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Some people LOVE statistics and some USE statistics in business and in real estate. Grants Pass Association of Realtors® is a GREAT source of STATISTICS as are other Real Estate websites including:
MSN LIFESTYLES, OREGON ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS, AND THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS.
See what you think.
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Tim and Nancy Schmidt Real Estate Brokers Mostly LOCAL STATISTICS FOR JOSEPHINE COUNTY IN SOUTHERN OREGON and SOMETIMES for THE ENTIRE NATION
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SO. OREGON MLS - MONTHLY NAR STATISTICAL REPORT!!! Here are the figures for MAY 2008! The average prices for homes were: 2 Bdrm or less =$191,357 3 Bdrm =$272,745 4 Bdrm or more =$381,279 The Average price for: The 1289 active listings = $363,618 There were 0 Contingency Sales. The 32 Pending Sales = $308,728 The Average Days on the Market: 1 - 30 days = 9 sales 31 - 60 days = 11 sales 61 - 90 days = 12 sales 91 - 120 days = 5sales 121 - 180 days = 10 sales 181+ days = 17 sales Total Units Sold = 64 Average Market Time = 142 days Average Sold Price = $266,813 Most Buyers financed their purchases with 41 Conventional loans overwhelming the 17 Cash Buyers. from: Grants Pass Association of Realtors® Grants Pass, Oregon, 6/06/08. All information herein has not been verified and is not guaranteed.
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IT'S BARGAIN TIME FOR HOMEBUYERS!
In many parts of the country, sellers have finally gotten the message: They can't be so stubborn about their asking prices. For buyers, now's when to find deals. Two years of stormy real estate markets appear to have created an ideal climate for bargain-minded house hunters who know where to look.
Real estate experts say a switch in the psychology of the housing market has helped buyers to see the silver lining around the market's storm clouds and usher in the fine shopping weather.
"We are now in a solid buyer's market," says David Lereah, the chief economist for the National Association of Realtors (NAR). "It has been a seller's market for many years, but now we are seeing people across the country making deals and bringing prices down."
A loss of confidence on the part of real estate investors triggered the psychological switch, he says. "What happened was, investors pulled out in droves, and the housing markets went dead," Lereah says. "When the investors stopped buying, regular buyers got scared."
That fear drove many house hunters to the sidelines, thinking that housing prices would continue to fall and waiting to see what would happen. "At the same time, sellers refused to bring their prices down, and so buyers had no real incentive to get back in the market," Lereah says. "With everybody sitting on the sidelines, the market came to a standstill" sellers conceding.
With a dearth of buyers, sellers eventually realized they would have to make concessions on their sale prices. "Now they are making deals," Lereah says.
If the downturn was simply a product of a short-term panic, things would likely be back to normal by now. But Mickey Levy, the chief economist for the Bank of America, points out that the market is also suffering from an oversupply of homes created by an overzealous home-builder community.
"While demand is picking up, there is still that large supply overhang," he says. "And while the numbers are starting to come up for sales, prices still have a bit to drift before they start rebounding."
With a listless housing market, savvy buyers in many markets across the U.S. are finding themselves in the best position they have been in for nearly a decade when it comes to price negotiations. Levy does warn, however, that not all sellers are in a dealing mood.
"Even though existing-home prices are basically flattish on a national level, I would issue a bit of caution with that number," he says. "Housing is inherently a local market, and national numbers are notorious for not offering an accurate snapshot of what is happening in a particular market."
So, while prices in Southern California and parts of Florida may be down significantly, other markets may still be enjoying healthy price gains.
On the whole, Levy says to expect prices, on average, to drift slightly lower as a function of clearing out excess inventory. And inventory is the key.
One way economists rate home sales is by calculating how many months it would take to sell all the homes listed for sale at the current buying rate. That number determines the housing inventory. According to Lereah, the inventory of existing homes appears to have topped out at 7.4 months' worth of homes on the market. "That's not bad for a contraction. Usually, you would see double-digit inventories, but that didn't happen," Lereah says. "But interestingly, that low number raises eyebrows because everyone is looking for a bursting bubble." A turnaround in a few months?
Though Lereah doesn't think prices have yet hit bottom nationwide, he says he believes there are only a few more months where home prices can fall before turning up again. By the end of the year, he expects appreciation to reach 1.4% nationwide.
The latest housing inventory numbers show 6.8 months' worth of homes on the market in January, but Lereah warns that number may be adjusted upward as more-exact figures become available. "It will probably be closer to seven months when the revised numbers come in. I suspect we will see 6.6 to 6.5 months by year-end," he says. "This takes us to the upper end of normal. As a rule of thumb, 5.5 to six months is a balanced market." But again, Lereah stresses that housing appreciation is uneven nationwide.
"Some areas of the country saw a severe retraction. Places like Southern California, Florida, Washington, D.C., Las Vegas -- they all saw a sharp recession in real estate," he says. "They lost from 15 to 30%."
Though falling prices are bad news for homeowners, homebuyers in those depressed markets are taking a fresh look at those bungalows that were priced out of their reach just a few months ago. "All real estate is local," Lereah says, adding that that phrase will be the title of his new book, expected to come out in April.
By Michael Giusti, Bankrate.com
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The National Association of Realtors® recently published some interesting statistics: How Buyer Found Real Estate Agent Used: Referred by (or is) a friend, neighbor, or relative =43% Used agent previously to buy/sell a house =11% Internet Site =8% Saw contact info on For Sale sign =7% Visited Open House and met agent =6% Referred by another real estate agent/broker =5% Walked into/called office and agent was on duty =4% Information Sources Used in Home Search . Real Estate Agent/Broker - 84% . Internet - 84% . Yard Sign - 59% . Open House - 48% . Home book/magazine - 31% . Builders - 24% . Television - 9% . Billboard - 7% . Relocation Company - 5% Home Buyer & Seller Statistics: Active Home Search (median) Numbers of Weeks Searched - 8 Number of Homes Seen - 9 Method of Home Purchase, By Use of Internet: Agent/Broker - 81% Direct from Builder - 10% Direct from Previous Owner/Buyer didn't know - 5% Definitely would use same agent/broker again - 68% Actions taken as result of using Internet site: Drove by/viewed a home - 73% Walked through a home viewed online - 57% Found Agent/Broker used to search/buy home - 23% Prior Living Arrangement: Owner previous residence - 47% Rented an apartment - 41% Lived with parents, relatives or friends - 9% What Repeat Buyers Want Most from Real Estate Professionals: Help you find the right house to purchase - 53% Help with price negotiations - 13% Tell you what comparable homes are selling for - 11% Help determine how much buyer can afford - 11% Help with paperwork - 8% Help find and arrange financing - 2% Source: 2007 National Association of REALTORS® Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers
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Bank-Owned Homes Continue to Surge
The number of foreclosed home owned by lenders is rising, even though banks are increasingly willing to do what it takes to sell properties.
Lenders and investors in mortgages owned about 660,000 foreclosed homes in April, up from 493,000 in January and 231,000 in January 2007, according to First American CoreLogic, a research firm. That’s one in seven previously owned homes currently for sale nationwide.
Some lenders are cutting prices as often as every 20 days on homes that aren't selling, says David McCarthy, chief executive officer of Integrated Asset Services LLC, a Denver-based company that helps banks value and sell REO homes.
Source: The Wall Street Journal, James R. Hagerty (06/02/08)
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EXISTING HOME SALES EDGE UP 2% IN MAY 2008! Sales of existing homes edged up slightly in May although median home prices continued to fall. The National Association of Realtors® reported that sales of existing single-family homes and condominiums rose by 2% to 4.99 million units last month. It was only the second sales increase in the past 10 months, but it was not viewed as a sustained rebound. from an article in the Grants Pass DAILY COURIER of 06/30/08.
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30-Year Mortgage Rates Down to 6.35% WASHINGTON - Rates on 30-year mortgages, which had been rising for five straight weeks, posted a decline this week as signals from the Federal Reserve eased worries about imminent rate increases. Freddie Mac, the mortgage company, reported Thursday that 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.35% this week. That was down from 6.45% last week, which had been the highest level since last September. The decline pushed the rate to its lowest level in three weeks but it remained above 6%, where it has been since the week of May 29. Frank Nothaft, chief economist at Freddie Mac, said financial markets were relieved with the statement from the Federal Reserve last week that eased concerns about imminent rate hikes. At its regular meeting to set interest rates on June 24 - 25, the central bank brought to an end an aggressive rate-cutting campaign and said that the risks of inflation had increased. However, nothing in the Fed's policy statement hinted that the central bank would start raising rates soon. Many private economists believe the Fed will leave the key short-term rates it controls unchanged for the rest of this year, not wanting to boost rates while the economy remains so weak. By Martin Crutsinger, AP Economics Writer - from an article in the 07/03/08 Grants Pass DAILY COURIER.
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