Just wanted to give you the inside track on the effect on our local housing due to the new administration.  Some of you may remember that in January, I shared a prediction that some areas of Washington, D.C. would benefit greatly from the influx of young professionals coming to work for President Obama’s team.  It had been reported that the “best and the brightest” would turn from finance jobs in New York and make Washington, D.C. their homes as they joined the junior ranks of the new administration.  Local residents and real estate agents braced for what was sure to be a sharp increase in the sales of condos in the areas that most appeal to this segment of the population. 

But it didn’t happen.

If what we expected in Washington, D.C. was an immediate impact — i.e., quick buying decisions — from these new transplants, it just didn’t happen.  January and February sales were very slow, and prices continued to decline each month.  Beginning in March, we have seen an increase in the number of sales, but prices are still on a downward trend.  Washington, D.C. is also facing an increased volume of foreclosed properties and some suggest that this phenomenon is nowhere near its end.  Banks may even be holding back on listing foreclosed properties, fearing that this market will only yield rock bottom prices.   So, when the market does begin to show slight improvement, there is some expectation that the inventory could increase due to the release of these foreclosed homes.

So has the Obama Administration had an impact on the sale of housing in the Washington, D.C. area? Continue reading this post

March pending home sales in the Sarasota, Florida market rose by an unexpected 3.2 percent. Some believe that the southwest Florida real estate market might be forming a bottom. Pending single family homes in Sarasota and Manatee counties are currently near 2,500. Condos for the same area are near 750.

The increase in sales is largely due to falling home prices. Buyers who couldn’t buy in 2004 and 2005 are finding some tremendous deals out there right now. As sellers adjust themselves to the realities of the current market, buyers are responding.

Some consider this a perfect storm for buyers. There are plenty of properties to choose from, many distressed sellers, interest rates are historically low and prices have retraced dramatically.  

Realtors are also seeing what seemed a bygone boom phenomenon: multiple-offer situations. It is not uncommon to put a property on the market at an aggressive asking price and immediately receive multiple offers.

Let’s compare 2008 and 2009 home sales in Sarasota, FL: Continue reading this post

The Denver real estate market of existing home sales for March 2009 shows signs of hope and strength for the year looking forward.  While still not fairing as good as last year, the Denver Metro remains towards the top of many lists of desirable U.S. cities to live, work, and play in a number of recently published surveys.

Combined residential sales volume, including single-family homes, townhomes and condos, for March was 3,206 properties, up 29.07% from February.  Temper this with the fact that sales are still down 13.56% from March of 2008, per Metrolist Inc., Denver’s Multiple Listing Service.

There were 4,826 homes under contract last month.  This includes 3,907 single-family homes and 919 condos and townhouses.  This is an overall increase of 15.37% from February, but down 17.84% from year-prior last March.

In March, the Denver MLS IDX held 20,628 homes for sale, an increase of 2.84% from the prior month, down 19.16% from the same time last year.  The average home sales price was $232,395, an increase of 6.60%, down 8.51% from a year ago.  Homes remained on the market 106 days on average in March which is down less than one% and down 4.37% from the year over year.

Breaking it down, single-family home sales were 2,590 last month, up nearly 29% from February and down 12.23% year-prior March.  Houses sold for an average of $251,583 in March, a 6.19% increase from the prior month, but an 8.41% decrease over the previous year.  

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The San Francisco Rent Board sets price controls on residential housing effectively acting as a price ceiling, except when an apartment becomes vacant. Then the owner/manager can bring rents up to market rate. If the unit was occupied for 10 or even 20 years, eventual increases to the prevailing market rate represents a spike in cash flow. 

In fact when a building with long standing tenants comes up for sale it’s a great selling point. It’s not hard to see future value when you are looking at a few units renting for $350 that would easily rent in today’s market for $1,500.

Not Everything Is Rent Controlled

In San Francisco, limits to rent increases are mandated and administered by the Rent Board with some exceptions:

1. New Construction: Mandated by state law, all building constructed after June of 1979 are exempted
2. Subsidized Housing: such as HUD housing projects.
3. Dorms, monastery’s and nunnery’s
4. Residential Hotels: If you have less than 28 days of continuous tenancy.

How it Works

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I get a lot of homebuyer inquiries from my website and one common theme from all of them is their desire to ‘find a great deal.’ Regardless of price range, virtually every potential buyer that I communicate with mentions either ‘foreclosure’, ‘short sale’, or ‘deal’.

I am sure most of you know what a foreclosure is but sometimes I run into people who don’t know what short sale means. Essentially, a short sale occurs when the proceeds of a real estate sale are insufficient to cover the liens or financial obligations owed on the property.

For example, if a home is worth $500,000 and the homeowner has a $600,000 mortgage on the property and the owner cannot make up the difference then a short sale is required. For a sale to take place the mortgage holder would have to agree to take less than what is owed to them due to an economic or financial hardship on the part of the borrower.

This process can take months to accomplish. If you are looking to purchase a property in short sale make sure you have plenty of time and patience. If you need to move into a home quickly it might be best to exclude short sales from your list.

Below are some Sarasota foreclosures and short sale statistics:

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There is a buzz in the air in Brooklyn right now which seems to be pointing to a busy Brooklyn real estate market for 2009. With today’s swearing in of Barack Obama the predominant feel in Brooklyn is one of hope and excitement. I believe this will have a positive effect on consumer confidence, especially with regard to buying a home in 2009.

As I stated in my previous Brooklyn, NY regional blog entries, record low mortgage rates combined with the correction that has taken place in home prices over the past year makes for many opportunities for a purchaser to get a great deal!

So far in January the market has been brisk. We have had a great surge of online consumers making inquiries on properties listed on the major “online” real estate portals. There has been a big response to our open house marketing; we had one property in Park Slope where we had 25 home buyers show up in a two hour time period. As usual, motivated buyers and sellers (and dare I say real estate agents) are making deals happen.

The main thing I stress to my agents is to pre-qualify their homebuyers, make sure they are educated about monthly carrying costs and then show them every single solitary property that is within their price range. Do not worry about meeting the purchaser’s expectations; simply show them everything out there and then some. The serious buyers will then pick the home that best meets their needs.

We just finished compiling our numbers for 2008. Sales volume for my company was down, but only by 3%, which relatively speaking is great (teetering on awesome). This is due to the fact that

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