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Category Archives: investment

How Does the Market Look?

Monday, 09 July 2012 08:00
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The regular market reports will resume on Friday, but for today I just wanted to expound on the general market a little.

Things have really changed in the last few months.  Just 4 or 5 months ago, I was constantly looking for “follow through” on strong numbers for almost every market segment.  There would be a good month or two, but then there would be a lousy one to cast doubt into the recovery process.

There were programs designed to “bring back the housing segment”, and while some of them did manage to move the market for a short time, for the most part, they only seemed to steal from future sales.  Sales that would have happened regardless were moved up in order to qualify for government subsidies or more favorable tax treatment.  But over the long run, they didn’t create many sales that wouldn’t have happened over the follow couple of months.

After all of that worked through the system, and consumers were more certain that there wouldn’t be future inducements, sales started picking up again… but the real boost to the sales numbers has been inventory reductions.  And while there are still rumors of a “tidal wave of foreclosed properties”, those same rumors have been around for 3+ years, always with the tidal wave 4-6 months away.  There could indeed be a wave of foreclosed properties poised to hit the market, I wouldn’t bank on it.  And the market does seem ready to absorb some more inventory, especially on the entry level end of the spectrum.

The bottom line is that the real estate market is getting back to normal.  In fact, under $200k in most of Gwinnett, it is well into Seller’s Market territory.  From $200k-$400k, it is mixed.  Above that, it is still pretty much a Buyer’s Market, but not to the extent it has been for the last few years.

It will be interesting to see what happens with the market when the general economic recovery starts in earnest.  I am still of the opinion that the best stimulus for the housing market is a recovery in the jobs market.  While the unemployment rate has gotten better, the labor force participation percentage rate hasn’t budged much.  The unemployment rate discounts workers that give up or time out on unemployment, while the labor force participation rate includes everyone that could be in the labor force.

I’m firmly of the belief that many buyers are reluctant to make a 30 year plan (buy a house and get a mortgage) when they are worried about the security of their job over the next year.

Stay tuned to see how it all shakes out…

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How to Get THE Best Deal…

Monday, 11 June 2012 08:00
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Every buyer in the market has one goal in mind… get the best deal possible on the exact house that they want.  Of course, there are a few problems… but like most problems, there ARE solutions.

exterior

exterior (Photo credit: lane.bailey)

The first problem is understanding value…  To begin with, the quality of the deal is NOT measured by sale price v listing price.  The list price and the value are NOT directly related.  You might actually have a better deal in your hand at full price… or even above… with one property, while another might be over-priced at half of the list price.  Compare the price you are getting to the value of the comps.  Don’t forget to subtract (or add) for needed improvements, updates and other differences.  That is what real estate agents do when they create a Comparative Market Analysis.

The second problem is being realistic…  Sure, there is a chance that you might be able to get a property that has a realistic worth of twice what you will pay for it, but don’t expect it.  Especially if you are looking for a property YOU are going to live in.  If you are looking for a rental/investment property, then you don’t need to worry as much about the particulars of living in the property… only how it will work financially.

Third, learn the real market…  You need to have a heart to heart with your real estate agent.  You need to talk openly about the area values and trends.  Not the national values and trends, not the state… not even the city or ZIP code, but the area… subdivision or neighborhood, as well as the price range.  In the market areas I monitor, I see instances where the direction of the market in one price range is opposite that of the adjacent price range.  The same thing happens with locales.

English: To Let in Dover As the estate agent w...

English: To Let in Dover As the estate agent would say , 'A property with potential'. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The fourth problem is REAL big.  Don’t “just toss something out there as a starting point”.  This one is huge.  I see it all of the time.  Buyers toss out an incredibly low offer “to get the ball rolling”.  BUT, when working with an actual human seller, it often only serves to anger them and get them to dig in their heels.  When dealing with an institutional seller, it makes them think the buyer isn’t serious.  In either case, what ends up happening is that the chance of a deal gets slimmer… and if there is a deal between the buyer and seller, it might end up not being as good of a deal as if the buyer had made a higher initial offer.  (BTW Sellers… this one works both ways… pricing too high often leads to a lower selling price in the end).

Finally…  Be READY to act when you find what you want.  It isn’t a deal if you leave it laying on the side of the road.

If YOU are ready, give me a call.  Lane 678-200-5895…

 

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Buford, GA, Market Report, April 2012

Friday, 25 May 2012 08:00
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This map shows the incorporated and unincorpor...

Image via Wikipedia

Market stats for Buford, GA, April, 2012 indicate that there were 399 properties on the market.  Overall, there was about an 5.1 month supply of properties (Absorption Rate or A/R).  There were 86 sales for April, flat from 86 last month and up from the 73 sales last April (2011).  It isn’t the strongest market in Gwinnett, but it is much better than it has been.

In the sub-$200k arena, there were 227 listings, with a 4.2 month supply.  This is the largest price segment in this market area, so strength here usually equals strength across the whole local market area.  Sales were flat from last month 61, but up compared to last year (51 sales in April, 2011).  But, the A/R is under the 6 months that would be considered fairly balanced… pointing towards a solid seller’s market.

Between $200k and $400k, there were 126 listings for sale, and about 6.2 months of supply.  The 19 sales recorded were flat from the 19 from last month and down a bit from the 22 sales last year for April.  This had been one of the weaker segments in the county, but has improved dramatically and at current A/Rs, it is one of the stronger $200k-$400k segments in the county, again, with increasing strength.

From $400k to $600k, there were 24 homes on the market.  The absorption rate is 8.0 Months.  There have been 9 sales in the last 3 months (0 for February, 3 for March and 6 for April).  When the market is rolling, there should be 6-8 sales a month during this part of the year.  September was pretty strong, and but we didn’t have the follow-up the next two months I was looking for… December was back in the right direction, and the drop in listings certainly helps.  January certainly wasn’t the month to call a recovery, nor February.  March showed a little promise.  April was nice.  Just for comparison, there was 1 sale in the Feb.-Apr. period in 2011.

In the $600k to $800k arena, there were 6 listings. Absorption Rate is 4.5 months… but it jumps around a lot.  Sales in this range are pretty sporadic, but steady when looking at the long-term. The drop in inventory over the last few months from 14 homes to 6 has made things look less slow… but there were 4 sales in this segment last year… and 3 sales in March.  This is a sign of strength, but the low inventory is what is driving the incredible A/R.

The range from $800k to $1m, there were 7 homes listed.  But, with no sales last year (2011), obviously trends are hardly definable. Listings are down, but sales aren’t following through.

Above $1m, there were 9 properties listed.  The last sale in the segment was in April… of 2009…and then there was May, 2011… and 2 sales in June, 2011.  So, we have 36 months of inventory.  I hope, but am not expecting, sales to be more consistent.

Buford, GA is a suburb of Atlanta in Gwinnett and Hall Counties. The population is 2000 was 10,668, but that only included the area inside the city limits, and it had seen tremendous growth since that census. Buford is home to Lake Lanier, one of Georgia’s premiere recreational areas, and Lake Lanier Islands. Recently, the City of Buford has revamped their old town. It is also home to Buford (Buford City Schools aren’t a part of Gwinnett County Schools), Mill Creek, Mountain View and Lanier High School (Lanier will open for the 2010-11 school year).

I have a page dedicated to Buford Market Data.

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But the News Said…

Wednesday, 23 May 2012 08:00
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English: Change of the Case-Shiller Home Price...

English: Change of the Case-Shiller Home Price Index relative to its peak values in 1989 and 2006. Series starting in 1989 is in blue. Series starting in 2006 is in red. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

One of the comments I hear the most is “but the news said…”.  There are always stories on the news about the NAR (National Association of REALTORS®) market stats, Case-Shiller or others.  Most of the statistics are based on national numbers.  Case Shiller is a little more local, in that it is based on the local area… if you can call the Atlanta region “local”.

One thing I would note is that the Atlanta region DOES tend to track pretty close to national averages.  But being pretty close isn’t the same as being the same.  And even if it were, there is a huge difference between the Atlanta Metro area and Gwinnett County… much less Suwanee, or the Morningview subdivision.

And that is the problem…

We can’t listen to the news and have a clear picture of what it means for our house or our neighborhood.  It would be the same as looking at the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) and deciding whether a specific stock was going to go up or down.

But that is exactly what people do… They see a report on the network news and then decide that houses are over-priced, under-priced or whatever.  When the real fact is that some market segments are rocking bargains right now… there is too much inventory and not enough buyers.  Other segments have scarce inventory and homes are selling as fast as they are listed (if they are priced appropriately).  But the national news… or even the local news… can’t be that exact in their reporting.

Unlike a lot of real estate professionals, I don’t begrudge the news for reporting the “big picture” story on the real estate market.  We DO need to know what is happening on a national basis.  But we also need to remember that there are vast differences between neighborhoods, price ranges, ZIP codes, school areas, etc.

The best bet is to talk with a local agent… I have monthly market reports on 7 cities in Gwinnett County, GA.  If this is your area, you can get a much better idea of what is going on around you.  If you really want to know what is happening, let me know and we’ll talk about YOUR house.

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USA Today thinks prices are heading up…

Wednesday, 09 May 2012 09:21
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And they very may.

map for us unemployment numbers

map for us unemployment numbers (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

According to the article I ran across this morning, house prices should go up about 4% each year for the next year.  I can see that… especially on the entry level of the market.  On the upper end of the market, though, it isn’t looking like we’ll see recovery for a little while. Between taxes and other policies that aren’t that friendly towards small business, there isn’t a lot of short term optimism with many of the folks that buy more luxurious homes.

So… my take is this.  I see the lower end of the market performing well over the next few years.  The higher end of the market more tricky.  The middle of the market, as well.

On the entry level, investors are scooping up properties.  Prices have stabilized and we will likely see increases regardless of the political or business climate, unless there is a MAJOR reversal.  Many of the investors are buying and holding properties as rentals, and there are simply a lot of people out there that have good income but cannot buy because of foreclosures and short sales.  That will drive the entry level pricing picture.

selfmade image of U.S. Unemployment rate from ...

selfmade image of U.S. Unemployment rate from 1890-2009 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

At the middle of the market, there are a few competing stories.  Many of the move-up buyers are stuck in their current homes or have been through foreclosures and short sales.  But, there are some that will look at snapping up a deal when they feel comfortable about their employment prospects.  Right now, that simply isn’t the case.  We all hear that the Unemployment Rate is dropping, but what we are NOT seeing is the Employment Rate moving up.  The drop in “unemployment” is mostly tied to people giving up looking for work.  In fact, the Workforce Participation Rate is at a low point.  So, if people in the middle start to feel that the economy is stable, they will buy homes.

On the upper reaches of the market, there are a few different stories as well.  Foreclosures and Short Sales are a factor, but not as often as on the lower segments.  But, comfort is a major factor.  Most of these folks are business owners or senior employees.  Taxes and regulations are playing a major role in their decisions.  Talk from Washington of major tax increases and more difficult regulation are making them hold off… even when they see a bargain.  A more business friendly tone in DC could turn the tide for these buyers.

The big question… Where do YOU think the market is going, and why?

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