Housing Shows Signs of Seasonal Cooling

By Gino Blefari, President & CEO, Intero Real Estate Services, Inc.

Seasonal cooling in the housing market is normal and expected. And it appears we're now entering that period of cooling off, with existing home sales down in September after hitting post-recession highs.

Total existing home sales, including single-family homes, townhomes, condos and co-ops, fell 1.9% to a rate of 5.29 million last month from August, according to the latest numbers from the National Association of Realtors. However, sales are still trending 10.7% above year-ago levels.

Even as sales slowed, the national median existing-home prices for all housing types was $199,200, 11.7% above levels seen in September a year ago. This also marked the tenth consecutive month of double-digit annual increases in home values.

Summer Magic Started in April for Home Sellers

By Gino Blefari, President & CEO, Intero Real Estate Services, Inc.

When is the best time of year to list a house for sale?

It's a question asked as often as when is best to buy.

Historically, summer has been the fastest season for home sellers. That was also the case in 2013, as many sellers across the country experienced higher sale prices and shorter time on market.

Now that summer is coming to a close, we can look back on the season and make some observations – perhaps even pinpoint at which point of the summer is most optimal to hang the for-sale sign. Data released last week from realtor.com found that homes that were listed in April benefitted most with shorter days on market and higher sale prices.

The reason April was pinpointed as the sweet spot is because as summer progressed, more sellers put their homes on the market, spiking inventory a bit and slowing down the market slightly. It's a simple matter of supply and demand.

End of Summer Housing Trifecta Tells a Good Story

By Gino Blefari, President & CEO, Intero Real Estate Services, Inc.

Three highly watched housing indicators were released at the close of summer last week, giving us a high-level view of how housing is performing. While sales of existing homes appear to be slowing, negative equity and the foreclosure market are improving substantially, thanks in part to increasing home values.

Let's take a look at all three data releases below.

Pending sales slow

In the National Association of Realtor's latest index of pending sales, we saw a 1.3% decline in July from June. However, the forward-looking indicator was 6.7% above the same month a year ago.

Top 5 Reasons You Need a Real Estate Agent

Home Values Inching Closer to Record High

By Gino Blefari, President & CEO, Intero Real Estate Services, Inc.

Have you checked out the sale-to-list price of some of the homes in your neighborhood recently?

I have. And the difference was over six figures.

Realizing of course, that home prices are different across markets, neighborhoods and school districts, something definitely has hit the value vein in the housing recovery.

The National Association of Realtors reports the median home price, $213,500 in July, was just 7.3% off the record high in 2006 when it was $230,400.

The median price was 13.7% higher than the same period a year ago, and the 17th consecutive month prices have risen year over year.

Clearly, values have bounced back.

But it's important to note that median literally is the middle number between the highest and the lowest. So the bounce back doesn't necessarily mean there's a recovery at all price points or for all.

Existing home sales also were up in July – increasing 6.5% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.39 million from 5.06 million in June. The pace of sales was 17.2% higher than July 2012.

NAR says that monthly existing home sales have now remained above year-ago levels for 25 months.

Along with the rise in values, inventory levels are also increasing, though still too low to fully meet demand in some markets. Total housing inventory at the end of July climbed 5.6% to 2.28 million existing homes for sale, representing a 5.1-month supply at the current sales pace.

Restricted inventory is the reason for the above-normal price growth in many markets.

The last piece of our housing snapshot is interest rates, which clearly have been increasing. Average rates on 30-year conventional fixed-rate mortgages were 4.37% in July, up from 4.07% in June. The question going forward will be how much will rates rise before starting to remove large swaths of buyers from the market?

We're likely to see all of these trends continue to the end of the year, making 2013 pivotal in the big picture of the housing recovery.

Collection of Links

We’ve collected some great blog posts and articles that we think you will enjoy. Let us know if you think one is more useful than another, and if you implemented any of the ideas presented here.

  10 Things You Probably Own Too Much Of

In our household we have too much (according to this article from Apartment Therapy) of all 10 of these things. We’re working on it, and to start we picked sheets. We’re probably least emotionally attached to those, although we do like our sheets.

  Top 10 Home Improvements that Pay You Back

USUALLY you get some of your money back when you sell your improved home. However, be sure to check conditions in your area. Most of the time the cosmetic, somewhat quick improvements like painting pay off. Sometimes bathroom and kitchen improvements pay off, but it depends on how much you spend, and it’s sooooo easy to overspend. Be careful here, and be sure to take your Realtor’s advice.

  How Fast Can You Buy a Home?

The answer for Buyers is probably, “Not fast enough!” Well, a real estate transaction today is almost always not fast enough for anybody involved in the transaction. This article helps Buyers get everything lined up to have the fastest possible transaction, which, again, is almost always, “Not fast enough.”

  10 Things Burglars Don’t Want You to Know

In many local residential areas, it’s very easy to get very carefree about leaving our things out and about, and not worrying about theft. But, we can all be just a little more conscientious about our possessions, and making our property less inviting to burglars.

How to Prevent Mold & Mildew

This article suggests how we can prevent the common household problem. The video explains how to get rid of it once we get it, which we probably all do at one time or another.

Some Markets Get a Summer Boost in Available Homes for Sale

By Gino Blefari, President & CEO, Intero Real Estate Services, Inc.

Remember that much-needed housing inventory we've been discussing here? It's raising its head above the fold.

The number of homes listed for sale nationwide climbed 4.3% in June to 1.9 million homes, according to data in the Wall Street Journal pulled this week from Realtor.com. It was the highest level we've seen in a year.

Does this mean we're over the hump? Potentially.

Even with the improvement in monthly gains, inventory levels continue to be below year-ago comparisons. The number of homes listed for sale nationwide in June was 7.3% below levels of last year. But note the improvement from February, when inventories were 18.6% below the year before.

Inventories were up in 20 cities in June compared to May, with a notable spike in Southern California where available home listings jumped 51.5% in Orange County, 45.7% in Los Angeles, and 18.1% in San Diego.

The data pointed out four markets of the nation's largest 30 where the number of listings was above last year's levels. They were: Sacramento (up 11%), Atlanta (up 10.9%), Phoenix (up 6.2%), and Miami (2.2%).

On the opposite end of the spectrum, five cities had inventory levels that were well below last year's levels, including Boston (down 35.1%), Denver (down 30.1%), Detroit (down 25.7%), Seattle (down 23.2%), and San Francisco (down 21.7%).

The falling numbers in these cities isn't a good sign for buyers. Markets will continue to be tight, at least in the short term, as demand remains high. We may see further price increases as a result.

On the other side, however, a tightened supply and healthy demand could help more homeowners in these markets jump off the fence and list their homes for sale if they've been waiting for more signs the market is back.

It's a tough balancing act. But all in all, inventories appear to have reversed their freefall in some markets, while continuing to be scarce in others. As with all things real estate, it's all about location. That's why it's always so difficult to answer the question everyone wants to ask, "How's the market?"

Stay tuned as we continue to watch these numbers closely.

Why Home Sales Slipped in March

By Gino Blefari, President & CEO, Intero Real Estate Services, Inc.

If you've been following housing market news this year, you may have been surprised by the latest home sales numbers to come out this week. Sales of existing homes stalled at 4.92 million, dropping 0.6% in March from February.

But what about this hot spring we've all been anticipating? What about the great recovery and growth period we're supposed to see in 2013? What's going on here?

The problem is lack of homes. There's plenty of demand from buyers, but just not enough to choose from on the market.

Some areas are experiencing multiple bids, which can frustrate buyers after they've been outbid a handful of times and turn them away.

And in some cases, we see sellers being affected as well. For those in tight markets, they may not feel confident enough to list their homes until they know for sure they'll be able to find a new one to move into.

Despite the decline in March sales from February, home sales were still 10.3% higher than the same month a year ago, marking the 21st consecutive month of year-over-year increases. That's good news, and a good indicator of how the market is trending in the big picture.

Demand is still strong, according to the National Association of Realtors, which reported buyer traffic is 25% above a year ago. But the drop in available homes has put upward pressure on prices. And some buyers are getting frustrated and priced out.

The national median home price was $184,300 in March, 11.8% higher than a year ago. The increase was the highest gain since November 2005.

Total housing inventory was up 1.6% to 1.93% homes for sale, representing a 4.7-month supply at the current pace. For-sale inventory was 16.8% below what it was a year ago, showing how lack of supply is truly impacting the pace of sales and overall market activity.

What happens next?

At the rate things are going, we can likely expect more price increases, driven by continued tight markets with some increases in new home building to balance supply.

At some point, prices will reach a tipping point where more sellers are able to sell because values will meet their needs.

Until then, buyers need patience and the ability to act fast; sellers need motivation or the right price points to get out from an underwater mortgage. We have an interesting second half of the year ahead!

Three Reasons to Sell Your House Today!

In case you need them, here are three more reasons to get your house on the market now if selling is part of your plan this year.

Part I - Demand for Real Estate is Much Stronger This Year

When selling anything, owners can only hope there is a strong demand for that which they are selling. The great news for today’s home sellers is that the current housing market is experiencing a stronger demand than we have seen in some time. Read the entire article here.

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Part II - Housing Supply is Low

A seller’s ability to sell their home in today’s real estate market will be determined by both the supply of homes for sale and the demand for that housing. In real estate, supply is represented by the current month’s supply of homes for sale (the number of homes for sale divided by the number of homes sold in the previous month). Read the entire article here.



 

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Part III - New Construction Will Soon Be Your Competition

Over the last several years, most homeowners selling their home did not have to compete with a new construction project around the block. As the market is recovering, more and more builders are jumping back in. As an example, the National Association of Realtors revealed, relative to last year, year-to-date new home sales are up 19%. Read the entire article here.




 

These articles are from The KCM Blog, A small piece of Keeping Current Matters.

It's a Seller's Market

You read it right. Sellers are in charge in today's real estate market. Here's an article from CNN Money about selling your house and pricing it right.

Selling your home? The cards are in your favor

 

Selling your home? In most parts of the country, you have finally regained the upper hand.

To get your best price, though, you need to finesse your timing, list competitively and match your marketing strategy to local conditions.

Lower your sights to make more money.

Rising prices breed rising hopes: In a recent poll, brokers complained that 75% of homeowners think their agent's recommended listing price is too low. Pricing your property above recent sales to cash in on the momentum may slow down deals, and sitting on the market too long can stigmatize a house.

Catch buyers' attention -- and get multiple offers -- by pricing your home in line with comparable sales, says Rick Turley, president of Coldwell Banker San Francisco: "Then let the market take it higher."

Trading up? Move fast. Downsizing? Go slow.

It's tempting to postpone selling to hold out for a better price. But if you want to move to a larger place, act sooner rather than later. True, higher-end homes aren't rising as quickly, but the gap is small. So while you'll be able to sell your home for more if you wait, the appreciation on the trade-up home will be greater.

When you're downsizing, the math works the other way, so it pays to wait.

The case for these strategies should strengthen as gains slow for cheaper homes. "Investors are driving the lower end of the market, and there is a point when the investor opportunity becomes less attractive," says Richard Green, director of the University of Southern California's Lusk Center for Real Estate.

Smooth out your home's rough patches.

Repair that leaky roof and address other obvious structural problems, or you'll have to subtract the cost of doing so from your price. "In today's economy, many buyers don't have as much savings left over after their down payment for improvements," says Teri Herrera, a broker in Bellevue, Wash.

Smaller fixes that pay off the most, according to a HomeGain poll of real estate professionals and consumers: cleaning and decluttering, brightening (adding lamps and clearing window obstructions), and solving electrical and plumbing problems.

Get ready for your home's close-up.

Sellers who stage their homes -- rearranging or replacing furniture to bolster appearance -- usually do so just before an open house. The better time to glamorize: right before you post your listing online, where 90% of buyers look first. Says Realtor.com president Errol Samuelson: "Web appeal is the new curb appeal."

Guard against low appraisals.

While rapidly rising prices may attract more buyers, the upswing can make it harder to close a deal. One-third of realtors polled in December reported setbacks from low appraisals, including delays in closing, lowered prices, and cancellations.

The problem: Appraisals can come in low because they're based on transactions as old as six months out of date, perhaps, in today's market.

Solution: Have your agent personally oversee the process, accompanying the appraiser to point out improvements and supplying data about the latest comparable sales.

 

By Beth Braverman @Money

Getting Ready to Sell Your Home - Tip #2

Ugly faucets really turn off potential buyers. Leaking, water-marked and stained faucets, faucets with crystal acrylic knobs in the bathroom look cheap and can be hard to use. Replace them with a faucet and handle set that matches the existing fixture’s configuration (centerset or widespread) and meets the standard of the Americans with Disabilities Act with flipper- or lever-style handles. Polished-chrome finish will cost you the least and still be durable. Plus, the National Kitchen & Bath Association says that the finish is enjoying a surge in popularity over brushed or satin finishes.

Team Patereau will be happy to walk through your home and let you know the areas you need to give your attention to before we put up the “For Sale” sign. Contact us – we’re anxious to hear

Getting Ready to Sell Your Home – Tip #1

Thinking about what to do to your house to get it ready to sell? Here’s one of the things that Buyers really hate, and that Sellers can remedy before putting their house on the market that won’t break the bank, but will dramatically improve the sell-ability: Popcorn ceilings.

If you’ve lived with a popcorn ceiling, you know that it accumulates dirt, defies cleaning and is impossible to paint. Worse, if your home was built prior to the mid-1980s, it may contain asbestos.

Removal is a messy and laborious process, with or without asbestos. The material must be wetted down and scraped and the underlying wallboard wiped clean. Once the popcorn is gone, the ceiling is usually repaired with joint compound, textured and painted. Even if there’s no asbestos, you probably should hire a drywall or painting contractor for the job.

Before you tackle this job or any others, contact us. Team Patereau will gladly tour your home and make suggestions about what needs to be done, and what not to worry about in the current market. We’d love to hear from you.

How Sellers Can Sharpen Their Competitive Edge

By Gino Blefari
President & CEO
Intero Real Estate Services, Inc.

Selling a home is a hyper-competitive endeavor in many markets across the country. Even here in the Bay Area where many neighborhoods are doing well, we've got pockets of buyers' markets that are posing challenges for home sellers. Here's the full story...