Today eppraisal.com released its National Real Estate Market Analysis report for 184 markets across the continental U.S. This report, which tracks median sales price of residential homes, compares data on homes sold in the last three months ending April 2009 with homes sold in the previous three months beginning on November 2008 and ending January 2009.

During this time period, 119 markets across the U.S. saw a decrease in the median home value, which accounts for 64.7 percent of the markets tracked by eppraisal.com. This is down from the 143 markets that saw declines in the previous eppraisal.com report for first quarter. An upward trend in median home value continues in smaller markets, like Punta Gorda, Fla., with a 9.5 percent increase in the median home value to $115,000, Wausau, Wisc., up 8.8 percent to a median value of $117,500, and Binghamton, N.Y., with a 14.5 percent increase to a median value of $226,600.

Even though smaller markets continue to dominate the list of areas showing increases in the median home value, eppraisal.com shows a few larger markets with home value gains. For the first time this year, San Francisco-San Mateo, Calif., shows an increase in the median home value, which is up 0.2 percent to a median value of $600,000.

Other California markets that appear to be reversing the trend are the San Jose-Santa Clara area, which is up 1.2 percent to a median home value of $430,000, and the Santa Barbara-Santa Maria area, which is up 4.6 percent to a median home value of $250,000. While we have a few gainers, overall the California market is still in negative territory with 75 percent of the 28 markets tracked by eppraisal.com seeing declines in home values.

In other areas the bleeding continues. In Florida, Jacksonville drops even further with a 5.8 percent decline to a median home value of $150,700. The Orlando-Kissimmee area decreased 8.4 percent to a median home value of $156,500. It’s not much better in the Carolinas, with Wilmington, N.C., declining 6.5 percent to a median value of $187,000.

The eppraisal.com National Real Estate Market report is attached. It shows the median sales price of existing single-family home sales in the last three months ending April 2009 in comparison with homes sold in the previous three months beginning on November 2008 and ending January 2009.

See a complete list of rankings.

June is National Homeownership Month, and everything seems to be falling into place for first-time home buyers. It’s a buyers’ market, interest rates are at all-time lows, and first-time home buyers can qualify for a new, hefty federal tax credit.  Yet, potential buyers should ask themselves several key questions before making this important decision.

1. What will monthly costs be, and can I afford the payments?
   Keeping mortgage payments under 30 percent of your monthly income is a good rule of thumb. If you can’t keep mortgage payments below that, you may be better off renting for awhile.
2. What other debt do I have?
   Total rent or mortgage payments plus credit obligations should not exceed 35 to 40 percent of monthly income.
3. What is my credit score? Can I qualify for a good interest rate?
   A high credit score indicates strong creditworthiness, and that qualifies you for better interest rates on a mortgage. Maxing out on your credit lines and paying bills late will lower your credit score. The impact of a credit score on interest rates can be significant. For instance, a borrower with a score of 760 could pay nearly two percentage points less in interest on a mortgage than someone with a score of 620. Lower interest rates mean lower monthly payments. If your credit score is low, you may want to delay buying a home until you can improve your score.
4. How much will taxes, monthly maintenance, or other fees cost?
   Owning a home means you’ll have to pay real estate taxes and other costs like insurance and maintenance. On the other hand, owning a home brings big tax savings at the end of the year. As a renter, the owner pays those costs for you.
5. How many years will I stay here?
   Generally, the longer you plan to live someplace, the more it makes sense to buy. You’ll build equity in your house and its value will likely increase over the years.

If you’re still unsure, the Amercian Bankers Association (ABA) has a “buy or rent” calculator you can use to compare the cost of renting versus buying a home.

Whether you’re a broker selling or leasing an unlimited number of properties, or an owner looking to sell or rent a single property, TweetLister makes it easy and convenient to promote your listing(s) using social media. Here’s the low-down:

• TweetLister creates Twitter-friendly listings that are 140 characters or less based on the listing information you provide.
• You can schedule listings to tweet when you want – immediately, later, or again and again until the property is sold or leased.
• Each listing links to its own profile page, where more detailed listing information is available, including pictures and a contact form that sends you leads via email. The detailed listing page also includes the coveted “backlink” to your website, which can help your site’s search engine ranking.
• Your listings appear on both Twitter and Tweetlister.

By posting listings, either on Twitter directly or through TweetLister, you can instantly put them in front of potential buyers and renters for free. If you already have a Twitter login, sign in to TweetLister now to try it out. If you don’t have a Twitter account, perhaps it’s time to create one.

It’s not surprising that pools are most popular in California, Arizona, and Florida, where the summers are hot and the year-round temperature warm. But even though the National Association of REALTORS® say pools can add as much as 8 percent to the value of a home in these states, not all home buyers will see the value. Families with young children, older home buyers, or those not interested in the upkeep of a pool may not even consider a pool home. Of course, in areas where the winters are cold, a pool can even detract from the home value.

Yet, it’s hard to overlook the benefits of a pool, especially when you live in Florida like I do. It’s a great way to cool off in hot weather, they are a great focal point for entertaining, and let’s face it, kids love them. So if you’re thinking about installing a pool, do it for the fun factor if it’s something you desire, not as a tactic to increase your home’s value or attract buyers.

A few interesting observations appeared on the National Association of REALTORS® website regarding the distressed real estate market. In their commentary, they divide property sales into two categories:

• Distressed – discounted properties in need of repair or facing foreclosure/short sales.
• Non-Distressed – market value properties.

Estimating that the market for distressed sales ranges between 35-50% of existing home sales recently, they cite buyer confusion over the expectation of low prices. NAR members point out that buyers think:

• They can get deep discounts on the listing price.
• All sellers are in financial trouble.

Offering further explanation of this phenomenon, the commentary concludes that this gap between buyer and seller perceptions of the market is temporary and is already healing.

Get the full story at the National Association of REALTORS® website.