Pending Home Sales Decline in April but Up Strongly From a Year Ago
WASHINGTON (May 30, 2012) – Pending home sales retrenched in April following three consecutive monthly gains, but are notably higher than a year ago, according to the National Association of Realtors®.
The Pending Home Sales Index,* a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, declined 5.5 percent to 95.5 from a downwardly revised 101.1 in March but is 14.4 percent above April 2011 when it was 83.5. The data reflects contracts but not closings.
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said a one-month setback in light of many months of gains does not change the fundamentally improving housing market conditions. “Home contract activity has been above year-ago levels now for 12 consecutive months. The housing recovery momentum continues,” he said.
Yun notes home sales are staying well above the levels seen from 2008 through 2011. “Housing market activity has clearly broken out at notably higher levels and is on track to see the best performance since 2007,” he said. “All of the major housing market indicators are expected to trend gradually up, but a new federal budget must be passed before the end of the year for the economy to continue to move forward.”
The PHSI in the Northeast rose 0.9 percent to 78.9 in April and is 19.9 percent higher than April 2011. In the Midwest the index slipped 0.3 percent to 93.0 but is 23.0 percent above a year ago. Pending home sales in the South fell 6.8 percent to an index of 105.7 in April but are 13.3 percent higher than April 2011. In the West the index dropped 12.0 percent in April to 94.9 but is 5.1 percent above a year ago.
The housing forecast has been upgraded, with existing-home sales expected to reach 4.66 million this year, compared with 4.26 million in 2011. The outlook for 2013 is now 4.92 million, but could vary significantly depending on two scenarios.
If lending returns to normal, the 2013 outlook for existing-home sales would measurably improve to 5.3 million. However, a fiscal cliff scenario of higher taxes and sharp spending cuts beginning in early 2013, which is an unlikely event but still worth noting, would lower the sales projection to 4.5 million.
Because of measurably lower inventory supplies, the forecast for home prices has been upwardly revised with the median existing-home price projected to rise 2 to 3 percent this year and 4 to 5 percent in 2013, with wide local market variations. Miami and Phoenix will easily achieve double-digit price growth by year end.
Yun said the price gains will measurably reduce the number of underwater homeowners. “For example, a 5 percent national price gain means the number of underwater homeowners would fall to about 9 million from current estimates of around 11 million. A 10 percent gain, say over the next two years, would reduce the underwater status to about 7 million households out of 75 million owner-occupied homes,” he said.
About 25 million homes are owned free and clear without a mortgage.
Though the proportion of distressed properties is still high, the numbers have been falling over the past two years. “The diminishing share of distressed properties is another reason for higher home prices in upcoming months,” Yun added.
The National Association of Realtors®, “The Voice for Real Estate,” is America’s largest trade association, representing 1 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.
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Buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland? Call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! I take great pride in referrals, and I assure you, I will take great care of your friends, family & colleagues!
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Vacation Rental - Ski & Glee - New Putt-Putt Golf Course!
One of my clients just added a free putt-putt golf course to his already impressive vacation rental home near Wisp – Ski & Glee. It features an indoor pool, arcade, Xbox Kinect & full movie catalog, an outdoor sauna, horse shoe pit and many more amenities. Book your stay here! Visit Ski & Glee on Facebook here.
Buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland? Call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! I take great pride in referrals, and I assure you, I will take great care of your friends, family & colleagues!
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Best real estate year since 2008...so far so good!
Our office (thanks Mike!) compiled some stats on the year to date sales transactions over the past few years and 2012 is off to the best start since 2008 from a sales (# of transactions) standpoint. Prices overall are down, from a dollar volume standpoint, but we are beating the national average of price decline. We aren’t quite back to the peak numbers of 2007, but we are getting better each year and selling some excess inventory.
88 sales year to date through April 2012 for a total dollar volume of $27,035,550 – easily our best year since 2008.
Another interesting trend is the number of new listings is slowly decreasing – 104 fewer homes were on the market through April 2012 than this time last year. We’re gaining ground and selling more homes and that is a sign of a healthy real estate market!
Railey Realty continues to be #1 in listing inventory and selection, and #1 in sales in Garrett County and Deep Creek Lake since 1995!
Buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland? Call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! I take great pride in referrals, and I assure you, I will take great care of your friends, family & colleagues!
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Garrett state’s only county spraying for gypsy moths
2,530 acres of forest land will be covered
From Staff Reports Cumberland Times-News
— OAKLAND — Garrett County is the only county in the state that is spraying for gypsy moths this spring, according to the Maryland Department of Agriculture.
Spraying began Wednesday and about 2,530 acres of forest land will be sprayed. The county has participated in three major gypsy moth spraying activities, according to Monty Pagenhardt, county administrator.
MDA is keeping the public informed of spraying activities via Twitter and its website.
“We take great care every year to monitor and survey gypsy moth activities and develop appropriate plans with the resources available,” said Agriculture Secretary Buddy Hance in a news release. “When we do spray for gypsy moths, we often get calls from concerned citizens who don’t recognize the helicopters and don’t know what they’re doing. We are using new social media tools this season to help alleviate concerns before they arise.”
Funding for the spraying comes from a cost share with MDA and the county, according to Pagenhardt. For fiscal 2012, about $16,000 was spent by the county on gypsy moth suppression. The county’s percentage of funding for gypsy moth suppression for next fiscal year will increase by about $21,000. The county’s percentage could increase more if federal funds do not come through or if there is additional acreage from the gypsy moth survey, according to Pagenhardt.
The gypsy moth is the most destructive pest of forest and shade trees in Maryland, according to MDA. Large gypsy moth outbreaks have affected hundreds of thousands of acres statewide over the years.
MDA conducts an Integrated Pest Management program to minimize unnecessary losses through monitoring, assessment, information and education, and pest control actions, according to the news release. In high infestation areas where dieback or mortality cannot be tolerated, MDA will conduct aerial insecticide treatments to protect and preserve the forest and shade trees.
For more information on spraying activities, follow MDA on Twitter @MDGypsyMoth or @MdAgDept. To learn more about gypsy moth suppression, visit the MDA website at www.mda.state.md. us/plants-pests/ and click on Forest Pest Management.
More here.
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Buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland? Call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! I take great pride in referrals, and I assure you, I will take great care of your friends, family & colleagues!
Deep Creek cleanup
June 2, 9 a.m.-noon. Deep Creek Lake State Park rangers and the Garrett Trails’ sustainable crew invite participants to join them as they clean and enhance area trails. Volunteers will meet at the upper overflow parking lot off State Park Road. Bring water, insect repellant, sunscreen, weather-appropriate clothing and a snack. Information: David Best at 301-387-5563 or Theresa MacLennan at 360-509-3492.
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Buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland? Call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! I take great pride in referrals, and I assure you, I will take great care of your friends, family & colleagues!
Lots Of Meds Turned In
Garrett County residents turned in about 120 pounds of medications during the most recent National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day on April 28, which was more than the combined total collected during the two previous Take-Back events, according to a county health department spokesperson. Garrett County agencies teamed up with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to participate in the national event. The DEA reported collecting a record-breaking 552,161 pounds, or 276 tons, of unwanted or expired medications for safe and proper disposal at the 5,659 take-back sites available across the country.
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In Garrett County, personnel from the sheriff’s office and the health department collected expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs at six sites. The event is designed to dispose of medicines that may be in home cabinets, and that have the potential to be misused and abused. The theme of the day was: “The streets aren’t the only place kids find drugs. Mind your meds!” The rate of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. is high, the spokesperson said, with more Americans currently abusing prescription drugs than the number of those using cocaine, hallucinogens, and heroin combined, according to the 2009 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Studies show that individuals who abuse prescription drugs often obtain them from family and friends, and from the home medicine cabinet. In addition, many Americans do not know how to properly dispose of unused medicine, often flushing pills down the toilet or throwing them away – both potential safety and health hazards. Garrett County’s Take-Back events were sponsored by the sheriff’s office, Drug Free Communities Coalition, and the health department. For information about future events, persons may call the health department at 301-334-7730 or 301-895-3111.
More here.
Buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland? Call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! I take great pride in referrals, and I assure you, I will take great care of your friends, family & colleagues!
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Maryland braces for Memorial Day travelers
By Candus Thomson, The Baltimore Sun
10:07 p.m. EDT, May 21, 2012
State transportation officials hope you’ll do a lot of sightseeing this Memorial Day weekend. Just not on the Bay Bridge.
Travelers headed to the Eastern Shore for the first time since last summer might be surprised. For one thing, the toll has risen to $4 from $2.50. For another, the westbound span is being painted for the first time since it opened in 1973, and scaffolding is likely to be a distraction — and potential hot spot for fender-benders.
“You’re sightseeing. They’re sightseeing. They hit the brakes. You’re still sightseeing,” said Kelly Melham, a spokeswoman for the Maryland Transportation Authority. “Bang.”
More than 1.8 million motorists are expected to swarm the state’s toll facilities from Friday to Monday as part of the unofficial start of summer. Of that total, more than 358,000 vehicles will cross the bridge, the largest potential bottleneck, while more than 435,000 vehicles will travel Interstate 95 north of Baltimore.
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Buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland? Call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! I take great pride in referrals, and I assure you, I will take great care of your friends, family & colleagues!
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Red Cross seeks to boost blood supply for summer
— CUMBERLAND — Officials at the American Red Cross are urging local residents to donate blood this month to help create a foundation for an adequate supply of blood for the summer months.
Friday through Monday, all donors will be entered into a Donor RewardsPLUS drawing for a $500 gas card. A blood donor and a platelet donor will be selected from the Greater Alleghenies Region.
Local blood drives include:
• Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Frostburg Village Nursing Home; 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Garrett County Memorial Hospital.
• Saturday, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., St. Peter’s Catholic Church, Somerset, Pa.
• Monday, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Cumberland Holiday Inn.
To schedule an appointment or for more information, call 800-733-2767 or go to redcrossblood.org.
More here.
Buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland? Call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! I take great pride in referrals, and I assure you, I will take great care of your friends, family & colleagues!
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Lack of knowledge, too much alcohol key factors in boating accidents on Memorial Day
By Ray Sasser – Associated Press
Published Tuesday, May 22, 2012 Updated: Tuesday, May 22, 2012 – 8:25pm
It’s two weeks until Memorial Day weekend, usually considered the start of recreational boating season. National Safe Boating Week began Saturday.
Texas, for example, is not a safe boating state. In 2011, there were 226 recreational boating accidents reported, 115 injuries and 32 fatalities.
In 2009, there were 4,730 recreational boating accidents reported in the United States, with one fatality per 5.8 registered vessels. The same year, there was one fatality per 7.6 U.S. vehicles — automobiles and motorcycles.
Why should recreational boats be more dangerous than automobiles? There are several reasons. One is education. Many boaters don’t have any. In some states, an operator’s license is not required to drive a boat, even one capable of traveling 100 mph.
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Buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland? Call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! I take great pride in referrals, and I assure you, I will take great care of your friends, family & colleagues!
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Kitzmiller, Dennett Road schools to close day early
Decision upsets parents; Garrett BOE meets tonight
Elaine Blaisdell Cumberland Times-News
— OAKLAND — The doors will close permanently on Dennett Road and Kitzmiller elementary schools at the end of the month unless the school board decides for a revote at tonight’s meeting or the appeal to the state to stop the school closings comes through.
Dennett Road and Kitzmiller elementary schools will be closing May 30, a day before the rest of the schools close, according to Amy Barnhouse, human resources/administration for the Board of Education.
Members of the Parents for Garrett County Education are unhappy about the decision to close Dennett Road and Kitzmiller elementary schools a day earlier, according to Diane Donham, the group’s spokeswoman.
“At this point we are feeling pretty aggravated and we are not feeling hopeful that the board will decide to keep the schools open,” said Donham. “We encourage them to rebuild the community relationship. It’s something that has to be done. If the board decides not to close schools, we will work with the Board of Education to come up with a better plan.”
The board is meeting tonight to discuss how it will spend $1 million-plus that will be received from the passing of the state Budget Reconciliation and Financing Act of 2012. Spending scenarios that will likely be discussed include retaining more personnel and revisiting the decision to close the schools.
Parents for Garrett County Education filed its appeal to stop the school closings with the Maryland State Department of Education on Monday. The appeal includes a petition, an appeal letter and a copy of an audit from when the decision was made to close Bloomington Elementary School last year, according to Donham.
On Monday, Leo Martin, mayor of Mountain Lake Park, presented a petition with more than 2,400 signatures to the board asking for another vote on the school closings.
The special board of education meeting will be held today at 8 p.m. in the Southern Middle School cafeteria.
Contact Elaine Blaisdell at eblaisdell@times-news.com.
More here.
Buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland? Call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! I take great pride in referrals, and I assure you, I will take great care of your friends, family & colleagues!
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