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picky buyers

6 ways buyers have changed since the housing bubble

September 25, 2018 By Ryan Lundquist 16 Comments

There’s lots of focus on how home prices have changed since the previous “bubble”, but let’s talk about how buyers have changed. Here’s some observations. What else have you noticed?

1) More picky: During the previous housing “bubble” buyers seemed so desperate to purchase that they pulled the trigger on about anything, but they’re much more discerning these days. Of course let’s remember underwriting has changed dramatically though too. In the past many properties flew through the loan process without hardly any scrutiny, but lenders today are incredibly strict, which has certainly propelled a more picky feeling in the market.

2) More patient: Despite a housing shortage buyers aren’t willing to pull the trigger on junk. They’re simply more patient for the right house and they want to make an informed purchase (and even feel like they’re getting a good deal where possible too).

3) More informed: Just as the “bubble” began to pop we had companies like Zillow and Redfin coming to the forefront. Well, now they are household names and buyers are basically obsessed. Seriously, buyers scour these sites day and night, and they know about every single new listing, price reduction, and sale. This doesn’t mean buyers don’t make value mistakes still, but it does mean they are more informed than EVER about prices. At the same time, guess who is not looking at Zillow as much? Sellers. This is a huge issue because it means sellers are not as in tune with the market these days, which means they’re prone to overprice.

4) Financial mistakes: Buyers remember the pain of financial turmoil in the past, so they’re sensitive to repeating mistakes. For instance, I talked with a buyer considering purchasing the highest-priced listing in a neighborhood, but he’s concerned we’re at the top of the market. This buyer asked, “If a buy right now and the market turns, would it be possible I’d have to hold on to the house for 10 years before values come back?”

5) Higher expectations about condition: These days buyers have higher expectations about homes being in good condition. In other words they are much more picky about properties that are not in “move-in” shape or upgraded. Wait, there aren’t granite counters? What the? There could be many reasons for this, but I think heightened investor flipping activity played a huge role. In a fairly short period of time investors had a gluttonous real estate feast by purchasing an avalanche of bank-owned homes, rehabbing them, and selling them. This helped quickly upgrade the housing stock, and also widen the price gap in some areas. What I mean is values used to be very tight together as you can see in the graph below, but now the price spectrum is simply wider since buyers are willing to pay more for rehabbed homes in today’s market. I’m not saying this dynamic is in every neighborhood, but I definitely see it in quite a few areas.

6) Less cash-out refinances: Everyone and their Mom had a boat before the “bubble” burst because people were using their house like an ATM to buy toys. Well, today we don’t have that dynamic (image from Leonard Kiefer). Home owners are clearly cashing out less, which makes them sound financially wise, but let’s realize lending guidelines have changed to make it more difficult to ATM your house. Moreover, many owners are sitting on 3% interest rates, so why the heck would they trade pulling out cash for a much higher rate?

NOTE: I updated this post with “more informed” above after Peter left a stellar comment (thanks). This is such a big point. I can’t believe I didn’t mention it while writing this, but it didn’t come to mind at the moment. The irony is I’ve been talking about this in other posts and in person so much lately. Ha. Well, it’s fixed now.

I hope that was interesting or helpful.

MARKET UPDATE VIDEO: A few days back I did a screencast to talk through trends. Lots of people are wondering if the market is tanking or softening, so I wanted to pitch in two cents. Well, the video is actually 20 minutes (there’s lots to say). Anyway, give it a view if you’d like here (or below).

SPEAKING GIGS: If you’re around, I’m doing a blogging class on October 11th at SAR. I’ll be speaking at the AI’s 2018 Fall Conference in San Francisco on October 19th and AppraiserFest in San Antonio on Nov 1-3.

Questions: What else do you think has changed about buyers since the “bubble” burst? Any stories to share? I’d love to hear your take.

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Filed Under: Resources Tagged With: appraisers in Sacramento, buyers picky about condition, buyers picky about upgrades, change in buyers, change since housing bubble, finicky buyers, granite counters, higher expectations, House Appraiser, Housing Bubble, informed buyers, patient buyers, picky buyers, price sensitive market, quartz counters, Redfin, Sacramento Home Appraisal, trend graph, unrealistic sellers, wider market in sacramento, Zillow

The problem of overpricing in real estate

July 5, 2018 By Ryan Lundquist 15 Comments

Overpricing is a problem. You’d think in such a “hot” market that it wouldn’t be an issue, but it is. I’m not trying to dog sellers, but let’s talk about some of the most common pricing mistakes right now. I hope this helps.

1) Getting married to the list price: Sometimes it’s like sellers get married to a lofty list price and become unwilling to budge – even when buyers are refusing to pay that much. It’s as if sellers get paralyzed and cannot move beyond a clearly unrealistic price. My advice? Listen to the market and budge on price as needed.

2) I need this amount to move: I’ve encountered a few sellers recently who priced based on how much money they needed to move. But the market doesn’t care about personal finances or plans. The market only cares about paying a reasonable price for the property.

3) Headlines: At times sellers hear sensational headlines like, “Values are increasing more rapidly than ever,” so they price according to a headline rather than similar sales in the neighborhood market.

4) Out of touch with picky buyers: Buyers these days tend to be more picky than ever about what they purchase, but I’m not sure sellers are really in tune with how finicky buyers are about price, location, and condition. You’d think buyers would be so desperate to get into contract and pay anything because of a housing shortage, but they’re actually quite patient in many cases because they want to wait for the right property and feel like they’re paying a fair price. My advice? Price for real buyers in the neighborhood market rather than that one mythical “unicorn” buyer who is going to pay more for some reason.

5) Sales instead of comps: The most common pricing mistake I see is pricing according to a sale down the street that really isn’t comparable. So a seller says, “I know that house is totally remodeled with a pool, but someone’s going to pay the same amount for my house.” My advice? Price according to similar homes that are actually getting into contract rather than dissimilar properties. Be careful about hijacking price per sq ft figures too.

6) The fallacy of summer: We hear that summer is the hottest real estate season, but the spring season is actually the hottest in many markets throughout the country. By the time summer rolls around the market is actually beginning to cool because it’s been hot for almost two quarters already. During summer listing volume is just about to peak for the year, and that means it starts to take longer to sell, prices often begin to soften for the season, and buyers gain more power to negotiate. My advice? Be realistic about prices today.

7) Zillow: I can’t tell you how often I’ve heard, “But Zillow says my house is worth X amount.” I know, Zillow says stuff like, “We’re only a starting point and a ballpark figure.” Yet in my experience sellers rely heavily on the Zestimate and very often treat it like a definitive ending point rather than a ballpark. Remember, Zillow doesn’t know anything about condition, upgrades, smell, etc… Sometimes Zillow nails the value, but other times it’s off by a substantial amount – even in a tract neighborhood. My advice? Take “The Big Z” with a grain of salt.

8) Other: What else are you seeing out there?

I hope this was interesting or helpful. In light of the market beginning to cool for the season, I thought scratching out these thoughts might be helpful and even save sellers some money (and heartache).

Questions: Which mistake do you see most often? Any stories or insight to share? I’d love to hear your take.

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Filed Under: Resources Tagged With: appraisal blog in sacramento, comps vs sales, housing shortage, Market Trends, overpricing, picky buyers, Sacramento Region, slowing market, summer market, Zillow

Picky buyers, the housing crash, and a Sacramento market update

October 12, 2016 By Ryan Lundquist 10 Comments

How did the previous housing crash affect buyers? In other words, how are buyers different today because of what they went through years ago? Without writing a dissertation, let’s consider a few thoughts below. Then for anyone interested, let’s take a deep look at the Sacramento market. Any thoughts?

56718353 - careful and picky choice of properties with a magnifying glass

Three ways the housing crash seems to have impacted buyers:

  1. Getting into Contract: Despite inventory being low, buyers seem to be picky about price. In other words, if the price isn’t right, they won’t make an offer (in Sacramento at least). Sellers haven’t fully embraced this yet, but it’s very real. You’d think buyers would feel desperate and offer on anything since housing inventory is sparse, but it’s simply not the case. There could be many reasons for this, but one of them is buyers are being cautious about what they offer because they don’t want to feel like they are making the mistake of overpaying like they did a decade ago. Of course prices today are much higher than they were just four years ago and buyers are willing to pay these prices. It’s just buyers are generally more cautious about overpaying. Also, keep in mind buyers are much more informed about prices because of Metrolist, Zillow, Redfin, etc…. This means buyers can often sniff out something that’s overpriced.
  2. Staying in Contract: Many real estate agents in Sacramento have been reporting contracts falling out of escrow much more often. It’s like buyers are picky about getting into contract in the first place and then they are picky about staying in contract. I’ve heard some say contracts falling apart is a sign the market is beginning to crash, but there have actually been more sales this year than last year in Sacramento. Thus the truth is more contracts are actually closing regardless of however many are falling out.
  3. Sensitive about Location & Condition: Buyers seem to be exhibiting a sensitivity to adverse locations and properties that are not in pristine condition. In other words, buyers have higher expectations about what they are buying and they aren’t overlooking the true condition of a home or paying top dollar for junk. Lenders and appraisers certainly aren’t overlooking the condition either (or at least they shouldn’t be). Also, consider how HGTV and other networks have exploded in popularity this past decade. I have to think constantly seeing the latest designs on TV (and Pinterest) only helps foster a more finicky buyer when looking for a home.

What do you think? Any further insight? Let’s talk. Please comment below.

—-—–—– And here’s my big monthly market update  ———–—–

big-monthly-market-update-post-sacramento-appraisal-blog-image-purchased-from-123rfTwo ways to read the BIG POST:

  1. Scan the talking points and graphs quickly.
  2. Grab a cup of coffee and spend time digesting what is here.

DOWNLOAD 79 graphs HERE: Please download all graphs in this post (and more) here as a zip file. Use them for study, for your newsletter, or some on your blog. See my sharing policy for 5 ways to share (please don’t copy verbatim). Thanks.

Quick Market Summary: The market is softening just like we’d expect to see during the fall. Sometimes we talk about real estate in only hyper-positive terms as if values do nothing but increase, but that’s simply not realistic. Almost every year values soften as a part of the normal real estate cycle, and that seems to be what we’re seeing right now. It’s starting to take longer to sell, prices are down a few percent from the summer, housing inventory is up from a few months back, and sales volume is beginning to slough off. Keep in mind one year ago it was taking an average of 6 days longer to sell, which reminds us the fall market this year has been more aggressive so far. Overall single family housing feels flat and the market is very price sensitive, so sellers ought to be very cautious about pricing according to properties that are actually getting into contract in their neighborhood and price range. On a different note the 2-4 unit market has been somewhat subdued for a number of years as values have recovered much more slowly than the single family market, but it seems to be heating up as news of higher rents is spreading to investors. Let’s keep an eye on that and of course keep hoping the economy and wage growth can drive values more than low interest rates and freakishly low housing inventory. Check out specific stats and graphs below for Sacramento County, the Sacramento Region, & Placer County.

Sacramento County:

  1. The median price was $317,000 in September. It dipped 2% from the previous month, but is 9% higher than last year.
  2. The average price per sq ft was $201 last month (down 2% from the previous month, but still 7% higher than last year).
  3. There were only 25 short sales in the county last month.
  4. Sales volume was 3% higher this September compared to September 2015.
  5. It took 4 days longer to sell a house last month compared to the previous month (though one year ago it was taking 6 days longer to sell).
  6. Sales volume is up 7% this year compared to last year.
  7. FHA sales volume is down 7% this year compared to 2015 (keep in mind nearly 26% of all sales were FHA this past quarter).
  8. Cash sales are down 7.6% this year (they were only 13.6% of all sales this past quarter).
  9. Housing inventory is 5% lower than the same time last year.
  10. The average sales price at $346,000 softened by 2% last month (but is 10% higher than last year).

Some of my Favorite Graphs this Month:

median-price-since-2013-in-sacramento-county

price-metrics-since-2015-in-sacramento-county-look-at-all

inventory-in-sacramento-county-since-2013-part-2-by-sacramento-appraisal-blog

distressed-sales-since-2009-in-sacramento-county

inventory-september-2016-by-home-appraiser-blog

fha-and-cash-sales-by-quarter-in-sacramento-county

cdom-in-sacramento-county-by-sacramento-regional-appraisal-blog

sales-volume-in-sacramento-county-since-2012

seasonal-market-in-sacramento-county-4

seasonal-market-in-sacramento-county-sales-volume-6

SACRAMENTO REGIONAL MARKET:

  1. The median price was $355,000 in September. It’s down less than 1% from the previous month, but is 9% higher than last year.
  2. The average price per sq ft was $207 last month. It went down 1.5% from the previous month, but is 7% higher than last year.
  3. It took 4 days longer to sell compared to the previous month (but 6 less days compared to September 2015).
  4. Sales volume was 3% higher this September compared to September 2015.
  5. FHA sales volume is down 7.5% this year compared to last year.
  6. Cash sales were 16% of all sales last month (FHA sales were 22%).
  7. Cash sales are down 6% this year compared to last year.
  8. Housing inventory is 9% lower than the same time last year.
  9. REOs were 2.5% and short sales were 1.3% of all sales last month.
  10. The average sales price was $393,000 in September. It softened by 1% last month but is 9% higher than last year.

Some of my Favorite Regional Graphs:

sales-volume-2015-vs-2016-in-sacramento-placer-yolo-el-dorado-county

sacramento-region-volume-fha-and-conventional-by-appraiser-blog

median-price-sacramento-placer-yolo-el-dorado-county

regional-inventory-by-sacramento-regional-appraisal-blog

days-on-market-in-placer-sac-el-dorado-yolo-county-by-sacramento-appraisal-blog

regional-market-median-price-by-home-appraiser-blog

median-price-and-inventory-in-sacramento-regional-market-2013

PLACER COUNTY:

  1. The median price was $432,000 last month, which is up 11% from last year.
  2. The average price per sq ft was $212 last month. It softened by 1.5% from the past couple months, but is 4.7% higher than last year.
  3. It took 1 day longer to sell compared to the previous month (but 5 less days compared to September 2015).
  4. Sales volume was similar this September compared to September 2015.
  5. FHA sales volume is down 15% this year compared to last year.
  6. Cash sales were nearly 16% of all sales last month (FHA sales were nearly 16% also).
  7. Cash sales are down 1.7% this year compared to last year.
  8. Housing inventory is 16% lower than the same time last year.
  9. REOs were 1.3% and short sales were 1.1% of all sales last month.
  10. The average sales price was $483,000 and is 8.5% higher than last year.

Some of my Favorite Placer County Graphs:

days-on-market-in-placer-county-by-sacramento-appraisal-blog months-of-housing-inventory-in-placer-county-by-sacramento-appraisal-blog number-of-listings-in-placer-county-2016 placer-county-housing-inventory-by-home-appraiser-blog placer-county-median-price-since-2014-part-2-by-home-appraiser-blog placer-county-sales-volume-by-sacramento-appraisal-blog

DOWNLOAD 79 graphs HERE: Please download all graphs in this post (and more) here as a zip file. Use them for study, for your newsletter, or some on your blog. See my sharing policy for 5 ways to share (please don’t copy verbatim). Thanks.

Classes I’m teaching in Lake Tahoe: On October 21st I’ll be teaching two classes in Lake Tahoe for an Appraisal Institute Conference. This is an enormous honor and I look forward to mingling with appraisers and sharing ideas. Click here for details.

Question: Did I miss anything? Any other market insight you’d like to add? What are you seeing out there? I’d love to hear your take.

If you liked this post, subscribe by email (or RSS). Thanks for being here.

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Filed Under: Market Trends Tagged With: appraisals in Sacramento, cash investors, FHA buyers, finicky buyers, Home Appraiser, House Appraiser, Housing Bubble, housing crash, picky buyers, Placer County real estate, price sensitive real estate market, real estate market in 2016, Real Estate Market in Sacramento, Sacramento County Real Estate, sacramento reale state graphs, sales volume

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