Generally, this space is set aside to talk about consumer issues – housing market conditions, how to attract buyers and that kind of thing.

However, we’ve not addressed foreclosures much in this column over the past couple of years. That’s unfortunate because high foreclosure rates have become major problems for Arkansas consumers.

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Worried about interest rates increasing?

The Arkansas Development Finance Authority (ADFA) has you covered — the agency reports it locked interest rates on mortgages issued through its bond program at 5 percent in December.

In other words, those rates will stay locked in at 5 percent even if rates on fixed, conventional mortgages start creeping up over 5 percent after the first quarter. As I’ve mentioned on this blog time and time again, a lot of people paying attention to mortgage rates are expecting them to rise after the Federal Reserve ends its mortgage backed securities “buy-back” program at the end of March.

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For a few months now, we at the Arkansas Realtors® Association have stressed the notion that there are a lot of advantages right now for home buyers that will likely be gone soon.

In other words, if you’re thinking about buying a house, you may regret it if you wait rather than start shopping. That line has been repeated a few times, but what does it really mean?

It’s not much good to tell a prospective buyer something like that without the proof to back it up, so here’s a summary of some advantages that exist right now that will be gone soon:

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According to an article by Kim Souza posted today at NWAOnline.com, Coldwell Banker Faucette Real Estate and Harris McHaney Realtors® signed a merger agreement.

The resulting company  — Coldwell Banker Harris McHaney & Faucette — will be the largest real estate company in northwest Arkansas with 260 agents in six offices in Benton and Washington counties, the article states.

In other words, the trend toward consolidation among real estate companies in Arkansas (and nationally, for that matter) continues.

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Rhonda Sims, the executive officer of the Metro Area Board of Realtors® in northwest Arkansas, just sent over the link to the February issue of her board’s electronic newsletter.

Want to read it? Of course you do. Just click here and you’ll be taken right to it. Read up on interest free loans to members of that board seeking their Graduate Realtor® Institute (GRI) designations, state tax credits for contributions made to the Arkansas Realtors® Political Action Committee (ARPAC), health insurance for Realtors® and just a whole bunch of useful stuff.

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Arkansas Real Estate Commission Executive Director (AREC) Bill Williamson will retire at the end of February.

Williamson started at the AREC as an investigator in 1978. He became the deputy director at the AREC in in 1985 and was named executive director in 1996.

You’d better believe we’ll have a huge story about Williamson in February’s printed edition of The Arkansas Realtor. That article will be posted here on the blog later this month, too.

The Arkansas Realtors® Association  (ARA) Realtor® ‘Rightings (now The Arkansas Realtor) in November 2006 as our official, printed publication. Williamson submitted his first column to the publication in December 2006 and hasn’t missed an issue since. He’s written 31 columns for the publication over the years and they have always been on time, very informative and widely read by our members. He’s been the “go to guy” when it comes to AREC rules and Arkansas real estate law for years and he was more than happy to share his knowledge with our members through his columns and personal visits with Realtors®.

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After three straight weeks of increases, the number of homes for sale dropped a bit over the past week.

That’s no surprise — inventories do tend to drop a bit at the first of a new month. Some homeowners chose not to renew their listings when they expired at the end of January. Still, inventory levels are relatively low right now and we hope sellers benefit in the current climate as there are fewer homes for sale than just a few months ago and that means less competition for buyers.

To download a copy of the latest average/median list prices and inventories report from the Arkansas Realtors® Association, click here for the Excel file and here for the PDF. You can download a dandy chart by clicking here.

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There have been a lot of questions about the tax credit for repeat home buyers since it was signed into law on Nov. 6, but the IRS had released no clear guidance for it.

Until just recently, that is. To take advantage of either the $6,500 tax credit for existing home owners or the $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers, you need a copy of IRS Form 5405. The IRS has issued guidance for the $8,000 credit, but didn’t really have much for the $6,500 one until Jan. 16.

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Yes, the latest blog digest was sent out to happy subscribers this morning and we at the Arkansas Realtors® Association are curious — if you’re not already receiving our digests, why not sign up for free and hop on the bandwagon?

Every two weeks we send out an email that covers the latest posts here at The Arkansas Realtor®. To get an idea of what those look like, click here and take a look at today’s digest.

Want to sign up and start receiving digests? Of course you do! Just look for that light blue subscription form parked in the right sidebar and you’re set.

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The state of Arkansas has made its political contributions credit form available.

To get a copy of that handy document — AR1800 — just click here.

That’s the form Arkansas Realtors who contributed to the Arkansas Realtors Political Action Committee need to use in order to get credit for their contributions. Individuals can claim a credit of up to $50 and contributors filing joint returns receive up to $100.

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A few weeks ago, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) announced it was expanding its “Right Tools, Right Now” program to 2010.

Now, the NAR is sending out emails to Realtors who haven’t taken advantage of the program to Realtors around the nation. The NAR is giving out free stuff to its members, so why not take advantage of that?

What’s available? Here’s a copy of the email I received just this morning from NAR about the program:

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The Arkansas Auctioneers Association (AAA) is offering a seminar offering real estate continuing education credits.

The cost to attend the event is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 20 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Hilton Little Rock Metro Center and costs $75 for AAA members and $95 for non-members.

Want to attend and take care of those continuing education credits? Of course you do! Just click here for more information or here to download the registration form.

It’s well worth mentioning that the AAA has chosen to show its support for the Arkansas Realtors® Association by not only offering continuing education credits, but by purchasing ads on this blog and in the February printed issue of The Arkansas Realtor®.  We thank the AAA for that. The ad you see at the top of this post will stay parked in our right sidebar, so tell your friends to visit and get signed up for continuing education credits.

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Ever since we released the November and December Arkansas housing market reports last week, we’ve seen a lot of real estate news here in the state.

Kim Souza had an article in the Northwest Arkansas Times on Sunday about changes the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) has announced for its loan program. FHA loans are a big deal in this state and I’d encourage all Realtors, home buyer and sellers to take a look at Souza’s article because some major changes are coming and people need to know about them.

You can download that article by clicking here. Pay particular attention to the part about seller concessions — Souza explains the impact of lowering those concessions very well.

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Yes, we’ve had plenty of guidance from the IRS about the first-time home buyer tax credit for a couple of years.

However, there’s not been a whole lot of guidance regarding the existing home owner tax credit since it was signed into law back in November. Well, the IRS has plenty of instructions now and we at the Arkansas Realtors Association are more than happy to pass it along.

To claim either the existing home owner tax credit (referred to as the credit for the “long-time resident of the same main home”) or the first-time home buyer tax credit, click here for Form 5405 and here for the instructions necessary for anyone wanting to fill out the form and take advantage of the credit. The instructions define who can claim either tax credit and who can’t.

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First it was Vic Snyder announcing his retirement, now another Democrat — Marion Berry — said he won’t seek another term in Congress.

That’s pretty big news in Arkansas as both Senators and all but one of our Congressman — Republican John Boozman from the Third District — are Democrats. In fact, Marion was so secure in his seat that he didn’t even face opposition in the First District during the last election.

Republican Rick Crawford announced he would run for the First District seat in the 2010 elections. Arkansas Business tells us that Crawford won’t be running against Berry, at least. Berry, who is 67-years-old, said he retiring due to his health.

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