Real Estate Taxes

The Farmington Hills Assessor's office offers a great explanation of real estate taxes and the effects of Proposal A. Click here to view the PDF.

The market in January was a continuation of the December trend with weather having a significant impact on showings and market activity. The good news is the weather has broken and activity has risen accordingly. The silver lining is the weather did not affect our investor and first time home buyer segments as much, so overall pending sales in the metro area did actual rise, however all of that was in the under $100,000 Investor/First Time price range. All other market segments declined from a combination of weather and economic news.

Offsetting that decline is a continued increase in consumer activity on our web sites, up 18% over January of last year, showing us that there continues to be a pent up buyer demand that is waiting for some good news. The inventory of available homes also continues to decline in all price ranges, which over time will help with stabilizing prices.

The economic stimulus package did not carry the full housing tax credit we had hoped for, but it’s positive impact on housing will still be felt over the next 18 months (building slowly) as the rest of the economy moves. There was some great news for First Time home buyers in the stimulus, the First Time Home Buyer tax credit was raised to $8,000 and does not have to be repaid, so it is a true cash savings on your 2009 tax return! As with any tax credit there are some limitations but simply put, you will receive 10% of your purchase price (max to $8,000) repaid to you from a credit to your federal income tax.

We have a 2008 annual Metro Market Report available by email. If you would like a copy, please email customercare@realestateone.com.

December Market Update

Here are the overall market stats for December along with our company numbers for the month and the entire year. Following the market, our units were up nearly 10% (to 14,934) with volume down 18% (to $1,970,938,890) for the year. For Southeast Michigan, December ended like the rest of the year, a continued settling of home values with a significant increase in the number of homes pending. It is rather remarkable that the number of homes sold and leased have continued to grow (2008 over 2007) considering the economic uncertainty that hangs over the State. Granted that increase has come from the under $100,000 home value segment (the segments above $100,000 declined in terms of units in 2008); however those sales do create additional activity. Most are first time buyer and investor sales that have a higher turnover rate as do leases, driving the move-up price range sales as home inventories shrink. Median home values took a significant drop in 2008, falling 38%, most of that is from the shift of buyers to those lower priced homes, as opposed to value declines. The Case/Shiller numbers are a better indicator of true home value changes at around -12%. Northwest Michigan moved in a different direction with the number of homes sales off by 20% while the average home price declined only 6%. As a positive sign, For Sale inventories have begun to decline however it is logical that further price declines can be expected in northern markets as well. Our numbers for the month and for the year are once again the best in the State.