Lake Geneva Real Estate

Home prices also keep on going, and in a decidedly upward direction. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported thatfor Q1 of this year, the median existing home price jumped 11.3% over last year, the largest annual gain since Q4 of 2005. But Q1 inventory was down 16.8%. The NAR’s chief economist expounded: “Inventory conditions are expected to remain fairly constrained this year, so overall price increases should be well above the historic gain of one-to-two percentage points above the rate of inflation.” 

A leading research analytics firm reported that home prices in March jumped 10.5% year over year, posting their biggest annual gain in seven years. Plus, the 1.9% price increase over February was the 13th monthly gain in a row. These analysts expect April to register a 12% annual and a 2.7% monthly price hike, if you exclude distressed sales. Finally, Fannie Mae reported a milestone in consumer optimism about home prices: the majority of Americans they surveyed now expect home prices to increase over the next year.

New Home Sales were up 12.3% in February compared to a year ago. After a super big hike in January, new home sales fell slightly in February, but they’re still at a 411,000 annual rate. Plus, the median price of new homes sold was up 2.9% versus a year ago, with the average price up an impressive 14.5%! 

Speaking of prices, check out the closely watched Case-Shiller index of home prices in the 20 largest metros. Up 1% in January, prices are now up 8.1% over a year ago. That’s the largest annual gain in over 6 years! The chief economist at an online real estate site observed, “We’re seeing prices increase both in markets that had a really big decline during the bust, as well as markets that have really strong fundamentals.” Finally, Pending Home Sales in February were at their second-highest level in nearly three years, up 8.4% over a year ago, although slipping a tad for the month.

Interest rates are up to 3.65% for a 30 year fixed, conventional mortgage with 20% down.  Still excellent rates for purchasing within the Geneva Lake Resort communities.  

As Buyers for lake homes in the resort communities around Geneva Lake you have to consider your purchasing thought process.   The difference between you and the Seller may be $10,000 to $20,000 but in reality it is a $40-62.00 difference in your monthly payment because of  LOW  interest rates and your offer to purchase   While this may be a simplistic example that is how you should consider your offer and negotiation process.   There are only so many homes with lake frontage, piers and slips within 1.5 hours of your home.  Talk about a hedge against inflation??  Do you want to be on your own pier in 30 days or not?    

We’re only one year into this recovery… ” Doug Yearley said on Bloomberg TV yesterday morning. “Remember, we had seven of the worst years in housing that this country has ever seen. This recovery, we believe, should be a lot longer than just one or two years.”  Yearley is the CEO of Toll Brothers, a nationwide homebuilder. When asked if he thought the strength in housing could continue, he didn’t mince words…   “We feel really good this spring,” he said. “Our orders are up 49%.”  He explained that there’s simply “no inventory.” And “no inventory” is one of the key ingredients in seeing higher home prices ahead. You always have to take a CEO’s comments with a grain of salt. It’s his job to be optimistic. But I fully agree with his assessment. As you probably know, I have been extremely optimistic on U.S. housing for years now—expecting big gains. Our True Wealth Systems numbers back me up…   In short, U.S. housing is the greatest value it’s ever been in our lifetimes—and probably the greatest value it will ever be. I objectively define value as “affordability.” Affordability is a function of 1) house prices, 2) mortgage rates, and 3) income. The first two crashed to an epic degree, making U.S. housing more affordable than ever.