Wichita Home Sales Up 41% in November

November home sales in the Wichita area posted a 41 percent increase over 2008, the second month in a row sales have ticked upward, according to data released Thursday by the Wichita Area Association of Realtors.

A total of 801 homes sold during November, up from 568 during the same month last year.

November’s sales were helped by the federal government’s new home buyer tax credit, which originally was set to expire on Dec. 1. In contrast, last November’s sales were near historical lows while the nation was at the height of the financial crisis.

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Source: Wichita Business Journal, by Chris Moon, Thursday, December 17, 2009

Foreclosures in Wichita Lower Than Summer Peak

The number of homes in Wichita going into foreclosure remains below the summer peak, according to November figures released Thursday by real estate data tracking firm RealtyTrac.

But the drop hasn't been enough to keep the overall amount of foreclosures in the Wichita area from rising, according to another tracking firm, First American CoreLogic. Its report also was released Thursday.

As of October, 4.01 percent of Wichita mortgages were delinquent and 1.3 percent were in foreclosure — both new highs.

The slowdown in people entering foreclosure reflects government and industry efforts to cut mortgage payments.

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Source: Wichita Eagle, by Dan Voorhis, Friday, December 11, 2009

$8000 Home Buyer Tax Credit - New Information

The IRS has updated its web site with the new information on the extended first-time home buyer tex credit and the new repeat home buyer tax credit. They also include videos explaining the two credits in both English and Spanish.

Click Here for more information.

Source: irs.gov

Making Home Affordable

Making Home Affordable pushes the nation's largest lenders and loan servicers to lower interest rates for existing or refinanced mortgages.

Few local banks are involved in the program — typically, because they no longer own or service the mortgages they originated — but many in Wichita's banking and real estate industries are following the effort to cushion the shock of foreclosures on the local housing market.

Making Home Affordable has two pieces: lowering interest rates on an existing mortgages and refinancing with a new mortgage.

A key point is that the program does not lower the principal, only the interest rate.

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Source: Wichita Eagle, by Dan Voorhis, Sunday, December 6, 2009

Wichita, KS #6 in Forbes' Bang-for-the-Buck Cities

Wichita is ranked sixth in Forbes.com's 100-city list of America's Best Bang-For-The-Buck Cities.

Behind good commute times and low home vacancies, Wichita ranks just below Augusta, Ga., and two spots ahead of Chattanooga, Tenn., the last Visioneering Wichita city-to-city trip.

View Forbes' full list of cities.

Source: Wichita Eagle, by Bill Wilson, Sat. December 5, 2009