The High Country Association of REALTORS released statistics today for residential homes sold through the end of November. Sales are off from October’s numbers, approaching June’s total residential units sold.
Sales continue to fall below last year’s figures. When comparing year-to-date numbers with the same time period in 2008, the number of residential units sold is down 11.1 percent, and the median sold price for residential property is down 11.3 percent. The total number of new residential listings is down 6.2 percent from 2008.
Mortgage rates are also dropping, which is good news for homebuyers. According to Freddie Mac, the national average commitment rate for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage fell to 4.88 in November, down from 5.06 percent in September. The rate was 6.09 percent in November 2008.
In addition to lower mortgage rates, buyers now have more time to secure big tax savings. On Nov. 6, President Obama signed The Worker, Homeownership and Business Assistance Act of 2009, which includes an $8,000 tax credit for qualified first-time buyers and a $6,500 tax credit for qualified existing homeowners. This gives prospective buyers an additional six months to take advantage of the popular tax credits, which have helped boost sagging homes sales.
Click here for more from the Watauga Democrat
How to read a real estate ad
Posted by Davezilla
1. Baroque = Broken
2. Casual Living = Your neighbors have a refrigerator on their front lawn
3. Charming = Corners don’t line up. Sagging porch.
4. Country Living = Your street will never see a snow plow.
5. Cozy = Cramped
6. Diverse Wildlife = Raccoons will raid your garbage. Bats will roost in your attic. Coyotes will eat your dog. Bears will eat your children.
7. Urban Setting = Ghetto
8. Family-ready = Previous tenants left toys everywhere
9. Historic = Has ghosts
10. Interesting History = Has murderous ghosts
11. Laid-back Lifestyle = Retirement Community
12. Outdoor fire-pit = Previous owner burned the garage to the ground.
13. Private Drive = All your neighbors were eaten by redneck cannibals
14. Quaint = Outdated
15. Quiet neighbors = Cult compound
16. Scenic View = Adjacent Cemetery
17. Spacious = No windows
18. Starter Home = Cardboard box
19. Tree-lined = Welcome to the jungle
20. Unique Layout = Architect was unlicensed and possibly schizophrenic
21. Waterfront Property = Septic tank backs up in spring
Cool Stilt House
Find a spot in the high country and be the first to have this Ger stilt camper/house for an awesome Appstate Football get away. I guess a kid never really grows up. Editor
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Area Real Estate Numbers Improving
The High Country Association of Realtors released statistics on Tuesday, August 11, for residential homes sold through the end of July. When compared with earlier months this year, the numbers indicate a gradual improvement in residential sales in the area, as well as in the median sold price of residential properties.
But the recovery has still not caught up to last year’s numbers. In July, the number of residential units sold was down 25.2 percent from the same time last year and the median sold price for residential property was down 6.8 percent.
Click here to read more from the High Country Press
Cool Lofted Forest Home

The Lofted Forest Home is one that defies categorization. It cannot be called strictly modern, traditional, or naturalistic. Rover Harvey Oshatz did not have a particular style in mind when he designed the home, but instead focused on a source of inspiration from the owner.
Click here to read about it from SwipeLife.com
New rules of home buying
There’s no telling how long the current housing situation will drag on. Here’s what you need to know before you start shopping in a rocky market.
Click here for the article from CNN Money
and here are some rules for sellers
Six Secrets of Internet Home Buying
With the worst housing slump in a generation slashing home prices across the country, the dynamics of the market have shifted squarely in favor of buyers.
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