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Updates from July, 2011
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Florida Realtors Sales Reports June 2011
MSC Marketing
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High Rollers Move Up
MSC Marketing
By Steve Cook
RISMEDIA, July 12, 2011—While a third of homeowners struggle to stay above water on their mortgages, nearly a quarter of those in the upper income tiers have been trading up to take advantage of deals in the luxury home market.Lured by lower prices, one in four U.S. consumers with annual income of $150,000 or more have bought a residential property since 2008 at a median purchase price of $509,000, up 3.2 percent from the 2005 to 2007 period. Most new residences (83 percent) are single-family homes and two-thirds of these are in suburban settings. Seventeen percent plan to purchase additional property this year, while 23 percent of those younger than 50 plan to buy in 2011.
According a new survey by the Luxury Institute and the Institute for Luxury Home Marketing, high net-worth homeowners are taking advantage of the downturn to trade up into higher-priced new primary residences. More than one-third (37 %) of the wealthy value their homes at $1 million or higher, while 32% assess their primary residence to be worth $500,000 or less.
Seventy percent of wealthy home buyers used a real estate agent to help with their property purchase and two-thirds of those say that they would work again with the same agent.
“Luxury home buyers recognize that many premium homes are available at relative bargains,” says Milton Pedraza, CEO of the Luxury Institute. “Similar to the luxury retail landscape, luxury home sales provide more evidence of durability at the high end of the market.”
“Luxury is the good news story in real estate,” says Laurie Moore-Moore, CEO of The Institute for Luxury Home Marketing. “The number of wealthy households has jumped back to pre-recession levels and affluent home buyers are actively purchasing. The National Association of REALTORS®’ statistics show that national home sales at $1 million and above were up more than 18 percent year-over-year in 2010. Strong activity continues this year as well.”
For more information, visit http://www.realestateeconomywatch.com.
http://rismedia.com/2011-07-11/high-rollers-move-up/
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A Window of Opportunity for House Sellers
MSC Marketing
by The KCM Crew on June 21, 2011
There has been much confusion as to where housing prices are headed. We have actually blogged on the issue recently. Today, we want to give our opinion on this subject for the short term. We believe sellers have a window of opportunity for the next 90-120 days in which to sell their homes for maximum price. We believe there will be increased downward pressure on home prices later this year and the first half of 2012.Why renewed downward pressure?
Any item’s price is determined by ‘supply and demand’. In many parts of the country existing housing inventory is already high and actually increasing. In addition, an inventory of distressed properties (foreclosures and short sales) will be coming to market later this year. This inventory has been delayed for the last several months because of faulty paperwork by the banks when they originally attempted foreclosure proceedings on these homes.
Celia Chen, of Moody’s Analytics explains:
“Foreclosures are weighing on the outlook for U.S. house prices, and the slow resolution of issues surrounding the so-called robo-signing scandal is keeping distressed homes off the market”.
The New York Times also recently reported on this issue. They looked at the delays in certain states. As an example, this is what they found in New York:
“Last September, before the documentation crisis, nearly 1,500 New Yorkers lost their houses as a result of foreclosure, according to LPS. The average over the last six months: 286. That is far lower than at any point since the recession began.”
Banks are now correcting these errors.
There is evidence that the banks are getting their documentation in order and about to again increase their foreclosure repossessions. Housing Wirereported:
“Since major lenders delayed foreclosures to fix a broken process late last year, the amount of filings declined, but in May signs emerged the effect might be wearing off.”
They went on to quote RealtyTrac CEO James Saccacio:
“…lenders are somewhat unevenly pushing batches of bad loans through foreclosure as they overhaul their paperwork and documentation procedures and as they determine that some local markets are able to absorb more foreclosure inventory…Foreclosure processing delays continue to mask the true face of the foreclosure situation, although there were some clues in the May numbers of what lies behind that mask.”
What will this mean to home prices?
As this inventory comes to market, it will impact prices in two ways:
- It will provide discounted competition for buyers
- It will impact the appraisal values of all homes in the area
Again, we quote Celia Chen:
“It is quite possible that house prices will pick up slightly in the second or third quarter of this year, as foreclosure sales remain depressed while nondistress sales pick up…By the fourth quarter of this year, however, the distress share will rise, sending the house price index back down…
House prices will founder until early next year and start rising in earnest at the end of 2012.”
Bottom Line
There is a window of opportunity currently which sellers should take advantage of. Waiting until later this year or until next year will not guarantee a higher sales price. If anything, it probably guarantees the exact opposite.
http://kcmblog.com/2011/06/21/a-window-of-opportunity-for-house-sellers/#more-8264
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5 Reasons You Should Consider Selling Now
Beth Ward
by The KCM Crew on May 10, 2011
If you plan on moving anytime in 2011, you should strongly consider selling your house now rather than waiting. Here are five reasons why:
1.) This is when your house will get the most exposure
The spring, and particularly the month of May, is when most buyers enter the real estate market. This surge of buyers dramatically increases the exposure for your house . The best chance of getting quality offers (perhaps even multiple offers) is RIGHT NOW! (More …)
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Spring Warms Luxury Demand
MSC Marketing
By Steve Cook
RISMEDIA, May 5, 2011—It’s still very much a “cold” buyer’s market according to the Institute for Luxury Home Marketing’s April 24 Luxury Housing Report, but early numbers from the spring home buying season suggest that demand is warming up.Inventories of homes over $1 million built up over the winter, but even with more properties coming on market with warmer weather, increasing the national inventory from 27,500 to 32,500 since January, days on market have dropped markedly in recent weeks. (More …)
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Almost 14,000 Houses Sold Yesterday
MSC Marketing
by The KCM Crew on May 3, 2011
One of the biggest misconceptions in today’s housing market is that homes are not selling. That is simply not true. Last month’s Existing Sales Report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) showed that homes were selling at an “annual rate of 5.10 million”. That’s an average of 13,973 every day – 365 days a year!And the monthly Pending Sales Report, which measures the number of houses going into contract each month, has showed increases in six of the last nine months prompting Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist to say:
“Since reaching a cyclical bottom last June, pending home sales have posted an overall gain of 24 percent and demonstrate the market is recovering on its own. The index means modest near-term gains in existing-home sales are likely.”
We realize that 40% of the sales are distressed properties and that 22% of buyers are investors. Yet, that still doesn’t negate the fact that homes are in fact selling… and 60% of them are NOT foreclosures or short sales.
And Yun believes this uptick will continue:
“Based on the current uptrend with very favorable affordability conditions, rising apartment rents and ongoing job creation, existing-home sales should rise around 5 to 10 percent this year.”
Bottom Line
Homes are selling. You probably will need to offer a compelling price if you put your house on the market. But if you do, it will sell.
http://kcmblog.com/2011/05/03/almost-14000-houses-sold-yesterday/
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Why the Wealthy Are Buying
MSC Marketing
by The KCM Crew on April 13, 2011
We have taken the stance that real estate is currently a great investment. There have been MANY that have let us know that they think we are crazy. Today, let’s look at a few prominent people, media sources and one very important group that agree that now is the time to buy.Fortune Magazine and The Wall Street Journal
John Paulson, billionaire investor.
Donald Trump, no introduction necessary.
Barbara Corcoran, real estate TV personality.
A pretty impressive list! The question: Is anyone listening to them? The answer: The wealthiest people in the country. According to the most recent Existing Sales Report from the National Association of Realtors, at a time when sales of all homes have decreased 2.8% compared to last year, homes over $1million dollars are selling at a rate 3.9% higher. Why are the wealthy purchasing real estate right now?
- Money is cheap. The 5% interest rate will not be available forever.
- The ability to lock in that interest rate for 30 years may soon disappear.
- Getting a mortgage may get much more expensive soon.
- They want to buy low and sell high. The price of real estate is low.
Bottom Line
We know many will disagree with us about now being the time to buy. But if the wealthiest people in the country are buying, shouldn’t we at least consider the possibility?
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Pricing Is ALWAYS Local … Most of the Time
MSC Marketing
by The KCM Crew on April 11, 2011
We understand that real estate is intensely local. Whether you are thinking of buying or selling a home, you should sit with a real estate professional familiar with your local area. However, that does not mean that what is happening nationally doesn’t apply to your market. What is taking place with home values is a perfect example of this. Prices are softening in many parts of the country. We all hope that our region is the exception to this trend. Before we buy or sell we should make sure. Just how widespread are these price declines? Let’s take a look at what the current pricing indices have found.S&P/Case Shiller
Their Home Price Index shows that 18 of the 20 cities they monitor had year-over-year depreciation. San Diego and Washington D.C. were the only two markets to record appreciation. However, San Diego was up a “scant 0.1%”, while Washington DC posted a healthier +3.6% annual growth rate.
CoreLogic
Their Home Price Index states:
“Of the top 100 Core Based Statistical Areas measured by population, 86 are showing year-over-year declines.”
National Association of Realtors (NAR)
Their Existing Sales Report showed that 13 of 17 metros they report on had median sales prices decline in the last year. Only Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, San Diego and St. Louis saw their median price increase.
Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA)
Their website has a visual that shows how widespread the price situation has become:
Bottom Line
Pricing is a major challenge in the vast majority of regions right now. Definitely sit with a local agent. However, make sure they tell you what you need to know not just what they think you may want to hear.
http://kcmblog.com/2011/04/11/pricing-is-always-local%e2%80%a6most-of-the-time/
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Florida’s Existing Home, Condo Sales Up in February 2011
MSC Marketing
ORLANDO, Fla., March 21, 2011 – Florida’s existing home and existing condo sales rose in February, according to the latest housing data released by Florida Realtors®. Existing home sales increased 13 percent last month with a total of 13,701 homes sold statewide compared to 12,164 homes sold in February 2010, according to Florida Realtors. February’s statewide sales of existing condos rose 29 percent compared to the previous year’s sales figure.
Seventeen of Florida’s metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) reported increased existing home sales in February; 18 MSAs had higher condo sales. It’s the third month in a row that Florida Realtors has reported higher year-over-year existing home and existing condo sales statewide.
“Current market conditions and very low mortgage rates continue to offer great opportunities to anyone looking to buy a home in Florida,” said 2011 Florida Realtors® President Patricia Fitzgerald, manager/broker-associate with Illustrated Properties in Hobe Sound and Mariner Sands Country Club in Stuart. “Every day, Realtors® help people realize their dreams of homeownership – they see the positive impact that homeownership has on families and communities.” (More …)
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If Your Goal Is to Buy Low, Buy Now!
MSC Marketing
by The KCM Crew on March 1, 2011
There is a very famous saying which asserts “Sell High, Buy Low”. It is obviously great advice no matter what the investment. Below is a graph showing the cycle of investments. It shows the points of maximum risk and maximum opportunity when purchasing. We want to sell high (point of maximum risk) and buy low (point of maximum opportunity).The challenge is how to determine when we have hit bottom if you are a purchaser. The only time you can guarantee a bottom is after you pass it. (More …)
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