Ada-Canyon-Counties-Real-Estate-Market

The PTC Index, from Pioneer Title

DECEMBER 2013

Building Permits	201
New Home Sales	175
Existing Home Sales	609
Refinance	829
Average Sales Price	198326.5
Financial-Bond Market(10-yr Treasury)	2.9
Days on Market	66
Distressed(Short Sales and REO)	1217
Notices of Default	175
PTC Index	169

2013 has come and gone and wasn’t without its ups and downs. Refinance volume dropped significantly, while the average Treasure Valley sales price made steady gains throughout the year. Building permits for the month of December where down slightly from the month prior by 11 percent, up 18% from a year ago. Interestingly, new home sales increased by 18 percent over November, and were up nearly 28 percent from December 2012. Existing home sales inched up by 10 percent from a year ago, and held relatively steady with November 2012 falling only 3.6 percent. After several months of decline, refis inched up slight by 1.3 percent in December, but down nearly 60 percent from a year ago. Average sales price remained steady to settle at just under $200,000, up 19 percent in the year-ago time period. Distressed properties continued to decline down 6.5 percent from the month prior. Notices of default, however, or up in both the year-ago and month prior time frames but nearly 16 percent.

FOR SOME HISTORICAL BASIS

January of 2010 had PTC Index of 28

A year ago, December of 2012  Index of 224

Last month reflected PTC Index of 172

6 Things Sellers Need to Hear BEFORE Listing.

Trulia Staff

January 27th, 2014

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Edited by Roger Lowe

In a market where home inventory is low and demand is soaring,  sellers may think that their home will move in mere minutes–and at a price that defies even the loftiest expectations. When left untethered, these dreams of big prices and warp speed sales can spell disaster–and major disappointment.

Consider these 6 Items.

1. Staging matters–big time!

Every agent knows the old adage, “Homes that don’t show well don’t close well.” But still, time and time again we see sellers rail against the time and cost associated with staging a home. Afterall, if they love their home as it is, why shouldn’t everyone else? Their decor may be a beautiful expression of their personality, but sometimes less is more.

2. The market sets the price, not the owner.

It’s understandable that many home sellers think that their home is above the price that the market dictates. Sentimental value often translates into an inflated sense of the home’s worth,  but when it comes price, the winning opinion is always the market’s opinion.

3. Small repairs may mean big bucks later

In many cases, the cost of a home repair is less expensive than a potential buyer perceives the cost of the repair to be. If buyers over estimate the cost of fixing the problem, it may negatively impact the offer amount and end up costing the seller more in the long run.

4. Incentives can help close the deal faster.

Offering practical incentives might not sound sexy, but those that fill legitimate buyer needs have the power to differentiate a listing from the competition and attract just the right attention needed to get the home sold for the right price.

Sellers  might be prepared to sweeten the deal if the right offers don’t come rolling in. Talking incentives early and building them into the marketing plan can arm both agent and seller with the ammunition to jump potential marketing hurdles and beat out the competition for a fast sale.

5. Serious buyers never stop the hunt.

Too many sellers see the winter months as the slow season. The reality is, there are plenty of upsides to listing and marketing a home when everyone else is taking a break. Even in this cold inversion, buyers are still looking for just the right house!

6. Real estate is a local business.

The last few years have turned real estate headlines into high-profile news. Home prices are on the rise. In fact, last month home prices were up 11.9% over the year past. While this is great news for the country as a whole, be sure to remember that real estate is a local industry and that asking price isn’t everything.

Check for  local market updates regularly on this blog. or just give me a call to talk.

 

It's the PRICE that sells a Home!

The following article was written by Blanch Evans in Realty Times. It rings very true.

You've heard the old saying - "Location, location, location."

The real truth is "Location, condition, and price." And price trumps every other factor.

Location affects the value of a home, but it's price that sells a home.

Oceanfront, mountainside, or penthouse, the most desirable location in the world won't sell at the wrong price.

Every property has a potential buyer, but like rock, paper, scissors, it's sometimes hard to know which factor is going to win the showdown.

A good location will sell at a fair price. A bad location will sell at a fair price, too. It just won't be as a high as it would be for a good location.

A home in good condition will sell for a fair price. A home in poor condition will also sell at a fair price. Again, it won't be as high as a comparable home in better condition.

But neither location or condition will sell any house. Only one thing does that - price.

So if you're a seller waiting for that "special buyer" who will appreciate your faded pink and black bathroom tile, your vintage orange shag carpet and is willing to help you put your kids through college because of your real estate prowess, you're going to have a long wait.

So if your home is represented by an agent, and it's been on the market for a long time, chances are it's your own fault.

Maybe you didn't listen to your agent when he said you're pricing your home above the market. Maybe you got mad at the first few folks who looked at your home and didn't make offers.

When the showings stopped completely, maybe you accused your agent of not doing a good enough job.

You put the blame on everyone except where it belongs - on you. It's not about you, what you want, or how much you need for your retirement.

It's about the price.

 

Cost of Waiting

A couple of days ago I posted 3 questions every buyer should ask themselves. It spoke of where home prices and interest rates are projected to be heading. Rather than keep waiting and having cost you more, give me a call so we can find that house for you!

The chart below illustrates the cost of waiting!

Agents: WHITE Lies and LYING

I just read this article from KCM Blog and it really rings true. A great agent will tell you the truth even if it is not what you want to hear. Because it is what you need to hear. A personal example, I was called out to list a home the thad been on the market with another agent for a few months. After preparing the CMA it was very clear the home was very over priced. It was hard to tell the owner, it harder for him to hear. In asking the owner how the original price was selected he told me the agent just asked him what he wanted for the house and that is what they went with. That did not do anyone any good.

We priced the home properly, I secured a buyer, but the question from her thatI had to overcome was: " I heard at church that this home had been on the market a very long time, is there something wrong the home that I am not seeing?"

I have not taken listings when sellers are not being reasonable, I want the most for my sellers as well, but pretending a property is worth more than the market will support only hurts the seller. Sometimes I feel that I need to duck when I tell the truth, but I am glad and eventually my sellers are glad I do!

The article follows.

Growing up it seemed ‘white lies’ were okay while lying was a sin. As children, we sometimes had difficulty understanding where the line was. As we matured, we realized there most definitely was a difference.

If a husband or wife asks if it is okay to invite their parents over for dinner, the spouse would probably say ‘sure’ even if it wasn’t 100% the truth. That was a ‘white lie’. If a young boy dresses up as a monster on Halloween and asks his father if he looks ‘really scary’, it was okay for his dad to say ‘YES’! That was a ‘white lie’.

In both cases, the person telling the ‘white lie’ was saying what the other person wanted to hear. In both cases, there was no harm in not telling the 100% truth. In both cases, it was a ‘white lie’. However, if we are not telling the 100% truth in order to save someone’s feelings AND IT HURTS THEM, we are lying.

What does this have to do with real estate?

We believe there are some in the real estate industry more worried about a homeowner’s feelings than they are about telling the truth about the current value of their home. These agents are not necessarily malicious. They just realize they may disappoint a seller at a listing appointment by telling the truth about what the house will sell for. They find it difficult to deliver tough news. To make sellers feel better, they lie.

Good agents can deliver good news. Great agents know how to deliver tough news.

In today’s real estate market, you need an agent that will tell you the truth, even when you don’t want to hear it. You need an agent more worried about your family than they are about your feelings. You need an agent who can get the house sold!

What this means to you

If you are interviewing potential listing agents, demand they tell you the truth. Don’t hire the agent that tells you what you want to hear. Hire the agent that tells you what you need to know. Reward their honesty.

 

Three Questions a Buyer Should Ask

If you are thinking about purchasing a home right now, you are surely getting a lot of advice. Though your friends and family have your best interests at heart, they may not be fully aware of your needs and what is currently happening in real estate. Let’s look at whether or not now is actually a good time for you to buy a home.

There are three questions you should ask before purchasing in today’s market:

1. Why am I buying a home in the first place?

This truly is the most important question to answer. Forget the finances for a minute. Why did you even begin to consider purchasing a home? For most, the reason has nothing to do with finances. A study by the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University reveals that the four major reasons people buy a home have nothing to do with money:

• A good place to raise children and for them to get a good education


• A place where you and your family feel safe


• More space for you and your family


• Control of the space

What non-financial benefits will you and your family derive from owning a home? The answer to that question should be the biggest reason you decide to purchase or not.

2. Where are home values headed?

When looking at future housing values, we like the Home Price Expectation Survey. Every quarter, Pulsenomics surveys a nationwide panel of over one hundred economists, real estate experts and investment & market strategists about where prices are headed over the next five years. They then average the projections of all 100+ experts into a single number.

Here is what the experts projected in the latest survey:

• Home values will appreciate by 4.3% in 2014.


• The cumulative appreciation will be 28% by 2018.


• Even the experts making up the most bearish quartile of the survey still are projecting a cumulative appreciation of over 16.8% by 2018.

3. Where are mortgage interest rates headed?

A buyer must be concerned about more than just prices. The ‘long term cost’ of a home can be dramatically impacted by an increase in mortgage rates.

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), the National Association of Realtors, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have all projected that mortgage interest rates will increase by approximately one full percentage over the next twelve months.

Bottom Line

Only you and your family can know for certain the right time to purchase a home. Answering these questions will help you make that decision.

 

Ada-Canyon 4th Qtr Rental Vacancy Rates

Vacancy rates moved upward .7% above last quarter. Comparing winter to winter, the surveyed vacancy rate rose from 3.4% for Q4 of 2012 to 3.9% for Q4 of 2013 with a recent surge in single-family vacancies for the quarter.

Rental rates were also pressured for the last quarter, but realized healthy annual growth. Winter rate fluctuations are historically expected to be the result of increased competition attempting to avoid vacancy and turnover time in the coldest weather of the year when renter demand is lowest. Multi-family rates were relatively stable with some segments slightly up and some slightly down within the statistical variability of the survey. Most of the downward rental rate movement for the quarter was in the single-family market. Year-over-year, average rents increased by 7.6%!

Courtesy of Park Place Property Management, For full report click here