House Hunters Are Running Out Of Time To Act
Readers suggested a topic on the house buying season. “Anyone want to talk about seasonal issues? Not just holiday shopping, but a general discussion about what the onset of another winter season with even lower interest rates and a ton of shadow inventory will bring and maybe even what we are seeing with rents. I think this is a discussion influenced by location to a certain extent. I’m probably going to sign a 2 year lease in a few weeks to lock in a 3% increase for the year after next (will be 4% for next year). Saw a newspaper article earlier today that the October retail numbers weren’t great and retail might be getting nervous for the holidays.”
“We’ve talked about ‘duration’ issues before, and it is another 5 months before the north is back in prime listing/selling season again.”
A reply, “Here in Tucson, the snowbird season is about to crank up in earnest. These birds land in seasonal nests all over town — short-term and extended-stay hotels, B&Bs, apartments, guest houses, friends’ extra bedrooms, etc.. They also spend quite a bit of money.”
“I’ve heard that the past few winters were a bit of a disappointment as far as sales of goods and services to snowbirds are concerned. What’s predicted for this winter? I don’t know, but I’ll monitor the situation for y’all.”
The Wichita Eagle in Kansas. “National and regional home sales slipped predictably in September as the peak summer sales period waned, according to an index by the National Association of Realtors that measures pending sales. Lawrence Yun, the NAR’s chief economist, said in a statement that the housing market is being constrained. ‘A combination of weak consumer confidence and continued tight lending criteria held back home buyers, even though the private sector added nearly 2 million net new jobs in the past 12 months,’ he said.”
“Nonetheless, Wichita brokers are happy with the beginning of the slow season. ‘We always expect a slower period right now,’ said Willie Kihle, president of Prudential Dinning-Beard Realtors in Wichita. ‘And August was a very good month for us, so it’s not unusual here for a good month to be followed by a little slower month.’”
“‘We’re up over last year, and we’re very pleased to be holding our own,’ said Penny Johnson of Keller Williams Signature Partners in Wichita. ‘The market isn’t booming, but it’s not dead either. I think people are always going to need to move,’ she said. ‘Marriage, jobs, things like that.’”
“Nationally, Yun is calling for higher loan limits and urging banks to loan more money to stimulate the market. ‘America’s monetary policy is contradictory and confusing, where some consumers with the best financial capacity and top-notch credit scores pay higher mortgage interest rates,’ he said in his statement. ‘Just leaving excessive cash to sit in banks and not work into the economy is a drag on the overall recovery. We need a comprehensive approach to address housing issues — not additional impediments.’”
The Daily News in Washington. “Record-low mortgage rates weren’t able to stimulate sluggish home sales in Cowlitz County in October, the Northwest MLS reported. Real-estate agents sold 48 homes, down 20 percent from the 60 sales September. Last October, 45 homes were sold in Cowlitz County. ‘There’s nobody that had a good month. The malaise, I think, is just everywhere,’ said Gerry Flaskerud, broker/ owner of Longview-based Coldwell Banker Bain.
“Flaskerud noted that most Western Washington counties also had a slow sales month, which he attributed to buyer uncertainty about the national economy. Prices in Cowlitz County remained low in October, with the median falling about 7.5 percent, to $134,000, NMLS reported. The county’s median price was $145,000 in September and $149,900 in October last year.”
“Sales of foreclosure homes continued to drag down prices: About 34 percent of last month’s sales were bank-owned homes, according to Kathy Thompson of Longview-based Kathy & Steve Real Estate Inc. Total inventory fell to 533 in October, the lowest of the year. Sellers tend to start pulling their homes off the market as the holiday season grows near, then try to sell again in the new year, Flaskerud said.”
From What House in the UK. “The clocks going back is a sure sign that winter is on its way and house hunters hoping to make their move before the start of the festive season are running out of time to act. The latest discount from Bett Homes in Scotland will catch many homebuyers’ eyes: a massive £34,000 drop in price for luxury family homes at Academy Grove, the company’s prestigious development of new homes in East Dunbartonshire.”
“The five-bedroom ‘Sandringham’ homes have been reduced to £730,000 from £764,000, are ready to move into and, as a special offer to anyone reserving in November, come complete with landscaped gardens, carpets and curtains. With a sales and marketing suite open on site seven days a week, there’s ample opportunity for house hunters to visit the site and talk to the Bett Homes team in person in time to complete their move before Santa comes knocking.”
“‘This is a fantastic opportunity to move into a new family home in time for Christmas and with the price of these outstanding properties now reduced by £34,000 there will be no need to cut back on the Christmas shopping!’ says Bett Homes’ sales and marketing director, Grace Brownlow.”
From China Daily. “A taste for the good things in life is feeding China’s burgeoning home decoration market. ZARA, from Spain, is not alone among big foreign or Taiwan-based home decorating and household goods retailers looking to cash in on a market awash with cashed up, fashion-conscious buyers, particularly in the midst of a real estate boom, even if that is now cooling.”
“Harbor House, based in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, started in 2008 and has opened 15 outlets in China, the latest over 1,740 square meters in Shenyang, Liaoning province, last month. ‘We are familiar with the changes in the home decorating industry in the US,’ says Ji Qing, general manager of Harbor House. ‘Seeing the rapid development of real estate in China in 2007, we saw the chance for interior decoration. People admire fashionable products and have the money to do so.’”
“Wang, who works in a bank in Beijing, spent more than 300,000 yuan in Harbor House for his 400-square-meter villa in Shunyi district in Beijing two years ago. ‘I like its sofas, beds and interior decorations,’ he says. ‘They are tidy and simple. Even now I often go to the stores at Shin Kong Place and Financial Street to buy paintings, lamps and lanterns and other small items. Last month I brought back some plastic flowers that cost about 2,000 yuan.’”
Sunshine Coast Daily in Australia. “Melbourne Cup day has been and gone and with it came the Reserve Bank’s decision to reduce the official cash rate by 0.25%. This is widely regarded as a well deserved relief for mortgage holders and property investors. The big question is how will this affect the property market here on the Sunshine Coast.”
“Luke Carter of Amber Werchon Property Caloundra says that with summer on its way and many economists predicting further rate cuts in the future, this can only mean positive things for the Coast’s property market. While there are no immediate drivers for property prices to increase in the short term there has been a lift in transactions in recent weeks as as buyers see value in Sunshine Coast property. These are the first signs of recovery, Luke said, and a good indication that the bottom of the market may be right now, if it has not already been.”
“It’s much the same message at Noosa. Dowling & Neylan principal Dan Neylan said that while people continue to put away money in banks the the smart money is buying, including the top end properties. What’s that telling you? Mr Neylan asked. People are moving on the good buys now.”
“Independent auctioneer Jason Andrew said there are an increased number of buyers who are ready and willing to act, but unwilling to pay a premium.”
“Frank Gentile of Costa Constructions believes that now is the right time for people thinking of building to stop sitting on their hands and take advantage of the market conditions. He said the number of building suppliers and tradespeople has decreased dramatically since the GFC due to a variety of reasons yet the attraction of working in the mining areas is the latest. We are seeing an increasing amount of manual labour being shifted to the mines in Queensland and Western Australia. The remaining suppliers and tradies are the ones that are well embedded into our local economy and are doing exceptional work and at the right price due to the economic conditions to keep afloat.”
“This means that at the moment, it is the right time to build a new home. Exceptional work at an exceptional price. The hazard of waiting too long is that once the confidence starts to change the demand increases, backlogs will start to occur and by the simple laws of supply and demand, prices will start to increase.”
