Yes, its A Bad Market for Selling Homes.., for most people.

Although I happen to live in an area that has seen continued 4-7% growth and raising home prices non stop this year, how about if we look at statistics and trends that are reported by other reputable sources.

A few links tell the story, with concluding comments that you DO NOT want to miss out on.., it may be the the answer for a limited few who get it.

1. Wall Street Journal - U.S. home prices were falling in every region of the country in September, according to a closely watched index of home prices released Tuesday… See story at: www.realestatejournal.com/buysell/markettrends/20071127-nutting.html?refresh=on  (*partial quote below)

*Here are the year-over-year nominal price changes for the 20 cities covered by the index:

Tampa, down 11.1%; Miami, down 10%; Detroit, down 9.6%: San Diego, down 9.6%; Las Vegas, down 9%; Phoenix, Ariz., down 8.8%; Los Angeles, down 7%; Washington, D.C., down 6.6%; San Francisco, down 4.6%; Minneapolis, down 4.5%; Cleveland, down 4%; New York, down 3.6%; Boston, down 3.2%; Chicago, down 2.5%; Denver, Colo., down 0.9%; Dallas, up 0.2%; Atlanta, up 0.4%; Portland, Ore., up 2.2%; Charlotte, up 4.7%; and Seattle, up 4.7%.

2. S&P - The S&P/Case-Shiller® Home Price Indices measures the residential housing market, tracking changes in the value of the residential real estate market in 20 metropolitan regions across the United States. These indices use the repeat sales pricing technique to measure housing markets. See story at: www2.standardandpoors.com/portal/site/sp/en/us/page.topic/indices_csmahp/0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,1,0,0,0,0,0.html 

3. For the first time in nearly thirteen years, U.S. Government posted online a report which shows that…, home prices experienced a quarterly decline. The OFHEO House Price Index (HPI), which is based on data from sales and refinance transactions, was 0.4 percent lower in the third quarter than in the second quarter of 2007. www.ofheo.gov/media/pdf/3q07hpi.pdf 


4. Queens Gazette - Residential: The news you’ve been reading over the past year is either grossly overstated or just plain wrong. There has been no crash in real estate pricing and only in certain select markets has there been a bubble that has now mostly deflated. www.qgazette.com/news/2006/1227/features/020.html 


5. The Canadians see the real estate market as being up; www.scotiacapital.com/English/bns_econ/retrends.pdf 


  On the UP side, there is a way out for many. Here is one true story: I just talked with a client today  who’s home has not sold, but it appears to her to be priced right. I had told her when it was listed 3 months ago what the sale price would have to be to get a sale, in view of our CMA which was $189,000 but she listed it at $229,000 because that is what she "needed" to get out of it. But as many do… she hoped someone would come along and just fall in love with her wonderful home that she had spent so much time and love fixing up. All the explaining in the world did not help. However now that time has passed and she is now listening, she has discovered that due to what she has spent on the home ...it is priced higher than the average home similar to hers that sold in her area. Although this area is seeing a bit of a raise in general, overpriced homes will never sell. But, ...she can rent it out!

  Turning your home into a rental can be a workable solution. Rent it out for a few years or until the market it better. Its better than a foreclosure or total loss. How can you get a bit more rent than the average similar home? Its called Rent-to-Own. Give the renters a hope of being able to buy your home in time and be fair with them. I did two of these just in the past few months on my own homes. I show them the Bank statements and ask if they can afford to pay that amount, after all… I have to pay it. Those that agree are generally paying more than the usual rent in the end but they also have the option to buy the home. I preset a “Locked in Price” for the renter that will not change for a whole year. If equity and value go up, its to their benefit. If not they can opt to rent for another year etc.

As for me, the market is great. Although we sold fewer homes this year, we own a residential Property Management company and rentals are all full. People must live somewhere as babies continue to be born. If people are not buying, they are renting. For those who want more, click here for a few examples and details on what Emily and I have done lately with 4 homes and a Duplex we bought in just the past few months.

Its just my two cents worth.

-Don