Local Market Stats
Homeowners-I hate to sound like a broken record
I talk with 10-20 homeowners a day with regards to either their home expiring, being withdraw, or they have been released from the listing agreement with their previous agent. Ultimately, the number one reason these homes did not sell is the list price is not what the current market preceives as value, period. What happens with this group is the homeowner ends up becoming the highest bidder with their home. Something I don’t think any homeowner wants, was planning on or expecting.
Condition, location, exposure and price will determine when and if a home will sell. To be honest all 4 categories filter back to price. Meaning, if the condition is poor then the list price needs to reflect this. If a home needs deferred maintenance and the homeowner does not want to do this, not sure why in today’s market, then the price needs to reflect this. Each category reflects back to price. Maybe, exposure is not as price driven but again the longer it takes for a homeowner(s) to understand pricing the more money or equity they will lose. Without a doubt 85% of the homeowners marketing begins with price. It’s amazing to me how many homeowners have to go through the school of hard knocks to realize this. Hope over reality is what they have. I am not being disrespectful or mean. I work with more sellers than I do with buyers. In fact, 90% of my business is selling homes. I get it…values are down and the largest financial investment a homeowner has the equity is flying out the window like a bad draft.
If I had dollar for every time I have said what I am getting ready to share, I wouldn’t need to be in real estate. I say this over and over to the groups I network with and even to my clients, ” a homeowner who is going to put their hat in today’s real estate arena MUST price their home compellingly or DO NOT put the property on the market. Wait 4-6 years for the market to get better.” If the time frame is not realistic for the homeowner then NOW is the time to get the home on the market. Again, this is not me writing nonsense BLOG posts. I back what I am sharing with facts. Look at today’s headlines. Look at the BLOG post I posted several days ago…it’s happening and their is a reason why, click here.
New Home Sells Hits a 6 Month Low
(WASHINGTON) — Sales of new homes fell to a six-month low in August. The
fourth straight monthly decline during the peak buying season suggests the
housing market is years away from a recovery.
The Commerce Department said Monday that new-home sales fell 2.3 percent to a
seasonally adjusted annual rate of 295,000. That’s less than half the roughly
700,000 that economists say must be sold to sustain a healthy housing
market.
New-homes sales are on pace for the worst year since the government began
keeping records a half century ago.
Read more: http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,2094878,00.html#ixzz1Z538I0Bp
If you know of anyone who is thinking about putting their home on the market send them this post, they will not like it but in the end they will say thank you. Thank you for not giving me the smoke and mirrors but the facts.
Mortgage Rates Drop After U.S. Credit Downgrade
Mortgage rates continue drifting downward, despite — or because of — a ratings downgrade on long-term U.S. government debt. Standard & Poors issued a single-notch downgrade after Friday’s market close, from AAA to AA+.
Of the roughly $9.4 billion in publicly-held U.S. debt, 72 percent is long-term (i.e. with duration of 2 years or longer).
U.S. short-term debt was not downgraded.
When an entity — government, business, or other — is cited for a credit downgrade, it means that the risk of lending money to that entity has increased. In theory, higher risk should lead to higher borrowing costs and higher consumer rates.
Except in today’s U.S. Treasury and mortgage bond markets, the opposite is occurring. U.S.-backed bonds are in demand, leading rates lower. It’s an unexpected response to the S&P downgrade.
There are 3 main reasons why mortgage rates aren’t rising.
First, Wall Street is “brushing off” S&P’s downgrade, citing the rating agency’s opinion as flawed. This is, in part, the result of a supposed “math error” in the S&P findings, as caught by the U.S. Treasury.
Second, global finance leaders have made public statements since the Friday downgrade re-asserting their faith in the U.S. government’s ability to repay its debts. This is helped stabilize bonds as well.
And, third, of the three major rating agencies, only Standard & Poor’s downgraded long-term U.S. debt. Competitors Moody’s and Fitch instead chose to re-affirm the top-status rating for U.S. government-issued debt after last week’s debt ceiling accord.
The likely cause for falling rates today is that the global economy is showing signs of a slowdown and the U.S. Treasury market remains the largest and most liquid bond market in the world. Ergo, they’re relatively safe — despite the credit rating of the nation backing them.
Freddie Mac Falls After Seeking $10.6 Billion From Treasury
Ouch. So much contradicting news out there. You have two sides of the fence. One stating the housing market is improving and then the other who claim it’s not over yet. It will be even more confusing this month when the housing numbers for April come out. There will be a BIG surge with the housing numbers and everyone will think “Glory Days Are Hear Again.” I’ll call this “Hope Over Reality.”
Truly, what the government incentive program has done is caused anyone who was going to purchasing a home in 2010 to up their purchase to an earlier time to be able receive the financial benefit. No one or financial prop is going to make someone wake up and say…let’s buy a home. This decision is made because of a life changing situation, period. The housing market is what it is and until the inventory is a balanced point…somewhere between 4-6 months the housing market will continue to experience the challenges and unfortunately, adjustments in prices. It is basic economics of supply and demand.
Nationwide there is a 16-24 month supply of housing inventory including residential resales, new and bank owned properties. With a forecast that housing values will decline another 10-15% nationwide in 2010.
What this all means to the homeowner who is thinking about selling is be smart and price your home so that it will be one of the few which a home buyer will buy. What’s the old saying…”information is power or is it…the correct use of information is POWER.”
Freddie Mac Falls After Seeking $10.6 Billion From Treasury – Bloomberg.com
Freddie Mac, the mortgage company operating under U.S. conservatorship, fell 8 percent in New York trading after requesting $10.6 billion more in Treasury Department aid while reporting a first-quarter loss.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=email_en&sid=a7ta2rY7BkYI
Market Trends and Stats CVRMLS
Curious about what is happening in our market in Central VA (Richmond, Petersburg, Colonial Heights, Prince George, Dinwiddie, Powhatan, Amelia, Chesterfield, Henrico and so forth) Click here to view market data from March 2009-Feb 2010.
