Archive for the 'Market Trends' Category
Homes By The Numbers
March 13th, 2009 categories: Market Trends, Real Estate News, Relocating
Our local newspaper, the Free Lance Star (FLS), provided us with housing figures this week. First, on Wednesday, it reported the median sales price for the Fredericksburg area had fallen to the lowest level since April, 2003. February sales figures indicated the median sales price dropped to $190,000. RealtyTrac provides current tracking data for foreclosure properties nationwide. Below is a snapshot of the latest picture of Virginia foreclosures.
Yesterday, the FLS followed up with news that Spotsylvania was #1 last month. First in Virginia in the rate of foreclosures, by county. Again, the figures were drawn from RealtyTrac. As the article reported, Stafford County wasn’t far behind, finishing fourth in the state’s foreclosure rate.
While many see the foreclosure numbers as bad news, for those in the market to purchase a home, the news couldn’t be more welcome. There are a couple of obvious attractions for buyers:
1) Coupled with low mortgage rates, depressed home prices provide a market ripe for the picking.
2) For first time homebuyers ( to qualify for “first time” status, you only need not to have owned a principal residence for three years before buying a house), you also benefit from the recent stimulus package’s first time homebuyer’s tax credit.
According to the Metropolitan Regional Information Systems sales data, Spotsylvania home sales increased approximately 40 percent from January to February of this year. Some of the increase may be attributed to the move towards the traditional Spring buying season. But, an increase in the number of foreclosed homes, and the lower prices that accompany them, contributed as well.
While many lenders have taken steps to halt foreclosures, according to RealtyTrac, the number of U.S. homes threatened with losing their homes rose 30 percent in February from last year’s levels. So, from all appearances, it doesn’t appear as if our economic Humpty Dumpty will find himself in one piece anytime soon. And, while buyers may not feel home sellers’ pain, they can certainly benefit from it.
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Spend It Well
March 9th, 2009 categories: Market Trends, Real Estate News, Relocating
“We’re all going to earn a little bit more money, but none of us is going to get any more time.”
Art Moody
For many of us, the warm afternoons and cool mornings that accompany Spring also bring with them a new beginning. In the real estate market, we’ve just stepped into our prime time, or most active buying and marketing period of the year. And, thus far, it only comes around once a year. The question we have to ask is, “Are we ready”?
As we, as Realtors, meet with our clients, are we prepared to assist them, cousel them, advise them, encourage them, and lead them to a positive solution? While many things have remained the same in the past year, many aspects have also changed. With the abundance of Foreclosed and Short Sale properties entering the market, the ground has certainly shifted. As a result, properties values are drifted lower. Financial options have changed as well.
Have you had a chance to look at the Obama Administration’s new Making Home Affordable Program? Have your clients? If not, have you informed them of the options available in this package, or other home owner loan modification plans? How about buyers? How do the market changes affect them? What is your plan for counseling them?
Over the years, I’ve rooted for many sports teams and individuals. As a fan, there are few things more rewarding than cheering for a team that has all the parts needed to do well. Not just one or two superstars, but a team of complimentary members that perform each of their roles well, but working together, are even better. Their synergy allows them to perform at an even higher level as a team working toward a common goal (victory), than their individual, separate efforts by themselves. Unfortunately, while the team may have an excellent record year after year, often, they fail to achieve the ultimate objective, the championship. In considering this, some of the teams that come to mind include the Buffalo Bills of the 90s, the New York Yankees (2001-2007), and more recently, the Dallas Cowboys. Each of these teams appeared to have the best athletes money could buy, but couldn’t “close” the deal. They each had the top athletes in the prime of their career, but couldn’t climb that last step. Was it a lack of focus? Preparation?
While many armchair quarterbacks have speculated as to why each of them failed to win their respective championships, frequently, the “why” of failure is anything but simple. What we do know is, our prime time, or season when we’re at our best, is finite. In other words, it won’t last forever. So, it is vitally important to make the most of it. Spend the time wisely. Prepare yourself. If others, like clients, are depending upon you, do your best to make sure they’re prepared as well.
Most of us aren’t as organized as we’d like to be. However, in our attempts to achieve goals, we ‘d be well served to remember Benjamin Franklin’s words:
“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”
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Wanting to Know the “Why”
January 20th, 2009 categories: Market Trends, Real Estate News
If you’re like most of us, from time to time, curiosity gets the best of you. When questions arise, many of us want to know how, what, when where, or the why of the circumstance. Don’t know about you, but I’ve always wanted to know the ”why” of things. Why did it happen? Why would they make that choice or decision? And, many of you probably feel the same way.
In the real estate business, we have no shortage of decision points. Home buyers & sellers are faced with numerous choices during their transaction. Many of those decisions may take on added significance in the midst of this Short Sale/Foreclosure market. Oftentimes, the decisions made are curious, but, on the other hand, to the decision maker, their decisions appear to make perfect sense. While consumers sometimes find themselves in the position of choosing “the devil they know”, as each of us has experienced, it’s often better to put your faith in the experts, and trust their advice instead.
Habits are hard things to break. I recall a Warren Buffett quote from years gone by:
“Chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are too heavy to be broken.”
Do we make our decisions based upon habit? Perhaps, bad habits? Do we make them based upon security? Do we take the ideom’s attitude that it is “better to deal with the devil we know, than the one we don’t“. If so, perhaps it is time we examine how we make decisions. Why do we do the things we do? Make the decisions we make? Are we doing what’s in ourbest interest, or someone else’s? Do we take into consideration the long term consequences of our decisions? Is our decision-making based upon fact, or, in many cases, convenience? Are we taking intelligent risks?
In today’s Inaugaural Address, President Obama, in reflecting upon the greatness of our nation, reminded us that “it has been the risk-takers, the doers… who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity…” Is his challenge one we are willing to accept as we seek to improve the way we do business, or, as we seek to buy or sell our home?
In home buying and selling, the digital age with its open source information, FREE information, has given us the resources to make intelligent decisions based upon accurate, and, in may cases, real-time data. Are we taking advantage of these free resources? Are we using the many valuable sources we have at our finger tips to assist us in minimizing the risk in the judgements we make? If not, perhaps we need to reconsider our New year’s resolution.
With Spring just around the corner, and with it, the season for marketing and purchasing homes, as you begin to consider how best to proceed, take the time to do a little research. Making decisions concerning what is probably your largest investment, your home, is, in many cases, vital to your financial well being. Minimize your risk by arming yourself with the data you need to succeed. If not for your own benefit, then, for your Realtor’s. Why? Because Realtors would much rather have an educated consumer, than one full of misconceptions! But, if you don’t have the time, or don’t want to make that effort, please take the time and do the “due diligence” needed to select a Realtor fully qualified to assist you. It’ll certainly be worth the effort (and money).
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Runnin’ With The Big Dogs
November 20th, 2008 categories: Market Trends, Relocating
For many in the Real Estate community, last week couldn’t have come sooner. The National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) Annual Convention took place, in of all places, Orlando, Florida. As you might imagine, November in Orlando is an ideal place to relax in the sun. But the annual gathering of Realtors also offered us the opportunity to benefit from an examination of what works in today’s online marketing world.
While the Convention has its share of excellent speakers, and an endless assortment of exhibitors, nothing compared to the all day session put on by the good folks at the Bloodhounddblog.
Suitably, the day kicked off with the Bloodhound creator, Greg Swann. His passion for operating at peak capacity, a bit outside the traditional lines of practice, was shared using the example of the classical Greek culture. Theirs was truly unique, and by almost all accounts, a civilization bound by nothing less than their imagination. This launching point for an all day discussion of Web 2.0 best practices, was the perfect for a day well spent learning from some of the best and brightest in the business.
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Stafford and Fredericksburg Market Update
October 17th, 2008 categories: Market Trends, Relocating
“Figures don’t lie, but liars figure.”
Mark Twain
As we’ve discussed with numerous reluctant home sellers during the past three years, nothing speaks louder, when it comes to assessing the value of your home, then recent home sales. In other words, the market is the determiner of your home’s value. Yes, it is as simple as supply and demand.
The slide in home values has gone on long enough that even those who’ve been hiding under a rock during the current mortgage crisis have come to realize that selling a home in today’s market is tough going. Prices continue their descent, coupled with an increasing inventory. But, fortunately, accurate market data provides us the information we need to draw important conclusions and make intelligent decisions when preparing to sell our home.
Altos Research, which we use to track local market data, plots current data in graph form, which makes it easier for many of us to interpret. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words.
The first chart indicates the average days on market for Fredericksburg and Stafford zip codes. The snapshot indicates the change in days on market (DOM) for the last sixty days. Today’s market is fluid, if nothing else. Unfortunately, the normal absence of buyers that characterizes this time of the year, now coupled with the tightened credit rules, has led to an even greater number of days that homes remain on the market.
In just a couple of months, the average days on market increased by over twenty days for both indicated locations. Similarly, for both Fredericksburg & Stafford, prices continue to decline as days on market increase.
While these charts provide accurate data points and indicators of the local market, they are averages. From home to home, and neighborhood to neighborhood, there will be variances. That depends on the conditions and quality of the neighborhoods, and the condition, features, and appeal of the individual homes.
Having said that, in the current market, these trends are anything but comforting to sellers. But, more importantly, they keep you aware of some of the obstacles you need to overcome to successfully market your home. And, with that in data in hand, sellers are certainly better equipped to meet the challenges of preparing their home for the market with their eyes wide open.
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Can I Really Do That?
September 25th, 2008 categories: Market Trends, Relocating
During times of crisis, especially those crisis when we’re trying to solve a problem, we’ve been told time and time again, “You’ve got to think outside the box. In times like these, you have to look at things differently, and not approach things routinely.”
To say that today’s housing market is in “dire straights”, is probably an understatement. The good news is, while the government is attempting to formulate some sort of plan of relief for distressed homeowners, some private individuals have taken matters into their own hands by using innovative marketing techniques to sell their homes.
In March of this year, a Maryland couple, after unsuccessfully struggling to sell their home through the traditional “list with an agent” method, unloaded their home through a raffle. Yep, you heard it right, a RAFFLE. While in most states it is illegal to raffle off a home, allowances are made in some states if the homeowner is partnering with a nonprofit organization. In these cases, the homeowner is restricted from making a profit on the “sale”. All profits beyond the break even point or appraisal price are kept by the nonprofit.
Before you get the idea that raffling your house off is a great idea, take the time to investigate the many hurdles needed to make it happen. Many have tried it and found the red tape run around more than they could handle. It isn’t easy, but, if your state allows it, it may be a struggle you’re willing to take take on. If so, you can get more details at usahomeraffle.com
Another alternative is the option of swapping homes. While this practice isn’t commonplace, it has seen an increase in use over the past couple of years. Although it sounds simple enough, like many things, the devil’s in the details. The most important step you’ll take is to establish a list of “wants” in the home you’re looking for, including the location you’d like to move to. While it’s rare that you’ll find an exact value to value match, there are many online service agencies that facilitate this process.
Some of these include:
GoSwap.org
Home Trade Nation http://www.hometradenationwide.com/
Online House Trading http://www.onlinehousetrading.com/
Try Swapping It http://www.myhouse4trade.com/
Domuswap http://www.domuswap.com/
Each of these online sources are deisgned to assist those who are looking to trade or swap homes instead of selling them the traditional way. For those with a bit more experience at online trading, there’s always Ebay or Craig’s List as well.
As the Greek philosopher Plato once said, “Necessity is the mother of invention.” With the dramatic slow down in the market, listing and selling a home isn’t as easy as it once was. As a result, some would be sellers have looked for other ways to “move” their property. While raffling off or swapping a home may not be the conventional method, it can, in the current environment, achieve the objective of getting rid of a home. And, if that’s the case, perhaps we need to consider the exception instead of the rule when making the decision to market a home.
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