Congress and Obama finally did something that made sense: they extended and expanded the first time home buyers’ credit so that new homebuyers and buyers who already own a home have a chance to get tax credits. This should get consumers excited about buying homes. The new credits will be valid from December 1st to April 30th. For more details see other posts.

A home owner wanted to know what she could do to get her house ready to go on the market within the next two years. I answered the question and my answer was selected from agents submitting answers from across the U.S.

See my full answer here: http://www.realtor.com/blogs/2009/11/01/preparing-a-home-for-a-sale-ask-a-realtor%C2%AE/

Cree and other companies have recently announced more jobs are coming to the Triangle. Whether it’s expansion or new companies being born or companies relocating there is still a large number of companies that feel confident about what the Triangle area has to offer them and their employees. Location, weather, taxes, transportation, education, health, entertainment - all of these factors make the Triangle appealing - even during a down market. The rate of job growth may have slowed but it’s still a lot better than the great majority of communities around the United States.

According to news reports foreclosures in the 3rd quarter of this year are down almost 6% compared to the same period in 2009. This is one more indicator that things are improving even as we head into a slower period of the year.The state had 9,818 foreclosures in the latest quarter, with one in every 420 homeowners receiving a default notice, auction-sale notice or bank-repossession filing. NC ranked 34th nationally in terms of foreclosures.

Reports from the Wake County Public School System indicate that more and more students are still entering the school system every year, just not at the pace we’ve seen in past years. This year there were almost 2,000 more students than at the same time last year compared to growth of more than 5,000 students on previous years prior to 2009.

So more teachers, more classrooms, and potentially more schools will continue to be needed to satisfy the demands of a growing student population.

And it will be particularly important for school administrators, teachers and school board members to sharpen their pencils and look at more efficient and effective ways to manage their time to get the most out of every tax dollar spend on K-12 education in Wake County at a time when tax dollars are not what they once were. State contributions, county contributions and Federal contributions are down due to the poor economy but the needs of the children continue unabated.

Perhaps the new school board members will come up with a plan to gain even more efficiency without negatively affecting the basic educational needs of our children.

According to a just released projection of the company that publishes the Business Journal in over 25 markets, the three-county Raleigh metro will virtually double its population during the study period. It had 953,000 residents in 2005, but should be closing in on 1.9 million by 2025.

That’s an increase of 97.7 percent in 20 years, which equals an annual growth rate of 3.5 percent. No other metro will expand as rapidly.

This bodes well for businesses like Realtors, builders  and retailers who need people moving into the Triangle area to grow their businesses.

WASHINGTON — The number of U.S. homebuyers who agreed to buy a previously occupied home took the largest monthly jump in nearly eight years in April, but there are still plenty of danger signs for the U.S. housing market.

Home sales appear likely to head upward this summer, potentially to levels not seen since the stock market collapsed last autumn, but prices are expected to keep falling well into next year. Layoffs, which are causing foreclosures to soar, coupled with rising mortgage rates could dampen any real estate recovery.

The National Association of Realtors said Tuesday its seasonally adjusted index of sales contracts signed in April surged 6.7 percent to 90.3, far exceeding analysts’ forecasts. It was the biggest monthly jump since October 2001, when pending sales rose 9.2 percent.

The big boost likely reflects the impact of a new $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers that was included in the economic stimulus bill signed by Obama in February. Since buyers need to complete their purchases by Nov. 30 to claim the credit, “we expect greater activity in the months ahead,” Lawrence Yun, the Realtors’ chief economist, said in a statement.

Typically there is a one- to two-month lag between a contract and a done deal, so the index is a barometer for future existing home sales.

Courtesy of WRAL.com. For the complete story go to:  http://www.wral.com/business/story/5260702/

Majestic Oaks is a 60-lot subdivision underway on the north side of Rogers Road across from Heritage South. It was built by Willfair, which is David Williams Jr., Steve Faircloth and David Faircloth, who are not relatives. The project abuts the Heritage and the Clearspring subdivisions and was approved in 2006.
          Holding Village, Wake Forest’s first Traditional Neighborhood Development, is on hold until the national recession eases. It will have 1,300 homes of all types, a village center with retail stores, a greenway and an amphitheater on the 256 acres that was once part of the 900-acre Holding dairy farm. One of the first steps will be to extend South Franklin Street south of the bypass. It will eventually meet the part of that street built in Heritage. The development, a joint project between the Holding family and East West Partners of Chapel Hill, will be between the N.C. 98 bypass on the north, the CSX rail line and Friendship Chapel Baptist Church on the west, Heritage Wake Forest on the south and an undeveloped tract of the former farm on the east.
          Traditions, a mixed-use development approved in May 2008, is also on hold due to the economic conditions. Four Ammons siblings – Heritage developer Andy Ammons, Factory developer Jeff Ammons, Springmoor director David Ammons and their sister – have a plan for about half the land west of the Wake Forest reservoir that includes housing and local employment. They will build a significant portion of the North Loop from the Jones Dairy Road/N.C. 98 bypass intersection north and then west and will rebuild two existing roads, Oak Grove Church and Gillcrest. There will be 632 homes of different types in the southwest corner, a retail and commercial area in the middle of the project, and a continuing care complex in the northwest corner similar to Springmoor.        
          The Wake Forest Planning Department is reviewing plans for an amenities center in the northwest quadrant of Traditions along with a separate plan for 96 continuing care units and 64 townhouses in that same quadrant.
          Bishop’s Grant on Wait Avenue (N.C. 98 east) will have 48 townhouses and 172 single-family homes when built out in 2010.
          Austin Creek on N.C. 98 east of town will have 430 single-family homes and 196 townhomes when complete in about 2015. Beazer Homes is the builder.
          Bowling Green, which will connect internally to Austin Creek subdivision and have entrances on N.C. 98 and Jones Dairy Road, will have 283 single-family homes and 94 townhouses when it is completed, probably in 2018. The land for the N.C. 98 (Wait Avenue) entrance has been cleared.
          Homes are being built in Saddle Run, a 34-home subdivision on Chalks Road.
          Heritage North will have 387 homes when built out in 2011 or so. It lies along Heritage Lake Road.
          Reynolds Mill on Forbes Road and the future Ligon Mill Road has begun construction of the 125 single-family homes planned in the first phase.
          Shearon Farms has nearly completed its single-family section and has begun the 372 townhouses and apartments planned for that subdivision along Capital Boulevard just north of the Neuse River and south of Burlington Mills Road.
          Heritage South and Wildflower are jointly planned subdivisions south of Rogers Road. Heritage South will have 444 single-family homes. Wildflower, approved in 2004, will have 111 single-family homes and 165 townhouses.
          Dansforth on Burlington Mills Road was approved in 2001 for 313 single-family homes, most of which have been completed.
          Thornrose, which is connected internally to Dansforth, is on Forestville Road, and almost all its 187 homes have been built.
          Stonegate at St. Andrews on Forestville Road was approved in 2004 for 691 single-family and multi-family lots. About 300 single-family homes and 217 multi-family homes remain to be built.
          The Registry at Bennett Park will be 31 single-family lots along an extension of West Holding Avenue, bounded on the west by Richland Creek. The master plan was approved in June of 2007. The streets have been built.
          The Meadows, a subdivision with 104 single-family homes on 38.58 acres on the west side of North Main Street, was rezoned in June of 2007. The subdivision is being developed by First American, an Apex firm. It will connect to Barnford Mill Road in the Olde Mill Stream subdivision and have an entrance on North Main Street.
          Olde Wake Forest, an eight-home infill subdivision bounded by North Wingate, West Juniper, North College and West Pine, was approved by the town board on March 18, 2008.
          Olde Chestnut Townes, 33 townhouses on West Chestnut Avenue to be built by Bark Development, was approved by the town board on Feb. 19, 2008.
          The Reserve, a cluster subdivision of 37 single-family homes on 74 acres south of Oak Grove Church Road, was approved in September of 2008. The land on the west side of the ridge line leading down to the Wake Forest reservoir will remain undisturbed.
          Kings Glen, a 93-home subdivision on 34 acres between Wait Avenue (N.C. 98) and Oak Grove Church Road, was added to the approved subdivisions list in October 2008 when the Wake Forest Town Board approved its annexation and plan. The land is adjacent to Bishop’s Grant.
Subdivisions in review
          About 100 homes would be built in a new phase of Flaherty Farms subdivision if the plans are approved by the planning and town boards. On Sept. 18, 2007, the town’s Comprehensive Planning Committee agreed Millridge Companies could move forward with the plans, still preliminary, based on the public benefits of the construction of a portion of the North Loop and the infill character. There will be no irrigation tied to the town’s water system.

This information is courtesy of Peter Kima

From open houses I’ve held the last few weeks and new buyers I am working with it is apparent to me that buyers want to be more optimistic about finding the right new home for their families. Whether it’s better financing options or more home choices or just a sense that things are looking up buyers want to be more positive and are becoming more positive about the future. And that translates into more of them out there looking at homes.

New signs that the recession could be nearing a bottom emerged Thursday, as factory orders were far better than expected and the Dow industrials surged over 8,000 for the first time in two months.The Commerce Department said orders for manufactured goods rose 1.8 percent in February, reversing six straight monthly declines and easily beating estimates of another drop. Other economic indicators came in better than expected Wednesday, including construction spending and pending home sales.

For the rest of the story from the AP and WRALTV.com please click on this link: http://www.wral.com/business/story/4877760/