Field of Dreams - SOLD, but not gone!

Field of Dreams - SOLD, but not gone!

The Iowa farm that was featured in the 1989 move "Field of Dreams" has found a buyer, according to The New York Times.

The Lansing family, whose farm served as the set for the famous Kevin Costner movie, will sell the 193-acre property near Dyserville – which turned into a tourist attraction for baseball fans -- for an undisclosed amount to an investment group led by a couple from the Chicago area, according to the report. The property had been listed for $5.4 million.  The group plans to retain the movie's original diamond, but will reportedly add a dozen fields and an indoor center for youth baseball and softball tournaments, the Times said.

Mary Umberger
Inman News™

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100 birthday

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Of the Little Rock REALTORS Association.

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So What's Up?

So What’s Up with the Arkansas Real Estate Market?

Recent numbers from the Arkansas REALTORS Association show a good increase during the month of September 2011 over September 2010.  Pulaski County saw an almost 19% increase, and Saline county experienced over 35% increase in the number of units sold.  Not bad.  Of course, if the number of units sold increased, then so did the overall valuation of total homes sold accordingly.  As for pricing, the average sales price of homes in Arkansas has stayed relatively flat, with fluctuations +/- 1%.

When looking at the YTD numbers compared to 2010, we are a little behind where we were last year.  Pulaski County is down 6% in units sold compared to YTD 2010, but statewide we are down just under 2%.  2010 was the lowest real estate year since 1997, and we are sitting slightly below 2010 right now.  But, remember that 2010 included an incentive, cash, for buyers through April of last year.

I think we will end the year slightly ahead of 2010, and begin to see moderate, but steady, increases throughout 2012.  With the ‘perfect storm’ sitting on our housing market, buyers will begin to get back in the game due to the extremely low interest rates that will begin to increase, higher inventory of homes available now that will begin to stabilize, and stabile but slightly increasing home prices.  We are experiencing ‘lifetime’ lows for interest rates.  It will be safe to say that rates will never be this low again in the lifetime of anyone capable of reading this.  Whether you are looking for a place to call home or an investor, the opportunities of a lifetime are available in the Arkansas housing market….RIGHT NOW.

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Survey Reveals 5 Home Buying Myths

Here are the five main areas of confusion the survey revealed:

• Appreciation: About 42 percent of home buyers believe home values will appreciate by 7 percent a year. Reality: Historically, home values in a normal market appreciate by 2 to 5 percent in a year.
• Mortgage insurance: 41 percent of buyers think they will have to purchase private mortgage insurance, regardless of the amount of their downpayment. Reality: Buyers only need to purchase PMI if their downpayment is less than 20 percent of the home’s purchase price.
• Appraisals: 56 percent of the buyers said the purpose of the appraisal was to determine if a home was in good condition. Reality: That’s the purpose of a home inspection; an appraisal estimates fair market value.
• Home owner’s insurance: 37 percent of home buyers said that buying home owner’s insurance is optional. Reality: Lenders require homebuyers to purchase homeowner’s insurance.
• Ownership: 47 percent of home buyers said a prospective buyer owns a home after the purchase contract is signed. Reality: The purchase and sales agreement is the beginning of the closing phase, but it can be a long process until they finally take ownership.

Source: Zillow Inc.

Daily Real Estate News | Friday, October 28, 2011

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Bargains Abound: What Are Buyers Waiting for?

Bargains Abound: What Are Buyers Waiting for?

With low home prices and ultra-low interest rates, the housing market is offering “perhaps the best deals of a generation,” notes a recent article by Bloomberg Businessweek. Since the housing boom of 2006, home prices have fallen about 31 percent. Also, mortgage rates have been hovering at record lows for the past few weeks (4 percent range or even lower on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages, according to Freddie Mac’s mortgage market survey).

The article notes the following scenario: Buying a $300,000 home with a 4 percent mortgage rate and a 20 percent down payment would mean a $1,145 monthly payment. The Mortgage Bankers Association recently predicted that home prices may fall another 3.5 percent by mid-2012 but mortgage rates will increase by a half-point. So for that same loan under that scenario, a home would sell for $289,000 while the monthly mortgage bill would be $1,171--only a $26 difference.

For those who can qualify for a mortgage, "playing the waiting game" won't result in much gain, Nariman Behravesh, chief economist at IHS in Englewood, Colo., told Bloomberg Businessweek.

Daily Real Estate News | Tuesday, October 25, 2011

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The Real Costs of Halloween Home Disasters: Serial Killers, Phantasms, and Floods of Blood

The Real Costs of Halloween Home Disasters: Serial Killers, Phantasms, and Floods of Blood

Check out these estimates the home repair costs in Poltergeist, Scream, The Shining, and other horror classics.  See results here.  .

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Scott Deaton & Haunted Houses

Scott Deaton & Haunted Houses

I have never been one for the scarier side of things.  Risk taker?  Yes.  But not scary?  Well, I did get out on a rock ledge and look 4000 feet down at Yosemite National Park.  That scared me! (And my mother in law who took the picture).  Don’t like horror movies.  I watched Jaws.  Being honest.  Every-time I step into water.  Any water.  Ocean, lake, pond, creek, hot tub.  It doesn’t matter, I wonder if Jaws is real and if he has a grudge against me.  Why watch something that will give me nightmares and freak me out for the rest of my life.  I figure a good comedy is better than a horror movie any day. 

Wasn’t much for haunted housed either.  Same concept.  Why freak myself out and spend money to do it?  A few years ago, a buddy of mine convinced me to go to haunted houses with them.  I don’t think I had been in a haunted house in 20+ years.  Went to one in high school…and only because a girl was with me and she needed someone to hold on to.  Now, I have been hitting some of the area haunted houses for the past few years.  Let me mention also that I am not big for waiting in long lines.  Again, I figure there is something better to do than wait….especially for something that isn’t intended for pleasure.  My suggestion is ask every haunted house if they have a VIP entrance.  What does it take to become a Haunted House VIP?  A $20 bill will usually do the trick.

Honestly, I have been pretty disappointed in the haunted houses I have attended.  Maybe it’s because I’m finally old enough to know that the limbs hanging from the ceiling aren’t real, and the scary mask guy isn’t going to, and legally can’t, touch me or cut me up with a chain saw.  But, it is entertaining to go with friends and have a good time.  And that is what is missing in many of our lives.  Just having fun.  Especially if you have multiple kids, just going out to do something with friends is enough benefit.  So, for this annual holiday of scary and candy, why not head out to some of the haunted houses around town.  Most of them are raising money for a charity or civic group anyway.

For a good list of local haunted houses, check out KTHV’s link here.

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