Mark Daya- Foreclosure Prevention/ Short Sale Specialist

Following three consecutive months of gains, sales of newly built, single-family homes fell 2.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 307,000 units in December, according to figures from the U.S. Commerce Department.

NAHB is forecasting that new-home sales will rise 18 percent in 2012 following a 7.3 percent dip to the lowest number in the history of the government’s recordkeeping (302,000 units) in 2011.

December’s decline in new-home sales was mostly due to a 10.1 percent dip in the South, which is the nation’s largest housing market. The Midwest posted a more modest decline of 3.7 percent, while the Northeast and West posted substantial gains of 46.7 percent and 9 percent, respectively.

The inventory of new homes for sale continued to slide to a new record low of 157,000 units in December, which is a 6.1-month supply at the current sales pace.

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There are several factors that affect the real estate market as a whole. These factors can make the national market swing upward or downward. One is the employment expansion/shrinkage in the job market; secondly, is the availability of money to consumers; thirdly, is the size of the real estate inventory. When all of these come into alignment, you have a killer market that nothing can stop.

When one gets out of kilter, it can make the market stall, shrink or halt no matter how strong the other two. It’s a three-legged table, as it were. This is why even though you’ll hear the stories nationally about real estate, it’s not a national phenomenon. In the past year, 13 states have seen home sales price appreciation of more than 5 percent (National Association of Home Builders), as well as the number of home sales beating out the year before.

Real estate, like politics, is local. So before you get excited or scared about a particular housing market, look and analyze what’s going on locally to make a decision. With that said, there is a factor in preparing for a home purchase that both buyers and sellers have complete control over. Nothing about interest rates, inventory or employment will affect this factor — it’s called personal control.

There are more and more stories these days of buyers who have come forward to invest in their personal dwelling, but blow their own financial status because of a few missteps.

Just like a point man in a platoon who is plotting out the path for his team, when he comes up to a threatening position, he puts up his hand to signal for everyone to freeze in place. This is the position a buyer should take once s/he has put in a contract on a house and it’s been ratified, and the loan application is in position — pre-approved and ready to go forward.

Don’t move. Don’t switch your credit cards to another cheaper, no payment until next year offer. Don’t open new lines of credit in preparation for remodeling your new purchase. Don’t buy a new car, truck, van, motorcycle, RV, go-cart, etc.

Once your application for a mortgage has been approved and the lender has agreed to finance your purchase — your financial situation is in the middle of a balancing act. Don’t tip it. Even if you think it’s a good move — don’t do it. Even if what might make sense for you personally, financially, the move could cause a financial traffic jam.

A case occured last week where a buyer thought he would offer a larger down payment amount to make his application stronger — a few days before settlement. Not a bad idea, is it? Put another $10K down, save a $100 per month — that’s $1,200 per year. Huh-uh. No. Don’t do it. Once the earlier loan was canceled and the new loan opened, the backup halted seven closings that were waiting for the first purchase to go to settlement and start the domino effect.

That little financial move, as harmless as it may have sounded, made seven more people a little upset.

Then there was the purchaser who decided to get ready to redecorate her new condo by opening lines of credit for decorating, home improvement, etc. You guessed it; those little lines of credit tipped the scale just enough to delay her home purchase for several months.

The mortgage purification we’ve recently experienced has been good for real estate. At least we know now that when a buyer walks in with a pre-approval, they really do qualify. Just don’t be one of those who has a good income, great credit, but a hair-brained idea that could possibly ruin your deal.

Written by M. Anthony Carr

One way to prepare for the costs of owning a home beyond the mortgage payment, insurance and taxes, is to know the expected life expectancy of your home’s components.

Such knowledge doesn’t supersede the use of a home inspector when buying a home, new or old, but it can help you develop a savings plan so you are prepared for the inevitable.

Sooner or later you’ll have to repair or replace many of your home’s parts — inside and out.

Knowledge of components’ life expectancies is what homeowner associations use, in part, to build a reserve fund designed to spread, over time, the cost of the inevitable.

When the roof goes, the appliances conk out, or the paint begins to fade, it’s a lot easier to come up with the cash if you’ve already got some socked away for just this kind of rainy day.

Last year, the National Association of Home Builders, along with the Bank of America developed the “NAHB/BoA Home Equity Study of Life Expectancy of Home Components” to help you take the guess work out of preparing for the worst.

The report suggests you use the timelines as a general guideline. Local weather conditions, use habits, regular maintenance — or the lack of it — can all affect the life expectancy of many components.

Personal tastes for contemporary upgrades, remodeling needs and other factors may also dictate replacing parts before their useful life time is up.

In any event based on a comprehensive telephone survey of manufacturers, trade associations and researchers NAHB developed information about the longevity of housing components.

From the foundation to the rooftop, here’s a quick look at how long, on a national average, some of the most common home components are expected to last.