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Category Archives: sellers

What Can “Fix” Housing?

Friday, 18 November 2011 08:00
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There are still a few politicians, and a lot of real estate professionals talking about the government “fixing” the real estate market.  But the question is…

Is there a way or a role for the government to fix the housing market?

We’ve seen a substantial tax credit for purchasing a home, both for first time buyers and for existing (hopefully) move-up buyers.  And we’ve seen calls for more of the same.  But at the same time, there are a lot of experts that don’t think that the tax credits created many sales that wouldn’t have happened without them.

Even $8000 isn’t that much of a motivating factor for someone to make a $150K+ purchase.  And most of the people that took advantage of the tax credit were only hastened by the tax credit, not created by it… in other words, they would have purchased the home anyway, only their time-table was altered… in many cases, only by a couple of months.  Looking at past sales, it is obvious when the credit expired.  Sales increased at a rapid pace, and then dropped precipitously as the credit expired.  Sales remained well under par for many months after the credit expired.  Some economists estimate that the $8000 tax credit had a cost of over $44,000 for each sale it “created”.

There are other ideas floating around on Capitol Hill about ways that the federal government can spur housing sales.  And there are a lot of folks… especially in the halls of the National Association of REALTORS® that feel that housing needs to come back in order for the economy to rebound.

I think they have it backwards.  In order for real estate to rebound, people have to feel secure with the job market.  How can someone be expected to make a 30 year plan (getting a mortgage, for example) when they are worried about their job in the next few months?  So, focusing on job creating, especially by smaller businesses, and removing impediments to starting or expanding small businesses would do wonders.  Instead of tax credits focused on housing, tax relief for people starting businesses would do more for the housing market.

What do you think?

Selling a Home During the Holidays?

Monday, 14 November 2011 09:07
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I’m asked this question every year… multiple times…

Should I put my home on the market during the Holiday Season?

Generally, the person asking the question has found out that they need to move and they are wondering if they should put their home on the market now or if they should wait until the New Year.

As much as I want it to be a simple answer, there are a few things that HAVE to be considered.

  • Lifestyle
  • Security
  • Motivation to sell
  • Timing

Under the heading of Lifestyle, there are a couple of things to consider…  First, do you like to go over he top on decorations?  Be honest with yourself.  It is perfectly fine if you do, but it might need to be toned down if your home is on the market.  A Buyer needs to be able to picture THEMSELVES in the house, and if every corner of the home is showing your very personal memories, it may be harder for the Buyer to do that.  They might also be of a different faith and celebrate the season in a different manner or even not at all.  I’ve found that the vast majority of people that don’t celebrate Christmas aren’t offended by those that do, but going nuts with it might not be the best tactic.

 

Chistmas and New Year lights in front of Amari...

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Secondly, assuming that your home is priced appropriately, there will be showings.  They might not be at the most convenient time.  And while I’ve found my buyers are often willing to work with the seller to find a good time, it doesn’t always work, and homes HAVE been eliminated from viewing because it was too difficult to schedule.

 

You should also consider your personal Security.  Again, people will be coming to view your home… just like they would at any other time of the year.  And the vast majority of people will be absolutely honest and have good intentions, but there is a possibility that someone could come to see the house and either take advantage of an opportunity to “pick up” something, or even look to see if the home is worth robbing later.  And unlike most times of the year, there are valuable presents all over the place, as well as valuable antiques that might only be out a few weeks a year.

Do you NEED to sell?  Do you need to sell NOW?  That is Motivation.  If you don’t need to sell, it might not be worth disrupting your Holidays in order to have your home on the market.  But, if you have to move, you have to move… and that likely means that you have to sell.  Regardless of whether it is foreclosure mitigation, a job change, new marriage, divorce or some other factor, need is need.

Finally is Timing.  And it is closely related to Motivation and Lifestyle.  So, here is a question for you…  What if a Buyer wants to close on your house before Christmas?  Would you be ready?  Most buyers in the market over the Holidays are serious.  They are ready to make the change… maybe they want to be in their new home for Christmas.  Maybe they want to be able to host a New Year’s Party in their new home.  You need to be honest with yourself… could you handle that?

 

After you have thought about these things, and the fact that there will be an increase in listings after the New Year… and again in the Spring, then you can make a decision.  Feel free to give me a call if you need to list your home during the Holidays…

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Norcross, GA, Market Report, September 2011

Friday, 11 November 2011 08:00
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This map shows the incorporated and unincorpor...

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Market stats for Norcross GA, September, 2011 indicate that there were 305 properties on the market. Overall, there is about a 5.6 month supply of properties.  This year has been very strong so far… although April and May weren’t that strong (April was below last year)… it hasn’t slowed much.  September saw 48 sales, well below the 69 for August but slightly above the 43 for last September.  This is one of the few market areas in Gwinnett to post five strong months in a row.

In the sub-$200k arena, there were 174 listings, with about 4.1 month supply. Sales are up from a year ago in this segment, which is the main driver of sales in this area (36 v 25). For the last three months, the AR has been tilted in favor of sellers… it tilted back just a little bit this month. This still looks like one of the strongest price/area segment in Gwinnett County, GA.

Between $200k and $400k, there were 92 listings for sale, and about 9.9 months of supply. This segment isn’t as weak as it had been over the last several months, but it is still weak compared to the rest of the segments in the area, as well as the price level in other areas. The 10 sales were a downer compared to last year’s 14 sales, as well as from last month’s 12 sales. Of course, this segment has always seemed to lag a little.

From $400k to $600k, there were 32 homes on the market. The Absorption Rate is around 11.3 months. The AR had been dropping for months, then shot WAY up in June. It has been working down slowly since. September’s 2 sales are down from 4 the month before and last year’s 4 sales… but with the inventory decrease, it didn’t hurt too much.

In the $600k to $800k arena, there were 5 listings on the market. Inventories had decreased compared to last year. The Absorption Rate is at 15 months of inventory… but with only 4 sales last year and then the sale in March and another each in May and June, obviously it is easy to bump one way or the other. The ONLY reason for the strong looking Absorption Rate last month was that there were so few listings.

The range from $800k to $1m, there was 1 homes listed on the market and no sales… seemingly forever.

Above $1m, there were 3 properties listed. But because of the smaller numbers of sales, the absorption rate could be significantly impacted by just a couple of sales. The single sale in January (first since October) has pushed the Absorption Rate down to 18 months of inventory.

Norcross, GA is a suburb of Atlanta in Gwinnett County. The population is 2000 was 8,410 but that only included the area inside the city limits, and it has seen tremendous growth since that census. The City of Norcross revamped their old town a long time ago, and it has served as a model for other towns in the area. It is also home to Meadow Creek and Norcross High Schools. One of the things that Norcross is known for locally is the beautiful older homes in the downtown area. They have maintained their historic flair quite successfully.

I have a page dedicated to Norcross Market Data.

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Wayback Wednesday… Smooth Sailing After Accepting an Offer?

Wednesday, 09 November 2011 08:00
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Sumerian contract: selling of a field and a ho...

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Maybe… maybe not. Last year I had a pretty good post (if I do say so myself) about issues that can arise between Contract and Closing in a real estate transaction.

I wish it weren’t the case… but it is.  There are a lot of reasons that a sale can fall through between the time the seller accepts the offer and the buyer shows up at the closing table.  Some can be easily prevented and others are a little tougher to deal with.  For the most part, though, if both real estate agents do their jobs well and the clients on both side are transparent about any skeletons that might be hiding in the closets, everything should go pretty well.  But even then, there are some issues that can raise their heads at the last minute and derail everyone’s plan.

As listed in the post from last year…

Homes fall out of contract for a variety of reasons.

  • Inspection issues
  • Buyer financial problems
  • Buyer’s remorse
  • Appraisal comes in too low
  • Seller can’t produce title
  • Lender changes standards

And of course there are always strange and unique ways for sales to fail.

It used to be that the most common issue was something popping up in the inspection.  I’ve has buyers jump out of a sale because of an undisclosed issue showing up during inspections… although most of those have been with foreclosed properties (no Seller’s Disclosure statement).  But a couple of times it has been because of a problem that should have been disclosed by the sellers.

Right now, one of the biggest problems is something that was almost unheard of a few years ago… Appraisal coming in low.  I’ve been on both side of this one, and it isn’t fun for anyone.  The buyers begin to second guess their decision, the sellers are over a barrel (especially if the buyer is using FHA financing).  Perhaps the price really was out of market norms and the agents both failed to catch it.  Other times, the property is unique and the Appraiser failed to account for its uniqueness.  In other cases, a sale closes between the Contract and the appraisal that adversely affects the neighborhood’s values.

Of all of them, the one I get most annoyed with is Buyer’s Remorse.  The vast majority of the time, it should be completely preventable.  But sometimes there is a piece of information that comes available during the Buyer’s Due Diligence process.

Buyer financial problems should also be preventable… but sometimes, with (usually) borderline buyers, changing lender standards can jump in and create havoc at the last minute.

Check out the post from last year for more info on how to prevent sales failures between contract and closing.

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Buford, GA, Market Report, September 2011

Monday, 07 November 2011 08:44
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This map shows the incorporated and unincorpor...

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Market stats for Buford, GA, September, 2011 indicate that there were 506 properties on the market. Overall, there was about an 6.6 month supply of properties (Absorption Rate or A/R).  There were 79 sales for August, up slightly from 75 last month and up significantly from 52 from last September (2010).

In the sub-$200k arena, there were 270 listings, with a 4.7 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 down slightly from last month (55 v 56), but impressively strong compared to last year (33 sales in September, 2010).  Framed in the results for the whole market area, the segment is reasonably strong.  And the A/R is well under the 6 months that would be considered fairly balanced… pointing towards a seller’s market.

Between $200k and $400k, there were 175 listings for sale, and about  10.7 months of supply.  The 18 sales recorded were slightly above the 17 from last month and the 17 sales last year for September.  As strong as the Under $200k segment is, this one is MUCH weaker.  It is one of the weaker areas in the county for this price.  Of course, last September, the A/R was just over 17 months.

From $400k to $600k, there were 37 homes on the market. The absorption rate is 1.3 Months.  There has been 9 sales in the last 3 months (6 sales for September, 2 for August, 1 for July).  When the market is rolling, there should be 5-7 sales a month during this part of the year.  This is the first time in a while that we have been there.  This segment had been acting like a luxury segment with sporadic sales for the last few months.  I’d really like to see a follow-up with 4-5 sales for October.

In the $600k to $800k arena, there were 5 listings.  Absorption Rate is 15 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 5 homes has made things look less slow… but there have been 5 sales in this segment in the last year… the last was two months ago.

The range from $800k to $1m, there were 11 homes listed. And with only 2 sales in the last year (December, 2010), obviously  trends are hardly definable.  Listings are up, but sales aren’t following, though.

Above $1m, there were 9 properties listed.  The last sale in the segment was in April… of 2009…and then there was May… and 2 sales in June.  FINALLY, new sales!  So, we have 13.5 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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