Real Estate Information Archive

If you are at the crossroads of deciding whether or not to walk away from your mortgage or "strategically default," you'll find there is nothing strategic about foreclosure, especially when there are solutions to avoid it.

One in four American homeowners is underwater, and millions more are having a hard time making mortgage payments.

The good news is I can provide solutions that may help you or someone you love avoid foreclosure. I've prepared a free, no obligation report regarding these options that you can download here in the privacy of your home:

www.WichitaFallsShortSale.com

Make an informed decision and take a truly strategic step toward securing financial stability … call me today!

 Sincerely,

Ashton Gustafson
Bishop Realtor Group
(940) 224-0881

Good morning to you!

The Market

In the last 70 days, we here at the Bishop Realtor Group have put over 70 properties in contract. While we feel the market is still moving very well for our office, the overall market does have varying levels of sluggish price points. Below are the stats from the Wichita Falls Association of Realtors on what SOLD in March of 2011. As always, $120,000 price point was the winner. As long as rates continue to stay where they are at, we look for a very strong Summer run in the market.

Thinking of Selling?

Ever wonder what homes have sold for in your neighborhood? Thinking of selling this Summer? See www.TexomaHomeValue.com - I will have a market analysis to you within 48 hours.

Thinking of Buying?

3 years ago I launched what has turned into the #1 web-site for buyers looking in our market. Check out www.TheFallsHomeFinder.com for every home available within your criteria. Here you can request more information or even set up at a time to view any property available for sale.

The Word on the Street

Our clients have spoken. If you are thinking about participating in any way in the Real Estate market, I encourage you to check out www.SeeWhatTheyAreSaying.com.

Ashton's Thought of the Week

Go. Start. Create. In whatever you do or find passion in - go. We need more imagination, more creating, and and more starters in the world. And may you and yours enjoy a peaceful Easter weekend.

Good Monday morning to you!

February Market Report

Below you will find the residential SOLD results for the month of February in the Greater Wichita Falls MLS. If you have any questions about these stats, please let me know.

• Average Sales Price was $110,725.00
• Average Days on Market was 104

Military Tax-Credit Still Available

If you or anyone you know was stationed overseas while the 1st Time Tax Credit and Repeat Buyer Tax Credit was going on, you did not miss out. You must be in contract by April 30, 2011 and close by June 30, 2011. For all of the details in regards to this, see http://www.texomahomesource.com/Blog/Military-8000-Credit-Soon-to-Expire.

Web-Sites to Remember

www.TheFallsHomeFinder.com - The #1 Site for Buyers in North Texas.

www.TexomaHomeValue.com - What's my home value look like today?

www.TheFallsPodCast.com - March Pod Cast Market Update

www.TexomaHomeSource.com - Featured listings, answers to questions, etc!

Make it a great week, and please let me know how I may serve you.

"Faith needs a story to sustain it - a meaningful story that inspires belief in you and renews hope that your ideas do indeed offer what you promise."  Annette Simmons

American National Bank of Wichita Falls, TX has officially released what it calls the "Easy Fix" Mortgage.

This loan program features:

• Combination purchase, refinance and repair loan for repairs or improvements up to $35,000.00.
• One-time closings.
• Allows purchase of a home in "as-is" condition based on "as improved value"

If you have questions about this loan program of looking to buy a "fixer-upper" in Wichita Falls, contact Ashton Gustafson at 940.691.7355.

For every home available for sale in Wichita Falls, see www.TheFallsHomeFinder.com.

Military Home Buyer Tax Extension - Soon to Expire

You must be in contract by April 30,2011 and close by June 30, 2011.

To see all of the Wichita Falls homes for sale at this time, see www.TheFallsHomeFinder.com.

Here is how they define service-person:

Definitions

• “Qualified service member” means a member of the uniformed services of the U.S military, a member of the Foreign Service of the U.S., or an employee of the intelligence community.
• “Official extended duty” means any period of extended duty outside of the United States for at least 90 days during the period beginning after December 31, 2008 and ending before May 1, 2010.

This came from http://www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com/service_mem.php

We look forward to serving you at this time.

Ashton Gustafson - Bishop Realtor Group

Good Monday morning to you!

When the discussion of Real Estate comes up, everyone wants to point the finger a hundred different ways to explain why the market is or is not performing.

In all reality, there are just a few places to look for answers:
- Jobs
- Recent Sales Activity
- Inventory
- Mortgage Availability

Let's look at these on a local level...

Jobs - I attended the Wichita Falls Economic Forum this week, and found that Wichita Falls had actually created quite a few new jobs this year. Those new jobs and, of course, the jobs provided by Sheppard Air Force Base
give me great hope for the rest of 2011. A huge THANK YOU goes to our local business owners and Board of Commerce and Industry to keeping jobs in North Texas.

Recent Sales Activity - We have put a home in contract nearly every day this year, and we are up 40% YTD (last year was our firm's best year ever). The market is moving indeed, but PRICE is calling the shots. Which leads me to...

Inventory - We are at record levels of inventory at all price levels. Some of our market price ranges have over 12 months of inventory. See, www.TheFallsHomeFinder.com.

Mortgage Availability - I often hear that it is difficult to get a loan. This puzzles me. My personal stats show that I am qualifying over 90% of the clients that come my way looking to buy. Mortgage rates have never been this low, and we have plenty of happy buyers getting loans. See, www.ImAhappyBuyer.com.

If I can answer any further questions or serve anyone you may know this week, please let me know.

"What would our world look like if more people started projects, made a ruckus, and took risks?" Seth Godin

http://www.talkrealty.com/ashtongustafson

March 2011:

This month's edition covers Greater Wichita Falls real estate market activity and then we promote the value of a CMA.

Features special guest Terri Murphy of US Learning.

Good Monday morning to you!

The Real Estate industry is a very traditional business. People will always be looking for a new place to sleep, work, recreate, and live...and, people will always be looking to sell places to sleep, work recreate, and live. From now until "doomsday", the business of buying and selling Real Estate will be a significant part of our human experience.

However, this traditional business has taken on many non-traditional practices in the last 10 years. We used to only have the newspaper, now the news is sent to our phones. We used to only have open houses to freely preview homes, but now we swim in a sea of on-line virtual tours and information. The game has changed.

Therefore, I have made it my passion to pursue this traditional business in a non-traditional way...and it is working.

To see my non-traditional ways of selling real estate and helping buyers find their places of interest, see the information below...

www.TheFallsHomeFinder.com - The ONLY site made just for buyers in North Texas and the Greater Wichita Falls area.

www.TexomaHomeValue.com - Wondering what homes have sold for in your neighborhood?

www.LuxuryHomesWF.com - A daily list of new listings within the local luxury market.

www.TheFallsPodCast.com - A monthly Wichita Falls market update on the Real Estate market.

www.AshtonGustafson.com - One stop to find everything you need in the Greater Wichita Falls Real Estate market.

www.TexasBankOwned.com - Weekly list of foreclosed property available for sale.

www.TexomaListings.com - A daily list of new listings within your criteria.

www.ThePrairieWF.com - Looking to build in North Texas' 1st Green/Renewable community.

www.SeeWhatTheyAreSaying.com - See what our clients are saying.

If I can serve you this week or discuss with you my non-traditional ways of business, please let me know.

"If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always gotten." Tony Robbins

Wichita Falls Mortgage Update

HUD has issued an increase in Mortgage Insurance Premiums effective with all case numbers assigned on or after April 4th 2011.  The annual premium will increase from 90 basis points (.90) to (1.15) basis points.  For example, this will mean an increase in monthly premiums of $75.00 per month to $95.83 or a 27% increase per month.  Obviously it is in a buyer's best interest to purchase a home prior to April 4th.

See www.TheFallsHomeFinder.com and let us know how we can serve you today!

Good Monday morning to you!

Market Report

Below you will see the January statistics from the Wichita Falls MLS. As always,  the price range of $100,000 - $120,00 had the most number of transactions closed. If you have any questions about the information below, please let me know.

February Pod Cast

Check out our pod cast update at www.TheFallsPodCast.com. This month we discuss tips for sellers looking to enter the market this Spring.

Spring Has Arrived

As the weather warms, so does the market. We have created the area's #1 site for buyers, www.TheFallsHomeFinder.com. When you create an account here, you are updated within YOUR criteria every morning. This is the best way to keep your thumb on the market and homes within your criteria. See why over 2,000 buyers have made this their #1 tool in buying a home in the Greater Wichita Falls areas.

If I can do anything for you or anyone you may know this week, please let me know. I look forward to hearing from you...

"Concerning all acts of initiative and creation, there is one elementary truth - that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves, too." Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe