Jessica and I are happy to announce that RE/MAX of New England recognized us (Element Real Estate) as one of the Top 4 RE/MAX Teams in Vermont.

Not bad considering we only started as team halfway through the year.

Thank you to all of you who helped make our first few months as Element Real Estate, hugely successful ones.  Our entire business depends upon referrals from past clients, associates and friends, and you have answered our call!

Please contact us if you or someone you know is thinking about buying or selling real estate. We are happy to help.

Dan Cypress

Realtor®, EcoBroker®, MBA

Element Real Estate

RE/MAX North Professionals

875 Roosevelt Highway

Colchester, VT 05446

cell.802.598.6219

office.802.861.3262

fax.802.655.0500

www.RealEstateVT.com

Today, Dr. Lawrence Yun, chief economist and senior vice president of research for the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR), gave the keynote presentation at NVBR’s Membership Meeting.  It was a great presentation.  Dr. Yun was able to communicate his outlook of both the National and Vermont real estate market in a way that was thoughtful yet easy to understand.

He spent most of the presentation communicating one simple point: As the real estate market stabilizes, so will the overall economy…and there are several reasons to believe that things are going in the right direction.

1. Since least year, there has been a ten percent increase in real estate sales activity.
2. Home prices are stabilizing and delinquency rates are expected to stabilize.
3. Data is showing pent up demand for new home construction.
4. Data also show that there is pent up demand for renters who “could” become home owners.  In 2000 (pre boom) there were 11 million renters with qualifying income to buy a median priced home. In 2009 there were 16 million of these renters.

As a former student of economics, it was a delight to hear him describe the market as “bifurcated”.  Not only did he use that fancy word, but he even defined it in layman’s terms relative to Vermont.  The word “bifurcation” is typically used in the world of biology to describe how a river forks into different tributaries or the point in which a plant divides into different branches. The real estate market has several branches (affordable, moderate-priced, luxury, second home market etc.).

Some segments of the real estate market are doing better than others.  The affordable home or first-time home buyer market is showing increased activity in the double digits and seeing modest gains in prices.  The tax credit has helped encourage firt-time buyers that might have otherwise stayed on the fence.  The inventories of these more affordable homes are coming down and prices are stabilizing.

The second home/ vacation market isn’t doing as well.  People are simply cutting back on discretionary expenses and banks are less likely to make loans on second homes.  Similarly, the market for land has cooled.  Dr. Yun noted indicators showing pent up demand for new construction.  The banks, however, have been unwilling to fund many of these new projects.  Profits in the banking industry are beginning to increase.  As this happens, Dr. Yun explains, the credit market will begin to free up and construction of new homes will increase again.

I left the event impressed by our presenter.  His command of the market research coupled with his comfortable presentation style made this one of the more informational events that I have been to lately.  I feel optimistic that both the real estate market and the larger macro-economy are continuing to improve.

There are plenty of opportunities in this market.  I’m expecting to be busy over the next few months assisting first time buyers and move-up buyers take advantage of the expanded tax credit.  For more information about the real estate market and the tax credit, take a look at other articles in this blog or contact me…I’d be happy to help.

–
Dan Cypress
Realtor®, EcoBroker®, MBA
RE/MAX North Professionals
875 Roosevelt Highway
Colchester, VT 05446
cell.802.598.6219
office.802.861.3262
fax.802.655.0500

www.RealEstateVT.com

131 Main Street, Burlington VT

The Vermont House

MLS #2913454

$260,000

Fabulous downtown living in the historic Vermont House with french doors overlooking city hall park. Sunlit condo features hardwood floors, updated bathrooms and custom built-ins throughout. The fully remodeled kitchen was designed for maximum functionality and storage space. Secure building with elevator. 1 dog / 1 cat OK. Heat, AC, hot water included. Short waiting list for parking. Seller to contribute $3,000 towards special assessment!

Interested in seeing this condo? I would be happy to show it to you.

Dan Cypress

Realtor®, EcoBroker®, MBA

RE/MAX North Professionals

875 Roosevelt Highway
Colchester, VT 05446

cell.802.598.6219

office.802.861.3262

fax.802.655.0500

www.RealEstateVT.com

117 Sunset Drive Waterbury, VT

MLS #2908678

$239,000

Relax on the deck and take in the incredible views of the Waterbury Reservoir and the Green Mountains. This hillside ranch is situated on a huge lush lot with tons of gardening potential. Inside you will find new maple flooring, updated kitchen and baths, fresh paint and plenty of sunlight. Located close to route 100 and I89 this home is an easy drive to Stowe or Burlington.

Interested in seeing this house? I would be happy to show it to you.

Dan Cypress
Realtor®, EcoBroker®, MBA
RE/MAX North Professionals
875 Roosevelt Highway
Colchester, VT 05446
cell.802.598.6219
office.802.861.3262
fax.802.655.0500

www.RealEstateVT.com

Relax on the deck and take in the incredible views of the Waterbury Reservoir and the Green Mountains. This hillside ranch is situated on a huge lush lot with tons of gardening potential. Inside you will find new maple flooring, updated kitchen and baths, fresh paint and plenty of sunlight. Located close to route 100 and I89 this home is an easy drive to Stowe or Burlington.

Directions: From I89 take Waterbury exit, head north on Rte 100. Make left onto Sunset Dr. Across from Cold Hollow Cider Mill.

1444 North Ave, Burlington VT

MLS# 2913371

$220,000

First-Time Homeowners this one is for you. Adorable bungalow in a convenient location, boasts wood floors, an open floor plan and lots of fine craftsmanship. New roof in 2008, new high efficiency furnace in 2009, updated electrical, windows, front porch and siding! Large, fully fenced lot, great for families, pets and room for your garden too! Bike to town or walk to the lake. One car garage/workshop and your very own pear tree!

Interested in seeing this house? I would be happy to show it to you.

Dan Cypress
Realtor®, EcoBroker®, MBA
RE/MAX North Professionals
875 Roosevelt Highway
Colchester, VT 05446
cell.802.598.6219
office.802.861.3262
fax.802.655.0500

www.RealEstateVT.com

An awful lot of people ask me the same question: “How is the market doing”.

I have personally noticed an increase in activity from where we were a year ago. The tax credit and low interest rates have undoubtedly contribute to this, but it also seems that consumer confidence is up.  Low and behold…the sky is not falling!

Neal Charnoff of Vermont Public Radio recently interviewed Leslee MacKenzie, President of the Vermont Association of Realtors about the Vermont housing market. She reflects on 2009 and discusses what’s in store for 2010.

Listen here for the VPR interview.

Did you hear that Congress Extended and Expanded the Home Ownership Tax Credit recently?

• The First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit has been extended until July 1, 2010.
• There is now a $6,500 tax credit available for qualified move-up or repeat home buyers that purchase a new or existing home before July 1, 2010.

Our past blog entries have included lots of information regarding how the tax credit applies to first-time buyers.  Click here for an overview.

This post, however, will discuss how the expansion provides a great opportunity for those of you that currently own a home and are considering upgrading or downsizing.

Who is eligible to claim the $6,500 tax credit?

• Qualified move-up or repeat home buyers purchasing any kind of home are eligible to claim this credit.

What is the definition of a move-up or repeat home buyer?

• The law defines a tax credit qualified move-up home buyer (”long-time resident”) as a home owner who has owned and resided in a home for at least five consecutive years of the eight years prior to the purchase date.

How is the amount of the tax credit determined?

• The tax credit is equal to 10 percent of the home’s purchase price up to a maximum of $6,500. Purchases of homes priced above $800,000 are not eligible for the tax credit.

For more information regarding the tax credit, just contact us.

info@realestatevt.com

Dan Cypress & Jessica Bridge, Realtors

Element Real Estate

RE/MAX North Professionals

875 Roosevelt Highway

Colchester, VT 05446

cell.802.598.6219

office.802.861.3262

fax.802.655.0500

www.RealEstateVT.com

As you may know by now, we left our former real estate team in June and started one of our own.  We are now Element Real Estate. We are still at RE/MAX North Professionals, Vermont’s #1 Real Estate Sales Office.

Let us begin by saying thank you, thank you, thank you to all of you who helped make our first few months as Element Real Estate, hugely successful ones.

Successful Realtors depend on referrals.  That said, we have one simple request: Please contact us if you or someone you know is thinking about buying or selling real estate.  We are happy to help.

Dan Cypress & Jessica Bridge

Dan@RealEstateVT.com 802.598.6219

Jessica@RealEstateVT.com 802.233.9817

A friend is selling their home without a realtor and posted it on Craigslist. Someone, not a potential buyer or Realtor, called to ask if they can take interior pictures but were really elusive as to why they wanted the photos. The seller felt sketched out and called me for my opinion.

I hate accusing this aspiring photographer of being a con, but i started doing a little bit of digging on different craigslist scams and it seems to be consistent with one.

Scammers target folks that have their house for sale on craigslist. They then post a similar ad under the “rentals” section using the photos and information from the original legitimate ad…but post a very low monthly rental rate. 

The scammer get all sorts of responses…people want more information and want to see more photos. So, they send them more photos.   When it comes time to show the property “the owner” will be unavailable but will encourage prospective renters to wire or paypal money to secure the deposit.  He can run this scam on many people and use your home to deceive people.

Many first-time home buyers are asking whether or not the $8,000 tax credit can be used as a down payment. The short answer is “no”.

Apparently someone from US Department of Housing and Urban Development made a big announcement at a recent meeting for the National Association of Realtors in May 2009.  They were a little early and didn’t do enough research. The media did pick up on this and it was misrepresented by the media.

It turns out the money would have to be a loan.  Lenders were not able or willing to do this so it was turned to non profits who were not willing either. 

Part of the challenge with this is that it would be considered a loan and non profits don’t have the funding nor the manpower to analyze every first-time home buyers’ financials to estimate how much if any of the $8,000 they are eligible for. 

So unfortunately, it probably won’t be available for first-time buyers to take advantage of.  Of course, we will let you know if that changes.