Thanks, everyone.

Latest data from the National Association of Realtors ( using info from a recent Gallup poll) show that real estate professionals have an improved public rating.  I find that really gratifying since we, at Stone House Properties, LLC, work so hard to be sure that all of our clients needs are met in the most responsible fashion.

So, from all of us here at Stone House, thanks for recognizing the hard work your Realtor does on your behalf.

Real Estate Agents Inch Up in Public Opinion

DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | WEDNESDAY, MAY 30, 2012

Real estate professionals rank higher than lawyers, business executives, and advertising practitioners when it comes to the public’s perceptions of honesty and ethics, according to a recent Gallup poll. 

In fact, real estate professionals received their highest rating yet in the poll, since Gallup began measuring Americans’ perceptions of honesty and ethics of 21 professions since 1976. 

In the survey, 20 percent of respondents gave real estate professionals a “very high to high” rating on honesty and ethics. Fifty-seven percent of the Americans surveyed rated them as “average” when it comes to honesty and ethics. 

Meanwhile, the profession that scored the lowest of the 21 professions ranked were members of Congress, in which only 7 percent of respondents rated them “very high to high” when it comes to ethics and honesty -- the lowest on record. 

The professions that scored the highest in honesty and ethics belonged to the medical profession, with nurses, pharmacists, and doctors -- who were all at the top of the list.  

Source: “Housing Prices Show Signs of Stability,” The Wall Street Journal (May 29, 2012) and “Record 64% Rate Honesty, Ethics of Members of Congress Low,” Gallup (Dec. 12, 2011)

Read More

Gallup Poll: View of Practitioners Improving

IT'S EVEN BETTER THAN I THOUGHT

Take a look at this posting from the National Association of Realtors showing what national economists are saying about where the real estate market is heading.

Home Prices to Rise 4% Per Year?

DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | WEDNESDAY, MAY 09, 2012

Have home prices finally hit bottom? Many analysts think so. According to the latest forecast by Fiserv, the market watcher sees a big boost to home prices on the horizon, projecting that home prices will rise nearly 4 percent per year for the next five years.

The real estate markets expected to see the biggest increases in home prices will likely be those hardest hit the last few years by foreclosures, such as in Phoenix and Las Vegas, and areas where prices have fallen the most, according to Fiserv’s forecast. 

Housings rising affordability mixed with falling inventories of for-sale homes are the main factors driving the expected price increases, according to Fiserv. 

Initially, investors are expected to help drive most of this price increase, and then followed by first-time and trade-up buyers as they re-emerge in bigger numbers to the market.

Source: “U.S. Home Prices Could Rise 4% a Year, Forecast Says,” USA Today (May 8. 2012)

THE BEGINNING OF THE BEGINNING

As far as I'm concerned, Berkshire real estate has seen the end of its recent downturn.  While the national media said the real estate market had hit bottom sometime in the late Fall of 2011 my thought for the Berkshire market was that late August 2011 was the turn-around point.

It took a few months of steady (yes, and slow) progress to be sure that was the case and it does appear so.  Homes coming on the market for the first time are at a price that makes sense to buyers, who are still looking for extraordinary values.  Property coming back on the market is also priced well.

In terms of actual buying patterns there are two price ranges that feel strong - homes priced under $350,000 and high end homes.  We are actually seeing competing bids for houses in those price ranges.  In fact, county wide compared to this time last year we are up nearly 20% in the number of sales and our inventory is down nearly 13%.

In short, this is a good time for buyers to buy - prices are still good and bank rates are still excellent.  It's a great time for sellers to put a house on the market (as long as it's priced right) because there's not as much out there as there used to be.

This great village home in West Stockbridge is newly listed at an amazing $239,900.