http://straightshooting.today.com Honest. Critical. Analysis. Mon, 08 Jun 2009 19:25:23 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en On June 8, combined average list prices in four major Arkansas markets dropped slightly while inventories -- the number of homes for sale -- increased slightly. On June 8, there were 12,010 homes for sale in those four markets, up slightly from 11,905 single family, new and existing residences in the ... http://straightshooting.today.com/2009/06/08/inventories-pick-up-slightly-list-prices-drop-a-bit/ The April Housing Market report from the Arkansas Realtors Association is a mixed bag. At first glance, at least. In April, there were 2,059 single-family, new and existing homes sold by Realtors through reporting multiple listing services in Arkansas. That total is 8.04 percent lower than the 2.239 homes sold last ... http://straightshooting.today.com/2009/06/02/how-did-the-arkansas-housing-market-hold-up-in-april/ There are times when observing the possible development of a slow, steady trend is enjoyable. After going through a couple of years of getting used to an increasing amount of bad news coming out of the real estate industry, watching the steady growth in four major Arkansas housing markets and a ... http://straightshooting.today.com/2009/06/01/the-trend-continues/ Every now and again, the Arkansas Realtors Association (ARA) feels it necessary to remind homebuyers to get a home inspection prior to purchasing a house. Why? A lot of disgruntled buyers would have been in much better shape had they gotten a home inspection. Most homes have a problem or two ... http://straightshooting.today.com/2009/05/31/thinking-about-skipping-a-home-inspection-think-again/ A bit of a trend that we've seen this year continues to play out in Arkansas -- average list prices on homes for sale are increasing while inventories continue to decline. The question, of course, is why are list prices increasing while the average sales price in Arkansas continues to recover? ... http://straightshooting.today.com/2009/05/26/arkansas-list-prices-continue-to-rise-inventories-decline/ There was a time when wall-to-wall carpeting was the preferred luxury in homes. Benton Realtor Denise Hyde said diversity is the best way to describe the flooring industry these days – people are looking for everything from carpet to hard surfaces such as stained concrete, hardwood floors and tile. In other ... http://straightshooting.today.com/2009/05/25/flooring-%e2%80%93-it%e2%80%99s-not-just-about-carpet-anymore/ For the past couple of years, the term “short sale” has become more common among people discussing real estate. A short sale occurs when a bank allows a homeowner who has fallen behind on a mortgage sell the home for less than is owed on the mortgage. A short sale, then, ... http://straightshooting.today.com/2009/05/25/the-government-gets-involved-with-short-sales/ The National Association of Realtors® (NAR) on May 4 issued a report stating that the pending homes sales index was up for March. The NAR’s Pending Homes Sales Index is based on contracts signed in March and showed an increase of 1.1 percent over March 2008. The index is based on ... http://straightshooting.today.com/2009/05/20/pending-homes-sales-on-the-rise/ A look at average list prices and the number of homes for sale over the past year reveals a trend that's worth noting -- average list prices throughout Arkansas have increased over the past year as inventories have decreased. The chart above tells the story and it really should come as ... http://straightshooting.today.com/2009/05/18/what-a-difference-a-year-makes/ Congress, once again, is taking up legislation designed to prevent mortgage companies from steering homebuyers into loans they can’t afford. Nationally, foreclosure rates have been alarmingly high and a number of groups are blaming mortgage companies who engaged in predatory lending by not being forthcoming about the terms of ... http://straightshooting.today.com/2009/05/13/congress-considering-legislation-targeting-predatory-lending/