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Affordability in an increasing market (or lack thereof)

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Affordability is a huge topic right now. It seems like most real estate articles are talking about how insanely “hot” the market is and how much values have increased. But as much as the public eats up sensational headlines, we all know affordability is becoming an issue too for both buyers and renters. Today I hoped we could kick around some trends in the market when it comes to affordability. Anything to add?

Wage growth and values: One of the red flags over the past five years is having so much growth in home prices and rents without much wage growth. This is why we see some buyers technically affording the market, but at times they have several different jobs to help make ends meet. We also see multiple renters shacking up together to help afford higher rents.

Looking beyond single family detached homes: As values have increased, some buyers are starting to look beyond the single family detached market to something they might be able to afford. Other options include condos, halfplexes (attached unit), or even mobile homes. These properties represent affordability to many because they are often listed toward the bottom of the price spectrum. For reference, right now there are 27 mobile homes listed for less than $50,000 in Sacramento County (located in a mobile home park). I wouldn’t say the mobile market is “on fire” by any stretch, but I have heard more chatter about them lately, which is surely a sign of the times. I know, if you buy in a trailer park you’ll have to deal with “trailer trash” comments, though for some a mobile home is a viable financial option to help pay down debt and hopefully avoid some of the crazy rent increases lately. Ultimately let’s continue to keep an eye on what’s happening at the bottom of the market.

Unrealistic buyer expectations: My sense is some prospective buyers have unrealistic expectations about the type of house they can purchase in today’s market. For instance, I heard someone recently talk about wanting something under $300,000 that was modern, newer, eco-friendly, and located in Midtown. The truth is a property like that doesn’t exist right now in that price range in Midtown. But does it exist somewhere else? That’s the real question buyers need to ask. Coming to terms with locations you can and cannot afford is not always easy, but it is necessary for those who choose to buy.

Why tiny homes mostly don’t work: We see tiny homes on HGTV and like to think they are a viable option for many buyers or even a solution to the housing shortage, but they aren’t usually attached to the land, which means they don’t qualify for traditional financing. Of course you can obtain financing for a tiny home with an RV loan or personal loan, but that’s going to be more expensive. Even if you have the cash or financing to buy a tiny home, one of the bigger problems is the cost of land. We have to remember when a market increases in value, it’s mostly the land that is becoming more valuable. And when a market declines, it’s the land more than anything that loses value. The glimmer of hope though for tiny homes is that Fresno passed an ordinance last year that allows residents to put tiny homes on their property and consider them permanent residences instead of just temporary. This means for those who cannot afford higher prices in the single family detached market, this might be an option so long as they have access to land (maybe in a family member’s backyard). By the way, there is a 360 sq ft home listed for sale right now in the Elmhurst neighborhood of Sacramento.

Storage container homes: The market seems hungry for alternative housing as long as it’s affordable, though the unfortunate thing about this type of housing is it’s not necessarily inexpensive because of the cost to build and the problem of finding affordable land. It may still be possible though to build a storage container development on tiny lots at a reduced cost compared to stick-built new construction. We have seen some storage container commercial developments come to town, but it seems pretty quiet as of yet for residential units. Anyway, this reminds us there is space in the single family market for someone to “crack the code” or think outside the box to figure out a way to bring alternative housing at a lower cost than stick-built new construction. The image below comes from a local storage container company called TAYNR.

The squeeze on supply: Some buyers really are getting priced out of the market, though the truth is we might not feel the effect of missing buyers dropping out of the game because of the reality of having a housing shortage.

Creativity: It seems like every week I’m hearing about a new 0% down or 1% down loan. Thus as affordability vanishes for some, lenders are slowly helping buyers artificially afford higher prices by making their loan products less expensive. Lenders have so much power right now to shape the future of the market by what they do in coming time. Let’s remember another “creative” aspect of the market is seeing appraisal waivers become more common. I get there is a place for that, though let’s be cautious. 

Questions: Would you ever buy a tiny home or a mobile home? What else are you seeing out there? Did I miss anything? I’d love to hear your take.

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5 things to remember about lofty list prices

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There’s huge buzz this week about a $4.1 million dollar condo that just hit the market. I know that’s chump change in other places, but it’s a conversation piece in Sacramento since we don’t see listings anywhere near that level in Downtown (or almost anywhere in the county). Anyway, there’s some good conversation to be had from this, so I hoped we could consider a few ideas and then unpack local market trends (for those interested). Any thoughts?

5 things to remember about lofty list prices:

1) Attention & buzz: A high list price for a luxury property is designed to get attention, create buzz, and help market a property. In this case the $4.1 million dollar condo listing is located in a development called The Residences at The Sawyer. This penthouse unit is 3323 sq ft and is located directly across from the new arena at 500 J St (killer location). 

2) Records & price context: When hearing of high listings it’s tempting to treat the list price like a record has been broken. But if we’re honest this list price doesn’t matter unless the property actually sells at that level. Last year in Sacramento we had a $5M listing, the year before it was a $7M one, and a few years back there was a $10M listing. None of them sold = No records. There have actually only been three sales on MLS in the past that have sold at $4,000,000 or above in Sacramento County. They include: 1) The Governor’s Mansion built in Carmichael when Ronald Reagan was Governor (sold in 2004 at $4.1M); 2) A property in Sierra Oaks in 2013 that sold at $4.7M; and 3) An estate in Elk Grove that sold at $4.6M in 2005, and then re-sold for $1.3M in 2011 after a foreclosure.

3) Marketing to non-locals: Most locals aren’t anywhere close to affording a $4,100,000 listing – not to mention the whopping $4,021 monthly HOA fee (that’s not a typo). But the thing is this property is probably being marketed to someone from the Bay Area, maybe one of the owners of The Kings, or one of the Kings players. The Beverly Hills firm who is running the sales office is likely focused on non-locals more than anything because this is the type of property that would appeal to a wider group outside of the region. In that sense the property is an anomaly of sorts. Of course there is no guarantee they can fetch a price that high. For reference, the highest condo price I’m aware of in Midtown is the L-Street Lofts penthouse which former NBA player Kevin Martin bought for $1.34M in 2008 (and it re-sold in 2014 for $1.3M). The location on J St is bound to fetch higher prices, but how much higher? We’ll see.

Here’s a Twitter pricing poll I ran yesterday.  🙂

4) Reductions and good deals: It’s tempting for sellers to list something at an absurdly high price level, reduce the list price, and still feel tied to the original list price. So the seller says, “Hey, we came down 30% in price already. The buyer is getting a great deal.” But the problem is the listing was priced 30% too high to begin with. We see this with outrageously priced high listings, but we also see it in just about every neighborhood too. Thanks Jonathan Miller for influencing my thoughts on this.

5) Freaking out: When hearing about a “4 million dollar” property, it’s easy to freak out and start saying, “Holy Batman, prices in Sacramento are now at LA and SF levels,” or “I cannot believe how high values have risen.” Take a breath though because this is just a listing right now. If it makes you feel better, remember that $250,000,000 listing in Bel-Air that garnered world-wide attention in January? Well, that one’s still listed for sale at the same price… In short, let’s give this one some space and see if this price pans out or not.

I hope that was helpful or interesting. Any thoughts?

———–——-——- big monthly market update below ——-———–——-

A LOCAL MARKET SUMMARY:

Values have continued to increase in the spring, though at the same time the market isn’t aggressive in every price range. When looking at Sac county and the region as a whole, both the average sales price and average price per sq ft saw increases last month. On the other hand the median price softened slightly (don’t make too much of that since the median can go up and down depending on what has sold). Housing inventory feels like it is doing the Limbo as it keeps going down and down. Seriously, inventory was already low last year, but it’s 20% lower this year. This is definitely putting pressure of values to increase in some price ranges. My sense is lower prices in just about every neighborhood are experiencing upward pressure because that’s what represents affordability to buyers for those areas. So buyers in La Riviera are feeling the pressure under $300,000, buyers in Whitney Ranch are feeling it under $400,000, and buyers in East Sacramento are feeling similar pressure under $450,000. Yet buyers at middle-to-upper ranges are not experiencing this same dynamic because the market is flat or soft in many areas at upper price levels (yet we still might see multiple offers though). As expected, last month it took about 5 less days to sell than the previous month. I could go on and on with words, but let me share some graphs to show the market visually. 

DOWNLOAD 53 graphs HERE: Please download all graphs in this post (and more) here as a zip file (including a quick stat sheet). See my sharing policy for 5 ways to share (please don’t copy verbatim). Thanks.

Sacramento County graphs this month (more here):

Sacramento regional graphs (more here):

DOWNLOAD 53 graphs HERE: Please download all graphs in this post (and more) here as a zip file (including a one-page quick stat sheet). See my sharing policy for 5 ways to share (please don’t copy verbatim). Thanks.

Questions: What do you think of the $4.1M condo listing? Did I miss anything? What are you seeing out there in the market? I’d love to hear your take.

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Some perspective as real estate “bubble” conversations emerge

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Lots of real estate “bubble” talk lately. Have you noticed? It’s a hot topic for the public and real estate community as housing affordability is becoming more of an issue since values have been on the rise for the past four years. Even Hollywood is getting in on the action with movies hitting the screen about the bursting of the “bubble” ten years ago (thanks Jonathan Miller for the heads-up). Anyway, this isn’t another post on whether we are in a bubble or not, but rather some things to keep in mind for the real estate community as bubbly conversations emerge. I’d love to hear your take in the comments below.

real estate bubble - image bought and used with permission from 123rf dot com by sacramento appraisal blog

Enjoy the tips. Anything you’d add?

Things to keep in mind during real estate “bubble” conversations:

  1. Predicting is Dangerous: Predicting the future of real estate is sort of like predicting what Justin Bieber is going to do next. What will the Biebs do next month or next year? Nobody knows. The same is true in real estate, and it’s okay for real estate professionals to simply say, “I don’t know what the market is going to do. My crystal ball is broken. But I can tell you what the market is doing right now and what it seems poised to do.” Seriously, if you work in real estate, this is probably the best and most honest answer you can give.
  2. Remember that markets change: At some point in the future values are going to decline, and at some point in the future they are going to increase. Of course we want to avoid incredibly steep declines, but otherwise it’s normal for real estate values to go up and down, and we should therefore expect that. We seem to have a mindset that prices should only increase, but that’s just not realistic. That would be like saying every day should be sunny or each day of a marriage should be only positive and filled with bliss (nothing is always positive).
  3. Be in tune with the slow fall season: When the market slows during the fall, it only exacerbates bubble talk. The past three years have seen a very definitive dull market in the fall (at least in the Sacramento area), and we need to respect and embrace that slow seasonal reality (and price accordingly). It’s sort of like when work is slow, it’s easy to get depressed or even think the business is going under. Well, it’s the same deal with the cyclical real estate market.
  4. Never promise equity: It’s easy to say things like, “This house will be worth much more in two years, so it’s a good time to buy,” but can anyone really guarantee that? If you never promise value to your clients, they can never come back and say, “You told me the market was going to increase and it didn’t”. This was exactly what many real estate pros told buyers using 100% financing last decade. “Hey, the market is going to increase, so don’t worry about that adjustable rate. You can refinance out of it in two years.” Interestingly enough, today’s FHA buyers are sometimes told, “You can get in the market with FHA now, and just refinance into a conventional loan when the market increases.”
  5. Focus on affordability: Everyone wants to buy at the lowest point in a market, but very few people actually pull that off. In fact, many times it’s simply an accident when it does happen. Ultimately people ought to buy when it makes sense for their wallet and lifestyle, and that is a fantastic point to emphasize because it respects where people are at in life rather than telling people when they should do something. If you have clients who want to buy, then honor their desires by helping them understand what affordability looks like with whatever market is in front of them.
  6. Become great at explaining the cake: Value in real estate is like a multi-layered cake since there are many “layers” in a market that impact prices. See my cake image here and use it (I love this analogy). It’s easy to think of real estate in terms of being only about supply and demand, but it’s also about interest rates, the economy, cash investors, financing, affordability, jobs, consumer confidence and so many other “layers”. In short, when one layer of the cake changes (such as inventory or financing), it can change the entire cake (the market).
  7. Hone your pricing skills:  How can you get better at pricing, pulling comps, or making value adjustments this year? It can be challenging to price when a market slows or declines because values might actually be lower than the most recent sales and listings indicate. Thus I recommend getting some training this year, taking some stellar CE, or connecting with some locals who you think are getting it right (By the way, if you’re local, I teach a 2 or 3-hour class called “How to Think Like an Appraiser”. May I do a training in your office?)
  8. Change what you say about the market as the market changes: It’s easy to speak fluently in clichés or say the same thing about the market for years. Agents do this by saying “it’s a good time to buy and sell” even if it isn’t, and appraisers do this by always indicating in their reports that values are “stable” with a “balanced” supply of inventory (even if that’s not the case). When we look closely at trends and begin to see what the market is doing, we can change what we say to our contacts and clients. Moreover, we might even price more effectively and give better real estate advice.
  9. Bubble Obsession: Values were massively inflated ten years ago, yet we still have this obsession about getting back to “the good ‘ol days”. Was it really that good to see huge price increases only to have the housing market collapse around us? Do we want to get back there? Nah, I think we can do better. This is why I recommend real estate professionals to be aware of bubble issues, but also find other interesting things to talk about and share. I’m absolutely not saying to ignore the market or be dishonest, but only find a balance so we don’t perpetuate a fear or worry about what may or may not happen to values in the future.
  10. Consider your future clients: One of the best things to do when considering the future of real estate is to think about who your clients might be as the market changes. Based on the way the market is moving, who do you think your clients are going to be in 2016 and 2017? What will your database need over the next two years? Are they going to be looking to buy, sell, rent, get married, get divorced, invest, do a short sale, get back in the market, remove PMI, sell a parent’s home, move up, build an accessory dwelling for an aging parent, downsize, settle an estate….?

I hope this was helpful.

Thank you sincerely for reading. I cannot tell you how much I appreciate you letting me share a few thoughts each week.

Questions: What is point #11? Which one resonated with you the most? Do you think we’re in a “bubble”? (I’ll share my thoughts if someone asks)

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The slowing, competitive, & price-sensitive market in Sacramento

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Slowing down. Competitive. Price sensitive. Still more aggressive than last year. These are all ways I would describe today’s housing market in Sacramento. Let’s unpack the latest trends today to really see the market so we can better understand it and explain it to clients.

slow but competitive market in sacramento - image purchased and used with permission from 123rf - sacramento appraisal blog

4 Hours to write this post: This post usually takes easily 4-5 hours to write each month. Keep in mind I create 50-60 graphs and then break down the trends into bite-sized talking points. I honestly LOVE doing this, and the goal is to be able to use the information for life and business. Why am I mentioning this? I just wanted to let you know how much I value helping us stay in tune with the market. New readers, the three other monthly posts are short, sweet, and general, but this one is long and hyper-local.

Two ways to read THE BIG MONTHLY POST:

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

DOWNLOAD 54 graphs HERE (zip file): Please download all graphs in this post (and more) here as a zip file (or send me an email). 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.

One Paragraph to Describe the Sacramento Market: Last month I talked about how the market has been slowing down. Sometimes when we say “slow”, it can really freak people out. But it’s actually very normal for real estate to soften during the later summer and fall after a more aggressive buying season in the spring. Moreover, when the market does change, it’s simply an opportunity to price more efficiently and explain the changing market to clients. The danger is when we say the same thing about the market all year long despite the trends really not being the same. What are some of the signs of slowing? It took 4 days longer to sell a home last month than the previous month in the Sacramento region. Housing inventory increased slightly in the surrounding four counties last month. The sales to list price ratio decreased by 1% last month. The median price in Sacramento County has been the same for four months in a row. The median price in the Sacramento region has declined by 1% over the past few months. I could go on and on. Of course let’s remember that sales volume is up by a whopping 10.9% so far this year in the region, and housing inventory is actually 22% lower right now in the region compared to the same time last year. Ultimately it’s still very competitive out there as buyers are hungry to get into contract before interest rates rise too much or while they feel like they can still afford the market (that’s so 2004). All year the market has been remarkably price sensitive too, which means buyers have been hesitant to write offers on overpriced homes. As housing supply presumably continues to increase over the next few months, watch out for price reductions to continue to increase, unrealistic expectations from sellers, and buyers gaining more power.

Sacramento County Market Trends for August 2015:

  1. The median price has been hovering at $290,000 for 120 days.
  2. It took an average of 34 days to sell a house last month (up 3 days from July).
  3. Last year at this time it was taking an average of 40 days to sell a house.
  4. FHA sales were nearly 27% of all sales in Sacramento County last month.
  5. Sales volume is 9.7% higher so far in 2015 compared to last year.
  6. Sales volume was 15% higher in August 2015 compared to August 2014.
  7. There is a 1.76 month supply of homes for sale (slightly lower than July).
  8. Housing inventory is nearly 27% lower right now compared to August 2014.
  9. The average price per sq ft is 185 (5.5% higher than last August).
  10. The average sales price is $319,636 (slightly lower than past two months).

context for median price - by sacramento appraisal blog

CDOM in Sacramento County - by Sacramento Appraisal Blog

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

inventory - August 2015 - by home appraiser blog

price metrics since 2014 in sacramento county

number of listings in sacramento - August 2015 - by home appraiser blog

sales volume in Sacramento County

Sacramento Regional Trends for August 2015 (Sac, Placer, Yolo, El Dorado):

  1. Sales volume was up 12.8% in August 2015 compared to August 2014.
  2. Sales volume for the year is up 10.9% compared with 2014.
  3. The median price at $328,825 is up 6% from last year, but down 1% from the past two months.
  4. It took an average of 39 days to sell a house last month (4 days longer than last month).
  5. FHA sales were 23% of all sales in the region last month.
  6. There is 2.05 months of housing inventory (up from 1.98 last month).
  7. The average sales price is $367,545 (4.2% higher than last year, but down slightly from two months ago at $370K).
  8. It took 3 less days to sell a house this August compared to August 2014.
  9. FHA sales volume has increased by 30% in 2015 compared with 2014.
  10. Housing inventory is nearly 22% lower right now compared to August 2014.

sales volume 2015 vs 2014 in sacramento placer yolo el dorado county

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

breakdown of sales fha and everything else in sacramento placer yolo el dorado county

months of housing inventory in region by sacramento appraisal blog

breakdown of sales in sacramento placer yolo el dorado county

interest rates inventory median price in sacramento regional market by sacramento appraisal blog

Placer County Market Trends for August 2015:

  1. Sales volume was up 11.7% in August 2015 compared to August 2014.
  2. Sales volume for the year is up 17% compared with 2014.
  3. The median price in Placer County is $402,900 (increased from last month, but it’s been hovering from $390-400K generally).
  4. Cash sales were 18.5% of all sales last month (very normal level).
  5. It took 46 days on average to sell a house last month (6 more days than July).
  6. Last year at this time it took 1 day longer to sell a house.
  7. FHA sales were 19% of all sales in Placer County last month.
  8. There is 2.35 months of housing inventory (up from 2.17 months in July).
  9. The average price per sq ft is 201.8 (been hovering around this level for a few months).
  10. REOs were less than 2% of all sales and short sales were roughly 2.5% of all sales last month.

days on market in placer county by sacramento appraisal blog

Placer County sales volume - by sacramento appraisal blog

months of housing inventory in placer county by sacramento appraisal blog

Placer County median price and inventory - by home appraiser blog

interest rates inventory median price in placer county by sacramento appraisal blog

Regional market median price - by home appraiser blog

I hope this was helpful. Thank you so much for being here.

Quick Pricing Advice:

  1. Remember it is normal for the market to cool off during the latter part of the year. Knowing seasonal cycles and communicating them is key.
  2. Price according to the most recent listings that are getting into contract rather than the highest sales from the spring. Remember, it’s normal for housing inventory to increase during the fall, so this will only allow buyers to be more picky.
  3. The market is still very price sensitive, which means buyers are not biting on overpriced listings despite inventory and interest rates being relatively low.
  4. Price according to the neighborhood market rather than county-wide trends since your neighborhood might be more or less aggressive compared to the entire county.

DOWNLOAD 54 graphs HERE (zip file): Please download all graphs in this post (and more) here as a zip file (or send me an email). 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.

Questions: How do you think sellers and buyers are feeling about the market right now? What are you seeing out there?

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