Nation: May Existing-Home Sales Show Modest Gain

Existing-home sales increased in May with buyers responding to lower home prices, according to the National Association of Realtors. Existing-home sales, including single-family, townhomes, condos and co-ops, increased 2.0 percent. NAR President Richard F. Gaylord of Long Beach, CA said buyers are seeing value in the current market. "Homebuyers are starting to get off the fence and into the market, drawn by drops in prices in many areas and armed with greater access to affordable mortgages." "Today's buyer plans to stay in a home for 10 years, which is a good strategy for building long-term wealth." NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun, "The large supply of homes on the market clearly favors buyers and it should take several months to draw the inventory down," "Stabilization in prices can only occur with buyers returning to the market, so we are encouraged by rising sales, particularly in distressed markets." Although conditions remain mixed around the country, unpublished data shows a number of areas are experiencing much higher sales activity than May a year ago, including Sacramento, San Fernando Valley and Monterey County CA, Sarasota Florida and Battle Creek Michigan.

Nation: Boomers Buy Now, Retire Later!

A buyer's market and favorable tax laws are motivating more baby boomers to buy now and retire later. Where are the hot spots? Near Water and Mountains. Minneapolis CPA Ronald Kelner's retirement is about 15 years away but he and his wife are renting out their future retirement home near Palm Springs. The Kelners are reaping the tax benefits and getting a step up on their peers that will flood the market in years to come. While most second-home purchases are for use now, the National Association of Realtors' survey shows that those born between 1946 and 1964 are more active buyers than any other group, owning 57 percent of all vacation homes and 58 percent of rental properties. the second-home market got a boost when tax laws changed in 1997, allowing owners to sell and get a $500,000 exemption from capital gains (for couples), as long as they lived in the property for two of the five years before the sale.

Metro: Market Continues Road To Recovery

The Saint Paul Area Association of Realtors reports that there were 4,418 more pending home sales during the month of May compared to 4.208 in April. However, that is a decline of 7.59 percent from the pending sales of May 2007. At the end of May, there were 33,229 active single-family residential listings in the 13-county metro and at the same time one year ago, there were 35,236 active listings. The 'months-supply of inventory' peaked in December of 07 at 14 and is a measure of the number of months it would take to sell the supply of inventory at the current pace of sales. "This is a sign that the housing market in the Twin Cities continues to recover even with the challenging economic factors of high oil prices and instability in the markets," said Greg Bauman, president of SPAAR. "the market continues to perform as expected and we will see continued stabilization for the 2nd half of 2008 and into the beginning of next year."

Vadnais Heights: Council Oks Townhouses Instead Of Senior Condos

The western half of the planned Arcade Estates apartments and condos for seniors, will instead become townhouses open to all age ranges. At last week's City Council meeting, developer Pat Goff's request to build 14 six-unit townhouses on his 8.5-acre site was approved. That's instead of the two three-story, 48-unit senior condos that were originally approved in 2005 on the west side of Arcade Street, just south of City Hall. According to Goff, the townhouses will be about 1,000 square feet with two bedrooms and a single-vehicle attached garage. Market value will be between $140,000 and $150,000.

Vadnais Heights: Council Oks Townhouses Instead Of Senior Condos

The western half of the planned Arcade Estates apartments and condos for seniors, will instead become townhouses open to all age ranges. At last week's City Council meeting, developer Pat Goff's request to build 14 six-unit townhouses on his 8.5-acre site was approved. That's instead of the two three-story, 48-unit senior condos that were originally approved in 2005 on the west side of Arcade Street, just south of City Hall. According to Goff, the townhouses will be about 1,000 square feet with two bedrooms and a single-vehicle attached garage. Market value will be between $140,000 and $150,000.