South Lyon Market Update Week of Feb 1, 2016

Here's this week's market update for the South Lyon area.

Inventory - 222 units

New Listings last 7 days - 24

Sold last 7 days - 11

For the 11 solds, the average sales price was $293,182 which turns out to be $150/sq ft.  This is higher than typical and the data is skewed by an $800,000 sale.  The 11 solds were on the market for an average of 86 days.

There are 12 rentals available in the multilist (MLS), but remember that apartments, property managers and many individual landlords/investors do not use the multilist, either.  There are more rentals out there, but you can't find them all in one place like you do with homes for sale.

My take on this week's South Lyon market update?  Sellers  - This is a good time to beat the competition and get that home listed. Don't wait until Spring.  South Lyon is a particularly good area for new construction, but existing homes sell well, too.

Buyers - be sure you have a solid pre-approval, then start working with a full-time real estate pro.  You'll want to get into new listings quickly, and be prepared to write that offer without delay, or risk being disappointed.  Inventory is lighter this time of year, especially in the lower priced homes ($250K and under).  Interest rates did not take the small 'bump' most industry observers expected after the Fed raised rates in December 2015, but this may be more due to a robust bond market as stocks have dropped.  Mortgage rates are much more affected by bonds than they are by the stock market.

I hope you find this week's South Lyon market update interesting.  If you have questions about the South Lyon area, or Michigan real estate in general, please give me a call at 810-220-1478.

Ask For An Invitation To A Personal Home Buying Class

Free Personal Home Buying Class

Because you are thinking about buying a home, and you may be a bit nervous sitting in a room full of strangers, I’m offering a personal home buying class.

There’s no obligation for this free one hour overview of the home buying process, and we’ll schedule it at a mutually convenient time.  After this session, you’ll have an improved understanding about buying a home. You will learn about potential challenges and pitfalls, discover how to manage them, and understand the most powerful concepts of the home buying process. As a bonus, you’ll receive my exclusive, free Home Buyer Information Kit.

Sometimes prospective home buyers haven’t compared loan types or are unaware of available mortgage loan programs that are beneficial.  For this reason, you can choose to have an experienced mortgage lender attend to answer specific financing questions.

Work with full-time, experienced professionals to get the best results.  We know how to help you get on the road to celebrating your first anniversary in your new home at this time next year! Contact me today at 810-220-1478 or through my facebook page at: http://www.facebook.com/MichiganRE

Closed Sales – Financing Types Through September 2012

We’ve all heard some recurring sound bites about this year’s housing market in SE Michigan and especially in Livingston County. Inventory and time on market are down, average and median sales prices are up, and the total number of sales is up.


While I am a very active listing agent, I also work with buyers. And I know from my experience as well as discussions with other agents that it’s difficult to find a financeable house in the $125,000 and under price range. If you do find a house that’s ‘ready to go’ you can be sure there will be multiple offers. If it needs some work, it likely won’t qualify for government loan programs – FHA and USDA Rural Development. And of course, these are the programs that many people need to enter the housing market.

Instead of repeating this past month’s stats, I delved into the difference between the kinds of loan instrument used for January through September 2011 vs. the same period in 2012. Here’s what I found.

Cash sales went up only nominally YTD. They represented a little over 23% of total sales in 2011 and are a little over 24% in 2012. Since cash purchasers come largely from investor-owners, is this showing us that investor action is leveling off? Hard to say, but certainly the lower inventory likely has a role to play in this market segment.

Conventional mortgage sales went up from 34.4% YTD in 2011 to 37.45% YTD in 2012. With mortgage rates at an almost ridiculous historic low  I would have expected more of this type of sale, but first-time buyers usually don’t qualify for a conventional mortgage, so they likely have little representation in this segment.

All FHA loan sales (includes the FHA 203K renovation program) dropped from 24.61% in 2011 to 21.5% this year. And the USDA Rural Development program loan sales went up slightly from 7.5% of all sales in 2011 to 8.58% in 2012. When you combine the FHA and USDA RD programs, my stats show that they were a combined 32.12% of sales in 2011 and represent a lower 30.1% usage in 2012. So at least in this market, closings with government loans are down on a percentage basis.

My personal experience with FHA and Rural Development buyers has been that the properties appraise at a value of or above their sale price, but the underwriters for government loans are being very, very picky, in some cases bordering on the insane. I know that there are a lot of buyers out there that are pre-qualified for these programs, but finding a home that is in financeable condition is tough. And banks have been slow to correct the deficiencies needed for the financing of foreclosure properties, even if it’s only a few thousand dollars in repairs.

If you’re considering a home sale or purchase, please call me for a confidential meeting to discuss your goals. I’d love to help you with your real estate needs. Let me put my market knowledge to work for you.

Recent Genoa Township Sales

Here’s a list of the sales in Genoa Township for the first week of March 2012 (March 1-March 8).


$485,000 – 5861 Hartford Way, Pine Creek Ridge

This was a new build that sold quickly. It’s listed as 1 day on the market and was listed at $399,900. My guess it went under contract earlier in the construction process and the buyers wanted some upgrades that increased its value. It’s great to see more new construction popping up in the area again. Brighton schools.

$236,000 – 5440 Sharp, East Crooked Lakefront

This was my listing and it sold in 15 days for $16,000 OVER list price. Pretty deplorable condition and it took a lot of groveling to get the bank to list it in ‘as in’ condition, but it received multiple offers because there’s just not any Crooked Lakefront property out there. Both were cash, as-is offers. It got 18 showings in the first 10 days! Normally, I’m pleased to have banks do rehab work on foreclosures to make them more marketable, but they would have lost money on this one and it was very likely a new owner would do massive remodeling anyway. It really needed an owner that would be able to see beyond its current condition to see its potential. Howell schools.

$146,000 – 6369 Sundance Trail, Prairie View Hills

This was another foreclosure, first listed at $166,900. Owned by Fannie Mae (FNMA), it sold in 48 days, but at a $20,000+ discount from list price. Its last sale showing in the MLS was in 2004 for $278,900. That’s quite a discount, even for a 1974-built home. Brighton schools.

If you want to buy a Genoa Township home, give me a call. I’d love to help you.

Holiday Spirit in Howell Michigan

OK, I admit it. I’m a big proponent of shopping local. I don’t care if you’re from Waterford or Birmingham, Ann Arbor or Brighton – patronize your local shops.


A couple of weeks ago, some business owners in Brighton got together and made a video about just that topic.

Now we have a great promo video of being in downtown Howell during the Holidays. A lot of video was shot during the Fantasy of Lights Parade (which everybody should see at least once!) and really gives you the feeling of shopping in a downtown area.

Big box stores and malls are fine for some things, but don’t forget about the folks who work right there on your Main Street. They usually do a lot more for your community than the big franchises (sorry, corporate policy doesn’t let us do that) and they really are more a part of your town than the big outfits.

Make a pledge to yourself that you’ll do at least some of your shopping at the smaller, local businesses this year. And while you’re in your downtown, why don’t you stop at a local restaurant for lunch or an appetizer and try something new?