Adjacent to Village Elementary on the south side of M-36.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
New Listing-12.28 acres Commercial Land
Adjacent to Village Elementary on the south side of M-36.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Market Notes – August 25, 2011
I just received the August survey results from Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance, a firm that surveys agents and brokers from across the country. This is one of many Real Estate-related surveys in which I participate. Their results are broken down both in general groups of buyers and/or sellers and by geographic region.
Last week my blog entry, “July 2011 Market Data” reported that the number of local cash sales is way down compared to 2010. This most recent national survey reports that July 2011 investor purchases are at a 12 month low. This survey also says that about half of investor purchased properties in July 2011 (48%) will be rented out, compared to 28% in July 2010. Is that due to tighter loan requirements for first-time buyers (investors wanting to re-sell have a worse market), a lack of confidence in the economy by buyers, or something else? It is a big difference in numbers.
Some survey comments conclude that investors are acting decisively while first-time home buyers seem to be demonstrating fear and indecision. The rental market in my area is robust, so perhaps investors are leveraging those conditions.
The sales price to listing price ratio for our region, the Industrial Midwest (MO, IN, IL, OH, MI) shows that damaged foreclosure (REO) properties sold at a 91% ratio. That means a $100,000 listing sold for $91,000. Move-in condition foreclosure homes did marginally better at a 93% ratio, short sales sold at a 91% ratio and non-distressed homes were at 94%.
Remember that homes in better condition sell for more money, too, so while the percentage differences are small, the ultimate purchase prices are much wider. The average sales prices on these categories are: Damaged REO - $57,938, move-in condition REO - $114,015, short sales - $150,493, and non-distressed homes sold for an average of $205,604.
If you are looking for a house, a foreclosure or short sale can be a great bargain. Just know the difference in timelines (and processes) to close, and also know that you still pretty much get what you pay for. A $57,000 house will need a lot more work than a $114,000 house.
As always, if you have real estate questions, feel free to contact me.
 |
| scottchan / FreeDigitalPhotos.net |
Some survey comments conclude that investors are acting decisively while first-time home buyers seem to be demonstrating fear and indecision. The rental market in my area is robust, so perhaps investors are leveraging those conditions.
The sales price to listing price ratio for our region, the Industrial Midwest (MO, IN, IL, OH, MI) shows that damaged foreclosure (REO) properties sold at a 91% ratio. That means a $100,000 listing sold for $91,000. Move-in condition foreclosure homes did marginally better at a 93% ratio, short sales sold at a 91% ratio and non-distressed homes were at 94%.
Remember that homes in better condition sell for more money, too, so while the percentage differences are small, the ultimate purchase prices are much wider. The average sales prices on these categories are: Damaged REO - $57,938, move-in condition REO - $114,015, short sales - $150,493, and non-distressed homes sold for an average of $205,604.
If you are looking for a house, a foreclosure or short sale can be a great bargain. Just know the difference in timelines (and processes) to close, and also know that you still pretty much get what you pay for. A $57,000 house will need a lot more work than a $114,000 house.
As always, if you have real estate questions, feel free to contact me.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Community Shred Day - Saturday August 27, 2011
Matt Ikle, owner of Elite Insurance in Howell, invites the community to a Shred Day event on August 27th from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. at his agency office, located at 3399 E. Grand River, Suite 201(Across from Home Depot). Anyone who would like to participate may bring along their confidential and personal documents to be shredded by Corrigan Record Management, free of charge from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.
There is no charge for this service, but donations will be accepted with all proceeds going to the Spastic Paraplegia Foundation (http://www.sp-foundation.org/). The foundation is dedicated to finding the cure for spastic paraplegia as well as providing information and support.
If you have confidential documents that are in need of proper disposal, consider this event. Identity theft is a major concern among consumers nationwide. You can visit the Elite Insurance web site at http://www.eliteinsuranceagency.com/ or call them at (517) 545-9325 for more information.
Monday, August 22, 2011
New Listing - 4228 Howard, Lincoln Park
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Short Notes on Brighton Businesses
Things are certainly popping in Brighton lately.
The tentatively named Western House Brewery approved by Brighton Planning Commission for the old Western House Hotel location, AKA the ‘Pink Hotel’, at West Main and First streets. This should be a great addition to downtown. Final vote by City Council will be September 1st.
The Pound Sports Bar continues through construction on the site of the old Singer Press building at West and Main streets, across from the Main Street Martini Bar.
Elite Feet opens up downtown. With the Runnin’ Gear store on Grand River just west of Old US-23, we now have two running stores.
Art Van Pure Sleep store opens on West Grand River near Cross Street, in front of Big Apple Bagels.
The Greater Brighton Area Chamber of Commerce has relocated to the site of the old Mellus Hospital/Leah Gold Confectionary/Premier Mortgage (depending on how far back your memory goes!), next to First Presbyterian Church. Two blocks north of Main St.
A Green Oak Twp firm, Excelda Mfg, has agreed to purchase the old Brighton Chamber property to build a new HQ. It should be completed sometime late in 2012 and will have up to 50 staff members.
A new wedding cake design shop has opened up in the small space adjacent to Lu & Carl’s on W. Grand River. There was a monument company in that space most recently.
The Wooden Spoon opened up at the old Mexican Jones site. No liquor license yet, but the renovations look very good and the food and service is great. Some specialty food items are available retail, too. Lunch is sort of ‘a la panera’ style, but there is wait staff for the evenings. It’s great to see that parking lot packed again.
The tentatively named Western House Brewery approved by Brighton Planning Commission for the old Western House Hotel location, AKA the ‘Pink Hotel’, at West Main and First streets. This should be a great addition to downtown. Final vote by City Council will be September 1st.
The Pound Sports Bar continues through construction on the site of the old Singer Press building at West and Main streets, across from the Main Street Martini Bar.
Elite Feet opens up downtown. With the Runnin’ Gear store on Grand River just west of Old US-23, we now have two running stores.
Art Van Pure Sleep store opens on West Grand River near Cross Street, in front of Big Apple Bagels.
The Greater Brighton Area Chamber of Commerce has relocated to the site of the old Mellus Hospital/Leah Gold Confectionary/Premier Mortgage (depending on how far back your memory goes!), next to First Presbyterian Church. Two blocks north of Main St.
A Green Oak Twp firm, Excelda Mfg, has agreed to purchase the old Brighton Chamber property to build a new HQ. It should be completed sometime late in 2012 and will have up to 50 staff members.
A new wedding cake design shop has opened up in the small space adjacent to Lu & Carl’s on W. Grand River. There was a monument company in that space most recently.
The Wooden Spoon opened up at the old Mexican Jones site. No liquor license yet, but the renovations look very good and the food and service is great. Some specialty food items are available retail, too. Lunch is sort of ‘a la panera’ style, but there is wait staff for the evenings. It’s great to see that parking lot packed again.
To Refinance or Not?
This is easily the most frequent recent topic of conversation when I bump in to past clients, fellow Chamber of Commerce members and almost anyone that knows I’m in Real Estate. The desire to take advantage of the great (record setting) lows in mortgage interest rates is overwhelming. Of course the sticking point is the ‘lack of equity’ caused by depreciation in our local housing market.
There are good reasons to refinance, and there are bad reasons to refinance. Good reasons include changing from a dreaded Adjustable Rate Mortgage (ARM) to a fixed rate mortgage – especially now with the low, low rates. Or perhaps you want to reduce your monthly payment. Who doesn’t?
If you owe 20 years on your current, higher interest mortgage and are told that you can refi for 15 years and still have lower monthly payments, why wouldn’t you want to do it? Make sure that if your loan ‘clock’ is starting back at a 30 year term, you’ll be in for the long haul, or at least that you’ll be making payments for another 30 years.
Remember that there are costs involved with a refi. You have to build those in to your analysis to make a good decision. There are also some costs (typically a percentage of your points) that are partially offset by tax deductions. Ask your accountant or tax preparer about those. Will there be appraisal, application, and credit check fees? Will you need all new title insurance? Can you get a credit from your existing title insurance? All of those factors need to be considered to find out your upfront costs.
Even if you ‘roll them in’ to the new mortgage and your monthly payment is reduced, you should understand how many months it will take you to ‘break even’ on the costs of the new loan. It may be 8 or 9 months, or it could be 24 to 27 months. In the first case, if you have to sell in a year, the refi choice was a good one. In the second case, not so good. And things happen.
Perhaps you or your spouse will get a job offer that you can’t refuse and forces you to sell. Maybe a family situation arises that requires you to move. Life can be like that. Here are a couple of references to get you thinking and to help you if a refinance is something that you’ve been considering.
First, a recent (August 2011) article from Forbes. It is pretty short, covers a lot of ground and has a downloadable refinance calculcator in MS Excel format.
Here’s an online article from Bills.com that covers some other thoughts, and a lot of other links – in case you feel like doing a lot more research. If you’d like to just plug in some numbers, try using the calculator I mentioned above in the Forbes article, or try these. One is from bankrate.com and one is from Realtor.com. Both are slightly different, but will help you understand the thoughts on refinancing.
 |
| scottchan/FreeDigitalPhotos.net |
Not everyone has that problem, of course, but many do. So here are a few thoughts on refinancing. Disclaimer: I am a Realtor®, not a mortgage broker. I don’t originate loans, and this will be fairly simple.
There are good reasons to refinance, and there are bad reasons to refinance. Good reasons include changing from a dreaded Adjustable Rate Mortgage (ARM) to a fixed rate mortgage – especially now with the low, low rates. Or perhaps you want to reduce your monthly payment. Who doesn’t?
If you owe 20 years on your current, higher interest mortgage and are told that you can refi for 15 years and still have lower monthly payments, why wouldn’t you want to do it? Make sure that if your loan ‘clock’ is starting back at a 30 year term, you’ll be in for the long haul, or at least that you’ll be making payments for another 30 years.
Remember that there are costs involved with a refi. You have to build those in to your analysis to make a good decision. There are also some costs (typically a percentage of your points) that are partially offset by tax deductions. Ask your accountant or tax preparer about those. Will there be appraisal, application, and credit check fees? Will you need all new title insurance? Can you get a credit from your existing title insurance? All of those factors need to be considered to find out your upfront costs.
Even if you ‘roll them in’ to the new mortgage and your monthly payment is reduced, you should understand how many months it will take you to ‘break even’ on the costs of the new loan. It may be 8 or 9 months, or it could be 24 to 27 months. In the first case, if you have to sell in a year, the refi choice was a good one. In the second case, not so good. And things happen.
Perhaps you or your spouse will get a job offer that you can’t refuse and forces you to sell. Maybe a family situation arises that requires you to move. Life can be like that. Here are a couple of references to get you thinking and to help you if a refinance is something that you’ve been considering.
First, a recent (August 2011) article from Forbes. It is pretty short, covers a lot of ground and has a downloadable refinance calculcator in MS Excel format.
Here’s an online article from Bills.com that covers some other thoughts, and a lot of other links – in case you feel like doing a lot more research. If you’d like to just plug in some numbers, try using the calculator I mentioned above in the Forbes article, or try these. One is from bankrate.com and one is from Realtor.com. Both are slightly different, but will help you understand the thoughts on refinancing.
Friday, August 19, 2011
Melon Festival in Howell This Weekend
But the Howell Melon Festival is in its 51st year and is quite a party, all the same. A wide range of events include the Melon Run with both a 1 Mile, a5K and a 10K, and other funs things like melon dash and melon roll and tot trots.
Get a taste of melon ice cream, take a steam locomotive ride, a river boat ride (on Thompson Lake), or perhaps a trolley tour. Try a taste of melon wine, tour the Howell Historical Museum. Add a Fine Art show, sidewalk sales and some interesting activities like a watermelon seed spitting contest, a bubble gum bubble-blowing contest and you’ll find something to do in Howell this weekend. The entire downtown area is the location.
If you’re planning to visit, check the schedule and parking maps first. This is a BIG weekend in Howell, and we want you to have a blast! And if you decide to look for a house in Genoa Township or one of the other nearby areas while you're here, give me a call!
 |
| photo credit: Maggie Smith |
OK, it's not exactly the Woodward Dream Cruise. (For those non-Michiganders out there, the Dream Cruise is a huge car party in Detroit's north suburbs. So large that it's actually the world's largest one day automotive event. Click the link for more info)
But the Howell Melon Festival is in its 51st year and is quite a party, all the same. A wide range of events include the Melon Run with both a 1 Mile, a5K and a 10K, and other funs things like melon dash and melon roll and tot trots.
Get a taste of melon ice cream, take a steam locomotive ride, a river boat ride (on Thompson Lake), or perhaps a trolley tour. Try a taste of melon wine, tour the Howell Historical Museum. Add a Fine Art show, sidewalk sales and some interesting activities like a watermelon seed spitting contest, a bubble gum bubble-blowing contest and you’ll find something to do in Howell this weekend. The entire downtown area is the location.
If you’re planning to visit, check the schedule and parking maps first. This is a BIG weekend in Howell, and we want you to have a blast! And if you decide to look for a house in Genoa Township or one of the other nearby areas while you're here, give me a call!
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
July 2011 Market Data
The July data has just been published by our MultiList System (MLS), RealComp II, Ltd. We’re seeing a continuation of trends from earlier in the year, namely, fewer listings, slightly increased sales numbers and a shorter time on the market.
First, listings. Year To Date (YTD) for 2011, we’re 11% below 2010 levels, with 3041 this year compared to 3404 last year. Short sales listings are down a significant 28% comparing July 2011 to July 2010(252 in 2011 vs. 352 in 2010).
Sales of residential units (detached homes and condominiums) are up 7%, or 237 in 2011 vs. 221 in 2010. Pending sales are also up 23% from last year. July 2011 showed the highest average ($173,608) and median ($153,750) sales prices of the year, and both of those indicators are nominally above 2010’s performance.
The time on market (time it takes a listing to sell) is at average of 114 days for 2011 compared to 121 days for 2010. It may not seem like much, but selling your home a week faster can be important to some people. It also means that buyers need to be motivated and move on their choices quicker.
The ‘hot spots’ for sales in Livingston County continue to be Genoa Township, Hamburg Township, Brighton Township, and Green Oak Township, in that order.
Cash sales are way down so far this year, with only 95 being reported. At the end of July 2010, that figure was 415 – a 77% decrease. Land contracts are a little more popular this year, but at 25 sales with those terms, they are still a very small part of the overall financing picture. Conventional mortgages are still the most popular financing method, followed by FHA loans.
First, listings. Year To Date (YTD) for 2011, we’re 11% below 2010 levels, with 3041 this year compared to 3404 last year. Short sales listings are down a significant 28% comparing July 2011 to July 2010(252 in 2011 vs. 352 in 2010).
Sales of residential units (detached homes and condominiums) are up 7%, or 237 in 2011 vs. 221 in 2010. Pending sales are also up 23% from last year. July 2011 showed the highest average ($173,608) and median ($153,750) sales prices of the year, and both of those indicators are nominally above 2010’s performance.
The time on market (time it takes a listing to sell) is at average of 114 days for 2011 compared to 121 days for 2010. It may not seem like much, but selling your home a week faster can be important to some people. It also means that buyers need to be motivated and move on their choices quicker.
The ‘hot spots’ for sales in Livingston County continue to be Genoa Township, Hamburg Township, Brighton Township, and Green Oak Township, in that order.
Cash sales are way down so far this year, with only 95 being reported. At the end of July 2010, that figure was 415 – a 77% decrease. Land contracts are a little more popular this year, but at 25 sales with those terms, they are still a very small part of the overall financing picture. Conventional mortgages are still the most popular financing method, followed by FHA loans.
Monday, August 01, 2011
Higher Rate of Buyer ‘Walk Aways’ Reported in June
An article in yesterday’s Los Angeles Times claims that a very high rate of real estate deals fell apart in June. Factors such as economic concerns, financing requirements and lower than expected appraisal values are leading suspects for the increase in failed housing contracts.
I personally haven’t had many transactions fall apart because of low appraisal values, and often sellers will adjust their selling price downward if a second appraisal supports that lower value.
Another factor is the increase in pending short sales, just the type of transaction that is problematic and often takes months to close. Does the increase in short sale homes under contract have a role to play in this statistic? Perhaps, but more likely it’s a combination of all of the above reasons, and perhaps others.
I had a recent transaction that encountered some lender issues, but nothing that couldn’t be solved. It was a purchase agreement on a foreclosure home owned by Fannie Mae. Of course it needed work and the first-time home buyer had to go with an FHA 203K streamline (rehab) loan. While waiting for two weeks for FNMA to agree to concessions for serious issues found only at inspection, our process became delayed. During that time the appraisal was completed and no value issues found.
We asked for a reasonable extension but FNMA wouldn’t agree. It had to be closed by the end of July, which was quite impossible for the lender. A two week extension would have had us closing in mid-August, but the house went back on the market as a ‘failed’ deal.
Why the stubborn tactics by the seller? My guess is that the asset manager gets dinged on her productivity bonus points for cloings that get extended, but not for failed deals. Of course, that’s just my guess, but other agents that have had similar occurrences feel the same way. How many of those go into the monthly totals under the failed deal category? (We have re-submitted the purchase agreement and are trying to get an acceptance at this time.)
For all of the noise about stabilizing neighborhoods and getting owner occupants into these foreclosed homes, sometimes it may just boil down to the personal motives of an asset manager. If our hunch is true, shame on the institutional sellers that impose these restrictions on the people handling the properties. Of course the asset manager is going to do what’s best for them, especially when they never meet a buyer, lender, selling or listing agent or anybody else at the front end of the transaction. Hey bank reformers – here’s a new niche market for you to examine.
I personally haven’t had many transactions fall apart because of low appraisal values, and often sellers will adjust their selling price downward if a second appraisal supports that lower value.
Another factor is the increase in pending short sales, just the type of transaction that is problematic and often takes months to close. Does the increase in short sale homes under contract have a role to play in this statistic? Perhaps, but more likely it’s a combination of all of the above reasons, and perhaps others.
I had a recent transaction that encountered some lender issues, but nothing that couldn’t be solved. It was a purchase agreement on a foreclosure home owned by Fannie Mae. Of course it needed work and the first-time home buyer had to go with an FHA 203K streamline (rehab) loan. While waiting for two weeks for FNMA to agree to concessions for serious issues found only at inspection, our process became delayed. During that time the appraisal was completed and no value issues found.
We asked for a reasonable extension but FNMA wouldn’t agree. It had to be closed by the end of July, which was quite impossible for the lender. A two week extension would have had us closing in mid-August, but the house went back on the market as a ‘failed’ deal.
Why the stubborn tactics by the seller? My guess is that the asset manager gets dinged on her productivity bonus points for cloings that get extended, but not for failed deals. Of course, that’s just my guess, but other agents that have had similar occurrences feel the same way. How many of those go into the monthly totals under the failed deal category? (We have re-submitted the purchase agreement and are trying to get an acceptance at this time.)
For all of the noise about stabilizing neighborhoods and getting owner occupants into these foreclosed homes, sometimes it may just boil down to the personal motives of an asset manager. If our hunch is true, shame on the institutional sellers that impose these restrictions on the people handling the properties. Of course the asset manager is going to do what’s best for them, especially when they never meet a buyer, lender, selling or listing agent or anybody else at the front end of the transaction. Hey bank reformers – here’s a new niche market for you to examine.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)