Here’s the mid-year real estate report for Sugar Mill Pond in Youngsville, LA.

 

Active properties

Total # of Listings: 9

Lowest Price Listing: $199,200

Highest Price Listing: $383,000

Average Price: $259,936

Avg. Price/SqFt: $147

Avg. Days on Market: 225

 

Pending properties

Total # of Listings: 6 (+1 contingent)

Lowest Price Listing: $172,500

Highest Price Listing: $419,000

Average Price: $293,917

Avg. Price/SqFt: $149 Avg.

Days on Market: 393

 

Sold properties

Total # of Listings: 6

Lowest Price Listing: $191,950

Highest Price Listing: $285,000

Average Price: $228,786

Avg. Price/SqFt: $146

Avg. Days on Market: 229

For more information about Sugar Mill Pond in Youngsville, LA, read this post.

To view available homes in Sugar Mill Pond, click here.

This Month in Real Estate talks about the low interest rates (lowest in 50 years) and how waiting for lower prices may not benefit you if interest rates go up in the future.

 

If you have been thinking about buying a home or investing in real estate, now is a great time to do so. Contact me today to get started!

Home sales were down in Lafayette, LA and in Acadiana for July 2010. A couple of factors certainly come to mind: the expiration of the home buyer tax credit and the moratorium in the Gulf, which has people worried about their job’s future.

If we compare home sales in Lafayette parish for July 2010 with July 2009, we again see a sharp decline.

Inventory is creeping up as less sales are happening.

• Available homes in Lafayette parish: 1389 (1323 in June)
• Available homes in Acadiana: 2533 (2435 in June)

On the other hand, the number of home sales pending (homes under contract) has remained stable.

• Sales pending Lafayette parish: 270 (274 in June)
• Sales pending Acadiana: 443 (439 in June)

While these numbers are a little disturbing (at least to me they are), there are a couple of things buyers and sellers need to keep in mind.

Buyers: If you are in a position to buy, now is the time! Interest rates are at an all-time low (around 4.5% for 30 years fixed mortgage) and there is plenty of inventory to choose from.

Sellers: These numbers do not mean that it is impossible to sell your home in this market. It does mean that your home has to be priced right whatever condition it is in. The best homes that are available at the right price are still selling, and sometimes selling fast. One of my sellers put their home on the market and three days later, we had an offer. Yes, three days!

If you are thinking about selling your home and have been trying to sell without success, call (337-523-1220) or email me me for a free consultation.

It’s a Great Time to Become a Real Estate Investor Why? Because historically low interest rates and the number of homes available to choose from, make great market conditions for real estate investors.

There are currently 165 residential properties in Lafayette parish priced under $100,000. In the surrounding parishes there are another 400+ residential homes to choose from in this same price range. On top of that, a 15 year fixed rate mortgage is only 3.875% and a 30 year fixed rate of only 4.5%, for owner occupied properties, a 1% origination fee and good credit scores (as of 8/5/2010). An investment loan typically runs 1.5 to 2% higher than owner occupied and usually requires a 20% down payment. If you can swing the down payment and are thinking about investing in real estate, contact me today, as these rates will not last forever.

Below are some points to remember when investing in real estate, taken from Gary Keller’s book The Millionaire Real Estate Investor.

• Each of us should wake up every day and say to ourselves, “I’m an investor. I’m building financial wealth. Is today the day I find an opportunity and make a deal?”

• A proven model is a process or method used to produce desirable, repeatable results. A proven model built on the best practices of high achievers in a given area will produce the most desirable and predictable results as well as maximize your chances for continued success over time (these proven models can be found in The Millionaire Real Estate Investor).

• High achievers use models to take the luck out of the game. They implement big models to minimize risk and maximize profit when buying, holding and selling real estate.

• The three areas of focus for the Millionaire Real Estate Investor – Criteria, Terms and Network (CTN) – determine what you’ll buy, how you will buy it and who will help you.

• CTN – The Dynamic Trio of Investing:

• Criteria identify potential deals
• Terms determine the real deals
• Your Network supports all your deals

• The path of the Millionaire Real Estate Investor progresses through four stages – Think a Million, Buy a Million, Own a Million, and Receive a Million – and they are best pursued in that order. As it says on the cover of the book “Anyone can do it… not everyone will…will you?”

I can help you along the way.

If you are interested in attending an evening course on real estate investing, please let me know and I will notify you of the next one in our area. If you would like a free copy of the book “The Millionaire Real Estate Investor,” by Gary Keller, email me now.

“A casual player of Monopoly might think that it’s a game of chance and that the winner is determined by rolls of the dice. Watching the best players in the world has shown me it’s not. The winners are actually masters of strategy and negotiation. They know how to minimize the impact of bad luck – and to put themselves in the way of an undue share of lucky breaks.” –

Phillip Orbanes, Game Designer, Harvard Business Revue

This Month in Real Estate for July goes over the home sales numbers for May and talks about FHA loans. If you are a buyer and you’ve missed the home buyer tax credit, talk to your lender about FHA loans.