You are thinking about buying a home or ready to by one, getting approved for a loan is a good first step.Talking to a mortgage company and making application for loan approval can make the buying process much easier.You know for sure you can get a loan and what approximate funds you will need for down payment and closing cost.With this information you can be more confident to make a decision on the right house for you. You will also be in a much better negotiating position with a seller because you can assure the seller that they will not have to worry about your getting a loan.

Choosing a lender to work with can be an important decision. There are many options when looking to find a lender. The internet is loaded with options the you can check rates and even apply on line. In most areas there are many good local lenders that you can talk with to check rates and get advice. In my career I have seen both work great but have seen the most delays and problems with companies that are online. Many of the online mortgage companies can get low rates but because they are getting quotes from many companies in a lot of cases, they do not have control of the process. Even though the approval process may be very quick, the problems come when you find a home and the rest of the process that starts after a home is found can be a very inefficient process. Local lenders can have the same problems but if there are problems a local lender usually has more to gain to get the problem solved. Most interest rates are fairly competitive so making sure you can get good service is just as improtant.

How can you find a good lender? As with any service get recommendations from people who have recently gone through the process. REALTORS  can give good advice on lenders and their service.Getting the loan closed without delays is very important to REALTORS, so most will know who they have confidence in getting the loan done at a good rate with good service. If you find a good rate somewhere and want to go with another lender that you have confidence ask them if they can meet the rate, a lot of times they can.

Another point when comparing rates is that you need to not only look at the rate of interest but look at the amount of money required for closing. Many times a lower interest rate at one place maybe because of higher closing cost to make up for the rate reduction. A lender should give you a True In Lending statement which will estimate these cost. This is the only way to compare rates that you are quoted

This may sound complicated but it a very important part of the process. With the advice of an experienced real estate agent and the right loan officer it really is not that big of a deal.. If done right it can make the buying process be much smoother.

This is the first of a series of weekly blogs discussing the buying process.

Westbury, Little Rock  -  Announcing a price reduction on 17 Waterbury Court, a 2,912 sq. ft., 3 bath, 4 bdrm single story. Now MLS® $284,900 - .

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Pine Valley Estates, Sherwood  -  Announcing a price reduction on 8930 Williams Drive, a 2,480 sq. ft., 2 bath, 3 bdrm 1 1/2 story "Country style with great front porch.". Now MLS® $237,500 - Home with 7 acres..

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This monthly report has been tracking the home sales trends in the most active areas of Little Rock, North Little Rock and Maumelle. Each month it looks at the number of sold properties in the past 6 months and using that sales rate to see how many months it would take to sale all the listed homes at this sales rate. Using these figures it show a more accurate average days of market for home sales. Over the last few months the trends have shown a wide range of sales rates in our market, but trends have been slightly positive to unchanged. The May report shows very positive trends in both number of sold homes incresing and a decrease in the number of homes on the market in all areas the in the report. The area with the lowest absorption rate and average days on the market continues to be the area of Little Rock from University Avenue to Mississippi that is north of I-430. This area has only a 4.5 month supply of homes on the market which makes an average days on the market of 67 days. Maumelle, western part of North Little Rock, and Sherwood are all under 5 months supply of homes on the market. Chenal and western Pulaski County continue to be the area with the highest absorption rate with just under a 12 month supply and an average days on market of 176 days. This area had the biggest positive move in May improving from a 15.5 months supply of homes and 232 average days on market. Even with these positive numbers it remains a very competitive market to selling a home. The properties in the best condition and priced the best are selling very fast but thoes not are staying on the market for a long period of time. It still remains a buyers market in most price ranges excep for homes priced below $200,000. Buyers in this price range have been very active because of the First Time Buyer Tax Credit, FHA and VA loans, and low interest rates.

Homes continue to take less time to sale in the most active areas of Little Rock. At the end of February the sales rate to sale all homes on the market was 8.5 months and an average market time of 126 days. At the end of April these numbers have gone down to 7.7 months and a average market time of 115 days.  The areas that continue to be the best markets are Little Rock from University to Mississippi, Maumelle, North Little Rock west of John F Kennedy Boulevard, and Sherwood. These area have an average days on the market of 81 to 96 days. The most competitive area to sale homes continues to be Chenal and western Pulaski County with an average days on market of 232 days. That is decrease form 255 at the end of February.Buying activity has increase, especially in with first time home buyers which have been motivated by the First Time Buyer Tax Credit and low interest rates. The areas that are moving the best are the areas that have price ranges that appeal to first time buyers. The area that are moving slower are areas with the more expensive properties. Housing prices usually remain stable with the absorption rate is under 9 months and most of the area are at 10 months are below. Overall sales numbers remain about the same while number of homes have decreased over the last 2 months. Hopefully these trends will continue over the next few months.

The Arkansas REALTORS Association has published the sales numbers for the state along with average sales prices in all areas of the state. A good analysis of those numbers can be found at ShootingStright.com.

The number of homes selling per month in the Little Rock area increase from the end of February to the end of March in most areas, but the number of listings on the market also increased. So for sellers it remains a very competitive market. The areas with the most expensive properties tend to have the longest average days on market. Chenal and the western part of Pulaski County have the longest absorption rate with average days of market of 296 days. The areas with the lowest market times are Little Rock from University to I-430, Sherwood and Maumelle all with average days on the market of under 100 days. In the Little Rock area there is a little over an 8 month supple of homes for sale and an average day on market of 124 days, down from 126 days at the end of February. The National Association of REALTOR economist says that there needs to be under an 8 month supply of homes in a market for prices to start increasing. In most our areas prices are flat for now. Of the 11 areas studied all but 3 were at 8 months are below. Sellers must understand to compete for buyers their property must be price strategically, be in top showing condition and be marketed using all of today’s technology tools.

Now that spring is here, low interest rates, and the First Time Buyers stimulus incentives, the homes sale market should continue to improve.

At our team meeting today I plan to discuss a wide range of topics. We will fact that our March sales increased over February and January and how we can keep it going. Update on how our leads from the internet marketing and CARTUS are coming in and our successes with them. 3 of our closings in March were from internet leads. We will continue discussions on how we can convert more of these leads. Average days on the market report using absorption rate will be presented and we will discussed how we can use it to advise our clients. We will also discuss use of social marketing to increase our activity with the communities that each of us are a part of. Shelly Dahl will demonstrate how to use electronic signatures with our contracts and forms.Next week ERA Arkansas Broker Council will hold a Spring Rally here in Little Rock starting on Thursday night the 9th with a dinner and contunuing on Friday with a day long training and information meeting lead by ERA representatives Jeannie Rittinger, Jeff Riber, and Jeff Barlow.

Top Producers for March are Shelly Dahl, Josh and Kathy Schmidt.

Bumper Sticker: Honk if I am paying your mortgage.