent higher than March 2008 when it was 83.7.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, says it should take a few months for the market to gain momentum.  “This increase could be the leading edge of first-time buyers responding to very favorable affordability conditions and an $8,000 tax credit, which increases buying power even more in areas where special programs allow buyers to use it as a down payment,” he says. “We need several months of sustained growth to demonstrate a recovery in housing, which is necessary for the overall economy to turn around.”

NAR’s Housing Affordability Index remained near record highs. The affordability index was 166.7 in March – down from an upwardly revised record of 174.4 in February due to higher home prices in March. The index remains 30.8 percentage points higher than a year ago. The HAI is a broad measure of housing affordability using consistent values and assumptions over time, which examines the relationship between home prices, mortgage interest rates and family income; tracking began in 1970.

Here is a breakdown of pending home sales by region:

• South: rose 8.5 percent to 93.2 in March and is 7.7 percent above a year ago.
• West: increased 3.9 percent to 93.1 and is 1.7 percent higher than March 2008.
• Northeast: fell 5.7 percent to 59.5 in March and is 24.1 percent below a year ago.
• Midwest: slipped 1 percent to 82.3 but is 8.2 percent higher than March 2008.

We’re not surprised to see the South showing the best returns.  In our area prices have dipped slightly from the highest sales prices in 2007, but have continued to have strong values for homes overall.  The biggest difference in the Charlotte and Fort Mill areas is that while we did see price increases over the last years above our normal 2-4% increase per year, ours did not get out of hand like other areas of the country.  Thus, it took us the longest to slow down, and it isn’t surprising to be picking up forward momentum first. 

On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve decided that it will continue to purchase mortgage backed securities and keep interest rates at historically low levels.  It was back in December that the Federal Open Markets Committee set the Federal Funds rate in the 0% to 0.25% range, and it has remained unchanged since.   This rate is the rate that the banks are charged to borrow money from each other through the treasury, and is a broad indicator of general interest rate trends. 

Also a key point in the rate trend is that the Fed has committed to it’s previously announced policy to purchase up to $1.25 trillion in mortgage-backed securities this year.  When they initially began to purchase these securities a few weeks ago, rates fell and stayed low, and it is expected that the central bank wants rates to stay low through the end of the year. 

While this isn’t an absolute guarantee that the rates will stay as historically low as they are right now, it does indicate that rates will at least stay low enough to give buyers a great mortgage rate throughout the year.  The most important thing to take into consideration if you think that you will be ready to purchase a home soon, is to look into how the mortgage rates will work out for you.  Credit has become a key indicator in the rate that borrowers are offered, and banks scrutinize income, assets and debts very strictly now.  There are plenty of great loans out there that are still available, and the most important thing you can do is to start a conversation with a trusted loan officer who can properly advise you.  If you do not already have a favorite mortgage broker, we’d be glad to provide you with the names of loan officers in the Fort Mill area that we have had good experiences with in the past.

For More information, go to the Fort Mill Spring Fest Page and view their flyers, maps, and food menus for the event. 

No, I wouldn’t really say that.  But personally, I'll never be ready to claim myself the "Queen of Green" and decide that I can tell you what's Green and what's not.  There actually are ways to quantify how “Green” the home you’re purchasing is.  There are a variety of environmentally responsible certifications that a home can attain.  The problem is, those are all currently aimed at New Construction.  So, if you want a “Green” home in Fort Mill, SC, you could buy an Evans Coghill home in Baxter, or a Brentwood home in Walden Park.  Both of these builders build Earth Craft Certified homes.  But what if they’re not in your price range?  And what about all of these resale homes that are already built? 

And thus the Fort Mill Green Home Conundrum.  Because after all, “re-using” is one of the three eco mantras, right? (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle… in that order)  And that means Resale Homes!  Because at the end of the day, no matter the sustainable resources and the attention to waste, a resale home doesn’t require the use of new resource materials.  And if the home already has granite, it's not saving anything to reinstall new recycled glass countertops.  So, Voila!  It's Green!  Right??? 

But WAIT… so I could save a lot of resources by not buying new, but isn’t there a there a WHOLE lot more to having a Green home than that?!   Now we’re back at... “How do I quantify it?”  And that’s currently the frustration.   Now, California is working on an Energy Star remodeling program, but… that’s California and we care about South Carolina!   All that does is tell us that hopefully it will come our way in a few years.

So if you’re buying a resale home, what to do?  Really, the most important next question is… what does “Green” mean to me and my family?  There are different “Green Values” that each homeowner has to take into consideration for themselves:  

-             Energy Efficiency  

-         Water Efficiency

-         Health and Safety

-         Use of Sustainable Materials

-         Durability

-         Environmentally Responsible

-         Located within a Sustainable Community

When most people talk about being “Green”, usually energy efficiency is the first thing they think of.  Even for those people who aren’t as excited about environmentalism, they still appreciate any energy efficiency that translates into utility cost savings.  Buyers have been asking about utility bills on homes for years!  Most all of us speak that kind of green.

The best quantifiable thing you can do right now for your resale home is to get a HERS Energy rating.  This tells you how energy efficient the home is on a sliding scale.  If the home does poorly on the energy audit, then you can take steps to correct those energy efficiencies. 

After that, it does currently become a little more difficult.  Mostly because what's important to me about being Green might be different for what's important to you.  That’s why it really does become up to you and your family, and so we need to make a list!  Do you want a home where there are dual flush toilets?  Is the Crawl Space sealed?  Perhaps I want my landscaping to be environmentally responsible and use less water.  Maybe I want to make sure there’s room for all of the recycling bins I plan on filling up.  Ah, the list goes on! 

Don’t worry.  We’ll keep working on the conundrum.  One of our upcoming projects for the website is to provide information, especially local resources, about what Green means for your home and your home buying experience.  And we'd love to hear your comments and concerns. 

Our next goal is to start adding a lot of interesting, helpful content to our blog on a regular basis.  We love living in Fort Mill and Tega Cay, so we should be able to come up with a lot of interesting content... but we know you have a lot of interesting questions about Fort Mill and Real Estate in our area, so we'd love to have your questions and suggestions.  Is there a topic you'd like us to research for you?  Is there information you'd like to see us write an article about?  Don't be shy.  We want to hear from you!

Really, the most exciting thing about this article for us is that we are always trying to find new ways to market the thrift shop to more and more people.  So of course, we hope this Charlotte Observer article will bring in a few more happy customers to the shop!  You see, since every bit of the proceeds from the shop to the York County Humane Society, the more customers that come in and donate and purchase items from the shop, the more money that is raised to help the animals in York County.  It's been a very exciting project to be involved in!

Check out the article here where we've posted it on our site

Home prices are one factor in determining your cost of ownership, but so are interest rates and financing availability. Even though interest rates have gone up in the last six months, they are still near historic lows. Since your monthly mortgage payment is a combination of paying down your principal and paying the interest owed, if home prices come down a little further but interest rates go up, it could cost you even more to service a mortgage on an identical home!

While a home is a major investment, it is also the center of your personal life. It's important to live in a home that reflects your taste and values, yet is within your financial "comfort zone." To that end, it may be more important to lock in today's relatively low interest rates and low home prices, rather than to hope for a further break in prices in the future.

Please give me a call if I can be of any assistance in determining how much home you can afford in today's market.