Salaries Archives - DUNBAR HARDYDUNBAR HARDY

Category: Salaries (2)

Jan

IS A 30-YEAR MORTGAGE A FRANKENSTEIN?

As we are going into a new year and still climbing out of the financial stresses over the last few years largely due to the implosion of financial markets, it is worth asking the poignant question: "how do we financially move forward in successfully purchasing real estate?" Again, there are no clear and easy answers and everyone may have unique circumstances they are wrestling with in order to keep a roof over their heads. With national homeownership rates having dropped to 65.9% (end of 3rd Quarter of 2011) compared to 73.8% (end of 2000) and a 3% drop from the most recent high of 69.2% in 2004. This means that 1.1 million households & families within the US no longer own a home. (*Taken from National Mortgage News published 11/2/11.) With the hope of turning the corner and increasing rates of homeownership, the real question buyers may really be asking is "what type of loan should I get?" Brushing off our financial stresses & fears (many of which are valid), buyers need to remain nimble and flexible given the unknowns of the future and of so-called "job security." The myth of the 30-year fixed mortgage being the only true loan product may be crumbling. In a recently published book titled "All the Devils Are Here" by Bethany McClean she outlines how this specific loan product (30-year fixed) may have actually contributed to some of the financial situation we are still recovering from. With a "food-for-thought" conversation, listen to the attached podcast from Planet Money c/o NPR with a recent interview of Ms. McClean and co-author Joe Nocera to gain a little more insight into how we got where we are... To Listen to NPR Podcast CLICK HERE. To Read more on National Mortgage News Report CLICK HERE.

Mar

BOULDER ECONOMIC REPORT

Where's the Benjamins?! The Boulder Economic Council (BEC) recently released a report with some enlightening economic findings for the City of Boulder. In Boulder with ~100,000 workers, more than 3 x the national average are in the information industry and 2 x the national average work in some sort of professional, scientific, or technical services field. When it comes to salaries, those in the information industry earn the highest average annual salary at $92,780, with the average Boulder salary is $54,924, and workers in the accommodation and food services industry earn the lowest average at $17,405. More than 20% of people who work in Boulder proper are employed by the University of Colorado, at Federal Labs such as the National Center of Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and other government entities. Specifically related to real estate, the report stated that the 2010 median sales price for a single family home in Boulder was $535,000, which is ~2% increase when compared to the 2009 median single family home price of $525,000. The report also noted that 623 single family homes sold in 2010, which is ~10% increase from the 564 single family homes sold in 2009. In summary, Boulder has a growing attraction of specific industry jobs/employment and a slight increase in median single family home prices over the last 12 months. So let's hope for continued job growth which can translate into more buyer's confidence and ultimately more successful sales. We will watch this trend together as I will report back with 1st quarter sales statistics to truly see how the real estate market is progressing as we go further into 2011... For additional info on this report click here.