The Monroe County market continued to show modest improvement in most areas during the third quarter when compared to the same quarter of recent years. Nevertheless, activity remains well below the peak years of 2004-2006.
- Buoyed by record low interest rates (How many times have we said that in the last four years?), conforming loans showed their strongest third quarter in the last five years. (charts pages 13 & 14)
- Mortgages securing loans of $50,000 or less are increasing over the last three years but still far below the sub-prime peak of the middle 2000?s. (charts pages 15 & 16)
- Sale transactions for owner occupied properties continue to strengthen as evidenced by the number of sales disclosures indicating the property will be the buyer?s primary residence. Through the first nine months of 2012 there were 1034 such disclosures. The first nine months of 2011 there were only 871. That?s a robust 19% increase.
- One might conclude however that the first time homebuyer tax incentives of 2008 and 2009 provided more stimulus than the current low interest rate environment. (charts pages 9 & 10)
- Sales of property not marked as the buyer?s primary residence (mostly investment property) are essentially unchanged. There were 434 such filings in the first nine months of 2011 and 431 in 2012, so far.
- The upper end of the residential market (sales of $200K to $500K) shows the most improvement. (chart page 9)
- After two years of moderating declines, new foreclosures and recorded Sheriff?s deeds are increasing significantly for the year. This is a worrisome trend that bears watching. (charts pages 17 & 18)
All in all, most of us are more concerned today with servicing our business rather than worrying about whether we have enough. A pleasant and welcome change in our focus from several years ago!
July 27, 2012
Surprising and not-so surprising revelations from the Bloomington mortgage finance and real estate markets after the first six months of 2012.
- Despite mortgage interest rates being about two percent lower in 2012 than in 2009, mortgage volume was actually higher back then. (see charts pages 8, 9, 12 & 13)
- Second quarter volume of mortgages under $50,000 increased dramatically. Are HELOC?s coming due and just being renewed or is there some fundamental improvement in this segment? (see charts pages 10 & 11)
- The sale market hopefully has bottomed, but signs that it?s improving in a big way are still hard to find. (see charts pages 14, 15 & 16)
- The modest improvement in the sale market seems to be limited to non-owner occupied properties. (see charts pages 15 & 16)
- The number of new foreclosures filed in Monroe County trended upward during the first half of 2012 after several years of modest decline. (see chart page 16)
I?d want to express many thanks to our friends and associates who support us each and every?day! No chart could possibly reflect the gratitude that all of us at John Bethell Title feel. The?confidence that you display in our abilities to help you is awesome! Have a great second half!
John Bethell
2011 Pay In 2012 Real Estate Tax Amounts Availability
The 2011 pay in 2012 Real Estate Tax amounts are now available in Green, Owen, and Lawrence Counties. Accordingly tax escrows established at closing for properties in these counties can now be based upon actual tax liabilities.
The Monroe County tax amounts are expected to be certified later this month or early in April. Until then any escrows that are necessary to insure payment of the first installment of taxes will be established based upon an amount equal to 150% of last year?s taxes.
Please feel free to contact us for further information.
Please Note:
John Bethell Title Company, Inc. will be closed on Monday February 20 for our Annual Employee Training Day. We will resume normal business operations and hours on Tuesday February 21.
Hidden and not so hidden trends, conclusions and questions from the 2011 full year mortgage and deed recording data:
- Lenders with a local presence and local employees continue to dominate our market. Take that dot com lender! Page 4.
- Indiana University Credit Union and German American were the most active residential and business lenders, respectively. Page 3.
- Record low mortgage interest rates resulted in the smallest number of recorded mortgages between $50 and $500 in the last seven years (and probably since the mid-1990?s). Something else must be holding back the market, Mr. & Ms. Regulator. Chart Page 14.
- The number of recorded deeds representing a transaction was almost identical to 2010. Does this indicate a market bottom? Chart Page 14.
- Possibly. But the number of sales disclosures marked as the Buyer?s Primary Residence was down considerably. Again despite record low mortgage interest rates. Chart Page 16.
- Sales NOT marked as the Buyer?s Primary Residence increased last year. Indicative of more investor activity? Chart Page 17.
- Foreclosures continue to decline. Good for our community and for housing price stability. Charts Pages 18 and 19.
And on the national front it seems to me that positive stories about real estate are out numbering the negative stories by as wide a margin as I can remember in the last five years. Let?s hope these are self fulfilling prophecies!
Have a great and successful 2012!
~John Bethell
