Howell Real Estate News Apr 20 2016

Here’s the latest.  Inventory is just starting to improve, but so are the sales, so we’re not seeing much of a net increase – yet.  There are still a lot of expired listings, too.  Hopefully they will be back on the market in the next month or so.

Year to date we’ve seen 268 units sold at an average price of $208,060, or $117 per square foot.  This is a pretty typical number for Howell, but remember that new construction, lakefront homes and homes on large acreage will fall well outside this value.

Homes are still selling reasonably fast, 73 days on average since the 1^st of the year.

What’s it all mean?

Buyers still have to move quickly when they find a property they like.  I had multiple offers on a really low end property last week and the purchaser that prevailed moved quickly compared to the other interested parties.

Sellers, you still have a strategic advantage to list now instead of waiting for a month or two.  Take advantage of the lower competition and the buyer demand that is there now.  Interested about your home’s value? https://youtu.be/QFNTOL-qtps

Watch this week’s video here for a few more nuggets of info.  Feel free to call me at 810-220-1478 with questions.  Download the presentation in pdf format here.  

South Lyon Real Estate News April 7 2016

I'm starting to feel somewhat like a time loop.  Over and over and over again.  South Lyon inventory is flat.  No significant difference since the first of the year with 211 units currently available.

New listings have also been flat since the middle of March with 25 new listings in the last 7 days.  Time on the market for the 14 solds last week has slightly lengthened, now at an average of 98 days, although the median time on market is a more reasonable 70 days.

The average sales price last week was $304,547 or $134/square foot, pretty typical for this market area.

Market insights?  Sellers, don't wait for the warmer weather to list unless you have exterior work to do on the house.  Buyer demand is healthy with lower inventory, especially in the $350,000 and under price points.

Buyers, please work with a full-time local agent that knows your market inside out and backwards.  Any licensee can complete a purchase agreement, but how many of them can help you with getting all the info you need to make the best decision possible?  

You can watch my video report here or get a copy of the full market statistics and last week's new listings here.

Bob Smith has 17 years experience working the South Lyon real estate market.  Call for a home valuation.

Howell Condo Market – Buyers Market!

Whether you’re a Real Estate Professional or an interested consumer, you’ve likely noted that the condo market is glutted and has more potential deals than the larger total housing market.

Looking at condominiums that are located in the two Howell, MI zip codes (48843 and 48855) we can see how badly condos are faring in the current economy.

In calendar year 2007, there were 55 condominium sales recorded in the RealComp MLS. They showed an average sales price of $127,756, a median sales price of $120,000, and a total sales volume (total sales dollars for all 55 sales) of $7,026,554.

In 2008 (through 12/14/08), there were 48 sales with an average sales price of $85,543, a median sales price of $82,950 and a total sales volume of $4,106,053.

These are tremendous one-year drops in value by any standard. The average sales price is down 33%, the median is down almost 31% and the sales volume has dropped over 41%! To make it worse, with 214 units available in these areas right now, there is over a 53 month supply of condominiums (214 available divided by 48 sales this year for 12 months, or an average of 4 sales/mo).

Foreclosed unit sales in this area have tripled, from 6 in 2007 to 18 in 2008.

New construction has essentially stopped, and some builders/developers have either lost unsold units to foreclosure, gone bankrupt, or both. Homeowners in some condo associations are having a myriad of issues to handle, too.

If the development has not had enough units sold to invest the residents as Association Board members, the developer retains control. Some Associations are finding that while they’ve paid their monthly dues, services are not being performed (snow plowing, landscaping) because there’s not enough money in the fund.

Developers often base the starting dues on a certain number of sales per year and a maximum build out time. They may even stipend some of the early costs to get new sales in their communities. When the sales stop and there are many units left to build, it’s bad for everyone.

Built-out, established communities are also grappling with the loss of monthly dues due to bank-owned properties. When a condo goes into foreclosure, those dues stop (often dues are one of the first payment to be deferred when owners get into financial trouble, even before foreclosure). If your association is working on a tight budget and the number of foreclosed properties keeps climbing, it can really hurt the whole community. Banks do pay these back dues at closing, but it certainly creates a short-term budget crunch for the association.

There are definite deals out there in the condo market, but remember to do your homework before you commit yourself. If you’re considering a unit in a development that has a lot of empty sites, be extra careful. Once you analyze the Association budget, it may still be worth pursuing, but make sure you’ve got as much information as possible on which to base your decision.

Market Observations For Howell Zip Code 48843

For homes in the Howell zip code 48843 (basically the Howell area south of M-59), there are some interesting contrasts between 2007 and 2008.

The total number of homes sold are pretty close, 370 in 2007 (through 12/31/07) vs. 378 in 2008 (through 12/4/2008). The fact that the total number of sales has remained pretty constant is a good sign by itself. With lenders getting tougher on loan requirements, required down payments and more underwriting scrutiny it shows that there are still buyers out there looking for homes - and they're able to buy!

If we look at just the foreclosed (also known as bank-owned or REO) homes, the picture is more grim. In 2007, there were 47 bank-owned home sales of the 370 total, or about 13%. For 2008, we’ve seen 115 bank-owned home sales out of the 378 total, or 30%. That’s more than double last year’s rate and this year’s data is not complete at this point.

The median price dropped from $209,750 to $170,000 (a 19% reduction) for those same time periods. That’s a huge drop in value, undoubtedly influenced by the higher number of foreclosures. But there’s also the fact that owner-occupied homes are dropping in price, too, as the entire housing market loses value.

The time to sell a home went down– from 145 days in 2007 to 134 in 2008 So, homes that sold did so about 8% faster in 2008 - a small bright spot, anyway.

If you absolutely have to sell, expect to take a hit from what your home was worth 2 years ago. At least 20%-25% is not uncommon, and it may be even more.

December 2007 and Year-End Market Report

(c) 2008, Robert Smith
Analyzing data released by the RealComp multi-list system to its members, it appears that Livingston County finished 2007 with an small upswing.

While homes (single-family houses and condominiums) on the market were down by almost 7% from the same period in 2006 (419 homes vs. 450), total listings on the market, which includes vacant land, multi-family and commercial listings, were dead even (4698 for 2007 vs. 4695 in 2006).

In December, there was a slight rebound in both the average and median sale prices. While these are only good as a larger view, it's encouraging to see increases at the end of the year in these indicators. Comparing 2007 to 2006, the median price showed an overall drop of 8.6% from $215,667 in 2006 to $197,195 in 2007.

Houses fell from $218,900 median sale price in 2006 to $190,000 in 2007, and condominiums took a much larger hit, going from $155,000 in 2006 to $104,000 in 2007. Vacant land prices also fell dramatically, but on a significantly smaller sales (dollar) volume. This is probably due to the massive decrease in new home construction.

Another postiive indicator was in the monthly residential sales totals. Both November and December 2007 showed increases vs. the same two months in 2006, 145 in Nov 2007 vs. 130 in 2006 and 135 sales in Dec 2007 vs. 125 in 2006. The year finished with a 10.4% drop in total residential sales. The sales volume (total dollar value of all sales) fell 19.1% in this last calendar year.

We saw a lot of value drop in this last year. My personal opinion is that we'll see another 6% loss in value in calendar year 2008 in the County. In addition to more foreclosures coming into the market, tightening credit, increased scrutiny by lenders and more rigid borrower requirements may make home loans difficult to obtain for many potential buyers, even though the overall interest rates remain very good.

If you absolutely, positively have to sell your home now or at any point in 2008 be prepared to take a lot less than your last refinance or mortgage appraisal value. I'm sorry, but there it is. A full-time local Realtor that keeps their eye on market conditions in the various Livingston County home market areas (Cities, Villages, Townships and School Districts) and price ranges will be your best bet to maximize your selling price.

Buyers are poised to find some value in this market providing that they can meet the tougher new lender requirements to obtain financing. It's still possible to get 100% financing through FHA loans, but almost all other loan types are going to require some money out of your pocket. As home values continue to fall, this buyer's market will persist through 2008.