The Yin and Yang of Livingston County Home Sales

Through the end of May 2011, there have been 2,150 sales in Livingston County. The median sale price is $133,200 and the average sales price is $151,277, as reported by our Multi List System (MLS), Realcomp II, Ltd.

The highest price sale (reported as of today) in the MLS is a 2006-built 4138 sq ft waterfront home in the Hidden Lake Estates community of Green Oak Township. Four bedrooms, four and a half baths, in home theatre, and of course a private dock all come as part of the package. This home was listed at $899,900 and sold for $850,000 with a conventional mortgage on March 31, 2011 after just 39 days on the market. That’s 94.5% of listing price, not bad at all.

The lowest price home sale (excluding a couple of manufactured homes on deeded land and one home that sold for $6,000 and listed as “value in the land”) was listed for $14,900 and sold for $12,200 in 98 days. It was a 1940-built 639 sq ft, 2 bedroom, 1 bath bank-owned home with access to Whitmore Lake. It sold for cash on February 24, 2011 at 81.9% of listing price.

When I look back to 2005, the highest home sale list-sale price ratio was still 94.5%, although the list and sale prices were definitely higher. And there were more of them. In the $500,000 and up range for all of Livingston County through the end of May, we had 36 sales in 2005 compared to the 9 sales in that same price range this year.

Wikipedia says that, “Yin yang are complementary opposites that interact within a greater whole, as part of a dynamic system.” It is also a dominant concept of Feng Shui, something at least familiar to most Real Estate industry workers. It’s really about balance, not ‘left’ or ‘right’, or ‘right’ or ‘wrong’. Regardless of the housing market being up or down, we certainly have opposites within a larger, dynamic system. Personally, I’d love a little more balance.

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.