Real Estate Information

All events are on Wednesday, July 4, unless otherwise noted.

Bonneville County

More info on the following events on http://www.idahofallschamber.com/events/4th-of-july.html. Parking is restricted in Idaho Falls.

• 7th Annual FireKracker 5K, 7:15 a.m., parade route in Idaho Falls. Proceeds benefit the Military Affairs Committee. Preregister at
• http://www.tetonrunning.net/event/firekracker-5k.html.
• Independence Day Parade, 9 a.m. Route intertwines the city’s residential neighborhoods and ends at Tautphaus Park.
• AT&T Liberty Festival on the Falls, noon, Memorial Drive near falls of the Snake River.
• Melaleuca Freedom Celebration (fireworks display), 10 p.m., Greenbelt.

Bannock County

• 2012 Fourth of July Parade with theme “Honoring our nation’s veterans,” 11 a.m., Pocatello, through Old Town up Center Street, across Eighth Avenue to the parking lot between ISU Student Union Building and Davis Field. Prizes.More info at http://www.pocatelloelks.org/parade or (208) 232-2400.
• Fourth of July Fireworks, 9 p.m., Lava Hot Springs, at park next to Lava’s swimming pools.

Bingham County

• Blackfoot Fourth of July Fireworks Show, 6 p.m., Jensen’s Grove. Live music. More info at http://blackfootchamber.org/blackfoot-chamber-4th-of-july-fireworks-show/.

Jefferson County

• June 30: Independence Day Celebration, all day, Jefferson County Lake. Musical entertainment from 2 to 10 p.m., followed by fireworks. Cost: $5 for cars, $3 for walk-ins, family of six and under may walk in for $4, or you can buy a season pass at $20 for residents and $40 for out-of-county residents at main entrance. Swimmers and fishing enthusiasts (with fishing licenses) welcome. More information at (208) 745-0868.
• Rigby Lions will hold their Annual Breakfast July 4th from 7 to 10 AM. Hot Cakes, eggs, ham, & hash browns will be served. It is at the North City Park, W. First North. Profits will be used for Community Betterment projects.
• Flag raising, 7:30 a.m., Menan City Park. VFW gun salute, Menan Ladies Barbershop.
• Breakfast, 8 a.m., Menan City Park. Cost: $5 per person, $20 per family up to six. More info at (208) 313-5600 or 754-4656.
• 5K Fun Run, 8:15, registration at Menan Town Hall right after flag ceremony. More info at (208) 754-4916.
• Booths, 11 a.m., behind red brick church in Menan. Must apply by June 30, and food booths need a permit from the health department. For more info, call (208) 754-8876, 754-8526 or 403-7773.
• Children's races and tug of war, 11 a.m. north of Menan Town Hall.
• Parade, 2 p.m., starts at railroad tracks in Menan and goes east to 3600 East. More info at (208) 754-4568.
• Duck race, 4 p.m., starts at corner of 3565 East and Menan-Lorenzo Highway. Tickets can be bought at the breakfast, at the park booth or at the library. Cost: 1 duck for $2, 6 for $10. More info at (208) 754-0021.
• Entertainment, 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., church park. To sign up, call (208) 754-4987.
• Fireworks, after dark, behind Menan Town Hall.

Caribou County

• A variety of events at Soda Springs starting at 7 a.m. More info at http://www.sodachamber.com/annualevents.htm?eventId=476418&EventViewMode=EventDetails.

Fremont County

• Rotary Club Breakfast, 7:30 a.m., shelter at Ashton City Park. Cost: $5.
• Parade, 10 a.m., Main Street, Ashton. Games and car show to follow at City Park.
• Ashton pool open, 5 to 8 p.m., with admission at $2.
• June 30: Hungry Bear Monster Truck demos & rides and Mud Bog Circuit races, at the Hungry Bear Market & Deli’s new park across from the market, Hwy. 20 north of Island Park Village Resort. Races open to circuit pros and the general public. To register and for more info, call (208) 558-0100.
• Hungry Bear Mud Drags: Snowmobile and 4-Wheelers, all day at the Hungry Bear Market & Deli’s new park across from the market, Highway 20 north of Island Park Village Resort. To enter and for more info, call (208) 558-0100.
• Hungry Bear Fireworks Show, starting at dusk, Hwy. 20 north of Island Park Village Resort.
• Island Park Community Boat Regatta. Meet in the Welling Cove of Bills Island - lineup begins at 8 p.m. The Fremont County Boat will leave at 8:30 and lead the boats to Lakeside Lodge. Grand prize is a kayak. Second and third prizes will also be awarded.
• Lakeside Lodge Fireworks display in Island Park, 10:15 p.m.

Lemhi County

These events part of Salmon River Days. More info at http://www.salmonchamber.com/.

• Fireworks, Salmon, 9 or 10 p.m.
• July 6: Parade, 11 a.m., Main Street, Salmon. Wild West theme.

Madison County

• June 29: Rexburg Chamber of Commerce Whoopee Days Golf Classic, 8 a.m., Teton Lakes Golf Course, Rexburg. Prizes. Call (208) 356-5700.
• Flag raising, 7:30 a.m., Veteran’s Memorial in Smith Park, Rexburg.
• Independence Day Parade, 10 a.m., starts at Smith Park and ends at Porter Park, Rexburg.

Power County

• Fireworks show, 9:30 p.m., American Falls Willow Bay Marina.

Teton County, Idaho

• June 30: Huntsman Springs Celebrate America festival, 10 a.m. to 11 p.m., Huntsman Springs, Driggs. Fairs, food vendors, live music, fireworks. More info at http://www.celebrateamericaevent.com.
• Teton Valley Balloon Rally (Day 3), 6 a.m., Teton County Fairgrounds, Driggs. More info at http://www.tetonvalleyballoonrally.com.
• Teton Valley Rodeo, 7 p.m., Teton Valley Fairgrounds, Driggs. Cost: $8 adults, $4 children. More info at (208) 313-1470.

Teton County, Wyo.

Is Your Mortgage out of Balance with your Budget?

 

It can happen quickly.

An expensive car repair, an unexpected hospital visit, a missed week of work – just a few little things and the life you’ve worked so hard to build can feel like it’s tipping dangerously out of balance.

Once the scales turn against you, it can feel like it is impossible to ever tip them back in your favor again. When your financial problems reach the point where they threaten your home, it is difficult to manage the stress. Sometimes it is even difficult to force yourself to seek help.

As a real estate professional who has earned the Certified Distressed Property Expert (CDPE) designation, my mission is to provide financially-challenged homeowners with options to foreclosure, ensure that they steer clear of scams, and help navigate them through the solution that best meets their needs.

Choose to face the challenge with a professional on your side.

Our TEAM can help you realign the balance in your financial life and tip the scales back in your favor. Call or email us and schedule your free, confidential consultation. We can work together to make sure you end up ahead.

 

Jeff Struchen, Broker

CDPE, CNE, GRI, REALTOR

The dream of homeownership is still at the top of the list for many of you reading... Today's lower housing prices and low mortgage interest rates have certainly made this dream a reality for many. If you have been considering purchasing a home either now or in the near furture it should be a great investment for you over time. Part of this process for a home purchase is making a budget. Along with your house payment, here are just a few additional things that you might want to consider when making that budget.

1. Property Taxes: In Idaho, property taxes vary considerably. Depending upon whether you purchase in Idaho Falls or Rexburg or different parts of either town, your property taxes may vary a great deal. If you are purchasing a rural property they will be much less than a property in town. You will want to get an idea of what your property tax amount might be and add this to your monthly payment expense.

2. PMI or mortgage insurance. If your down payment is less than 20%, you will be paying for mortgage insurance. You can get an idea of this cost by consulting your mortgage professional. You will also want to add this to your monthly housing costs.

3. HOA Fees. Many neighborhoods have associations and many have monthly or yearly fees involved. You will want to determine if the home you are thinking of purchasing is in an HOA and then determine what fees if any are involved. This also may add to your monthly housing expense.

4. Homeowners Insurance. You will also need to have a homeowners insurance policy on your home. The rates for homeowners policies will vary because of location, home value and of course add ons such as earthquake or flood insurance. You will want to get an good idea from your insurance agent on these costs and add this to your monthly housing expense also.

5. Utilities. Utilities, which include water, sewer, electric, gas, etc. can also vary significantly from area to area depending upon the utility company that services each specific neighborhood. The costs can also vary a great deal from home to home depending upon age of the home, heating source and of course size of the home. You can get estimates on costs from your local utility companies or a Real Estate agent can access past utility usage for a specific home as well.

6. Appraisal and other closing costs. Your home mortgage professional can give you a good idea on what these costs might be. These costs are up front costs that you will be required to pay upon closing your home purchase transaction. Also, ask your mortgage professional or your Real Estate agent about how you might get your seller to cover some of these costs. It is important to know these fees so that there are no surprises at the closing table.

If you are interested in purchasing a home and would like professional help with determining these costs and also looking at just how much home you can purchase in this market, please call us. We help many buyers each year set a budget as part of the home purchase process.

Recently the Idaho Housing and Finance department released an acticle discerning the Idaho Real Estate Market. It's content is as follows:

"Declining home prices in Idaho are not as straightforward as one might think. In fact, some reports actually show an increase in home prices for Idaho. According to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation's recently released state profiles, Idaho's home price index for the second quarter of 2008 increased by 1.2%. In addition, some parts of Idaho are not showing declining home prices. The statistics  for various counties are: Kootenai (-2.71%), Nez Perce (+4.41%), Canyon (-11.51%), Ada (-10.94%), Twin Falls (-.68%), Bannock (-2.15%), Bonneville (+1.26%)." Cornerstones, Nov. 2008

All in all, the local real estate market is doing quite well. Of course it is conditioned on price range. The critical factor is the lending arena and the ability of a buyer to procure a loan with favorable terms. It is the opinion of this Broker that the success of entire housing market is subject to the "first time" buyer. Favorable lending conditions for that segment of the market will stimulate the process up the line. We have several home sellers who have already "picked out" their new home just waiting the that "first time" buyer to pull the trigger. We are hopeful that the "new administration" will implement a lending stimulus package for that "first time" buyer that makes sense for everyone.  JS

Here is an article I recently read about the national market and thought I would pass it on. Enjoy?!

Housing Market Key Indicator Alert - 10/08/2007
By: Hanley Wood

Bailout Passed, Markets Stay Volatile
Data over the past week did not paint a positive picture for housing or the economy overall.  Conditions in both the new and existing home markets continued to deteriorate in August.  New home sales fell to its slowest annual pace in over 17 years.  Slower sales continued to pressure median prices in both new and existing homes lower as well.  More jobs were lost in September as the employment report for the past month showed the economy shed another 159,000 jobs.  Final estimates for GDP growth were also revised lower to 2.8% growth while the outlook for economic growth for the rest of the year is grim. 

Approval of the government’s $700 billion bail-out package was not enough to restore confidence in global equity markets.   The continuation of the banking crisis in Europe sparked a sell-off on Wall St. on Monday that saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) drop as much as 800 points to record its single-largest intraday point loss ever.  However, the DJIA did recover before the end of trading but only to close at its lowest levels since October 26, 2004.  Skepticism over the effects of the bail-out package along with fears that the credit crunch may spark a global recession has left investors all over the world uneasy. 

The Economy
The U.S. economy lost another 159,000 jobs in September which is the largest decline since March 2003.  The economy has posted job losses for every month so far this year as an estimated 760,000 jobs have been shed since the beginning of the year.  Non-seasonally adjusted total non-farm employment in September was 599,000 jobs lower than in September 2007, a sizable drop from last month's year-over-year revised loss of 293,000 and extremely weak compared to the 1,169,000 jobs created over the twelve month period ending in September 2007.  The unemployment rate in September held steady at 6.1%.

Final estimates for second quarter gross domestic product showed the economy growing at a weaker pace than previously estimated. Although growth was slower than preliminary estimates, the economy still expanded at a surprising rate of 2.8% for the second quarter. Most of the growth can be attributed to the effects of the government's economic stimulus package in the second quarter along with increased exports and lower imports due to the weaker U.S. dollar.  Growth is expected to weaken noticeably in the final half of 2008.

Consumer confidence increased for the third straight month in September. The consumer confidence index was at its lowest levels since February 1992 in June before rebounding in the last three months. The index increased to 59.8 in September from 58.5 in August which represents a 1.3 point gain from the previous month. The consumer confidence index is now back to its highest levels since April.

Housing Market
Both new and existing home sales posted declines in August.  New home sales in August dropped to their lowest levels since January 1991.  Sales fell 11.5% in August to a seasonally-adjusted 460,000 homes, down from a revised July figure of 520,000.  Sales for the previous three months, however, were revised higher by 3,000 units.  The number of new homes for sale continued to decline as builders continue to scale back production.  New home inventory declined to 405,000 which is the lowest it has been since August 2004.  Weaker sales pressured new home prices in August with median new home prices experiencing its first monthly decline since May.  Median new home prices now stand at $221,900 which is the lowest median price recorded since September 2004.

Annualized sales of total existing homes in August declined 2.2% from July levels to 4.91 million units.  Sales of existing homes are down 10.7% from the 5.50 million units in August 2007.  Median existing home prices in August declined to $203,100 from $210,300 in July.  This is the second straight month that existing home prices have declined.  However, inventory figures improved from last month as the number of existing homes for sale experienced its first monthly decline since May.  Existing home inventory decreased 7.0% to 4.255 million units.

National average mortgage rates increased to 6.10% in the latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey released weekly by Freddie Mac on October 2nd.  This is the second straight week that rates have increased.  In the week ending September 26th, the MBA’s seasonally-adjusted Purchase Index fell to 304.8 from 342.2 in the previous week.  This is the lowest the purchase index has been since February 2002.  The latest figure reflects a 10.93 percent drop from last week and a 25.91 percent drop from the same period last year.

Welcome to The Realty Team Real Estate Blog! It is our hope to have this be valuable resource for our current and future clients to stay on top of the local and national Real Estate market. Please visit this site often and feel free to comment and contribute to the discussions.