House Appraiser
12 market trends and tips for real estate professionals to watch in 2015
It’s a new year, which means it’s crucial to take a look at the housing market. If you work in real estate, ask yourself these two questions: What is the market doing? And who are your clients going to be this year? The truth is if we do the same thing each year without really considering how the market is evolving, it’s easy to miss out on being relevant to clients.
Here are some trends and tips on my radar as 2015 begins, and I wanted to share them because I thought some of them might be good conversation fodder for business plans or with clients. These trends are relevant for Sacramento, but I have a feeling they might be showing up in many markets across the country. Enjoy.
12 trends and tips for real estate professionals in 2015
- Buyers’ Market: The market is definitely morphing into a full-fledged buyers’ market. In light of more houses for sale, buyers simply have more options. This means properties will generally take longer to sell, and buyers will have more room to negotiate.
- Pricing Correctly: As the market changes and inventory increases, it will be paramount this year to price properties correctly. When a market grows soft, buyers tend to become more picky about pricing and making offers, which means overpriced listings will sit on the market instead of sell.
The Small Distressed Sales Pond: Foreclosures and short sales used to drive the market, but that’s not the case any longer these days. Being a distressed property specialist is still a relevant avenue of business, but it’s also a crowded pond to fish in. Remember that owners who went through a foreclosure or short sale several years ago may actually now be able to re-enter the market (these buyers are called “Boomerang Buyers”).- Equity Sellers: Some home owners do not realize how much the market surged in recent years. They may actually be surprised to know they have equity again after the recent increases from 2012 to 2014. This can open up options for moving up or downsizing.
- Dispelling the Want to Buy at the Perfect Time: With the advent of vast online real estate data, many buyers are watching the market carefully and wanting to time the market perfectly to be sure they are buying at a time when values are increasing. The reality is it’s not easy to pull this off. In fact, many home owners who purchased at the bottom of the market in early 2012 didn’t actually realize they were doing so. They were simply lucky and bought at a time they could afford. When I ask, “Do you realize you purchased at the bottom?”, their response is often, “Really? I had no idea at the time.” In short, in a market that is no longer rapidly appreciating in value, buyers need to focus on being sure they are comfortable with the price and monthly mortgage payments rather than looking for that perfect market moment to get rich in real estate.
Divorce: As the economy improves, divorce has been more common (the LA Times says so too). I easily did three times as many divorce appraisals last year compared with previous years. Divorce is a very difficult time in a client’s life, so it’s important to be able to serve clients in their time of need, and to be aware that divorce stats may be increasing as the economy heals.- FHA Buyers Increasing: Despite some in the real estate community saying FHA would not increase due to permanent mortgage insurance being required, it has definitely increased over the past 18 months in the Sacramento region. FHA has been a relevant product for many buyers since there is little money down required. Of course we can expect to see some more creative financing options emerge as the market softens, but in the mean time, if you are not in tune with FHA appraisal standards, it’s time to brush up so your buyers and sellers know what to expect. I have seen several properties recently trying to use traditional FHA financing that were blatantly not acceptable for FHA (maybe a 203K loan though). This is where knowing the standards becomes important.
- Rentals Hitting the Market: Some investors who purchased in 2012 and 2013 are beginning to sell their properties. I have yet to see Blackstone do this, but I have seen some smaller funds with 30-40 properties begin to unload. I talked with an investor recently who has a few dozen properties, and he wondered how strong the market is to sell. What would you say?
- Not as Easy to Flip: Everyone and their Mom wants to be a house flipper, but buying distressed inventory on MLS these days isn’t as easy as it used to be because there just aren’t as many low-priced foreclosures. Since there is less room to buy at a discount on MLS, it’s important for would-be flippers to explore alternative ways of picking up properties, and to be extra sure they are purchasing with enough room to rehab and sell. Being realistic about the ARV (After Repair Value) is key – especially in a price-sensitive market.
- Exit Before It’s Too Late: Some property owners are concerned about the future direction of the market, so they will be interested in selling this year “before it’s too late” (in case the market begins to decline in value).
- The Granite Wave: Having granite counters used to be such a custom feature a decade ago, but it’s become a bit stale in the current market. Don’t get me wrong, buyers still like granite, but at the same time there is a growing sense of the market becoming saturated with granite. What advice would you give clients about making a kitchen shine in today’s market?
- Standing Out: As housing inventory presumably increases this year, it will be important for properties to stand out from others to compete for a limited pool of buyers. When inventory increases, buyers tend to become more finicky about location, condition, and upgrades (which underscores the need to price properties correctly).
NOTE: These trends may not be present in every neighborhood or price range in Sacramento, or in every area of the United States.
I hope this was helpful in some way, and I hope you have a profoundly successful year in real estate. I look forward to watching the market carefully this year, and to all the discussions we’ll have together. May you have a very prosperous 2015.
Questions: Anything else you’d add? If you are not in Sacramento, are there some parallels here that also resemble your market? I’d love to hear your take.
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10 quick talking points when someone asks about Sacramento real estate
The holidays are here, so if your Uncle Bob asked you next week at a family gathering what the real estate market is doing, what would you say? Or if a neighbor heard the market has been slow, how would you respond? Below I have 10 quick talking points to help you impress your Uncle Bob or anyone else with your knowledge of the local market. So let’s unpack some real estate trends in Placer County and the Sacramento region to hone in on two important questions: What are values doing? And why are they doing it?
Two ways to read this post:
- Scan the talking points and graphs quickly.
- Grab a cup of coffee and spend a few minutes digesting what is here.
PLACER COUNTY
1) The median price dipped about 2.5% last month:
It’s not surprising to see the median price dipped last month by about 2.5% in Placer County. The median price had been at $375,000, and now it’s at $365,000. It is very normal for prices to soften at this time of year, which is seen in the graph below. Yet at the same time, the market really is getting much softer in light of increasing inventory, which is also important to watch.
2) Inventory increased to 3.24 months last month.
Housing inventory saw an increase from 2.75 months to 3.24 months from October to November 2014. This increase sounds dramatic, but fewer sales last month played a big role in seeing inventory increase. Remember, housing supply is calculated by dividing the number of current listings by the number of sales over the past 30 days, so a lower amount of sales will naturally drive inventory up. As you can see, inventory is not the same at ever price level, is it?
3) It’s taking an average of 55 days to sell a house in Placer County:
It took one more day this month to sell a house compared to the previous month, and about 10 more days compared to mid-Summer. It’s still taking much less time to sell a house than it used to about 5 years ago, but it is still very important to price listings correctly. When prices are softening and houses are taking longer to sell, this means overpriced homes are simply going to sit. Generally speaking, the higher the price, the longer the marketing time. Keep in mind sales above $1M took only 91 days, but there were only 12 sales, so take that stat with a grain of salt. Realize too that current actives above $1M have been on the market for 198 cumulative days.
4) Sales volume is slightly lower right now compared to last year:
There were only 345 sales in Placer County this past month, and that’s a fairly low number, though last year in November the figure was only 365.
SACRAMENTO REGION:
5) Regional values in Sacramento softened by about 2% last month:
The regional market was extremely flat for about six months, but it finally dipped over the past couple of months in light of the onset of Fall. An increase of inventory is definitely putting pressure on values too. Housing supply lately has been hovering about where it was when prices hit bottom in January 2012.
When watching real estate, it’s important to take a broad look at how values are unfolding in surrounding counties as well as the entire region. If we look too closely at any given county, we might not be able to see the bigger picture. By the way, the median price in Placer County is $100,000 higher than Sacramento County. Does this mean prices are $100,000 higher in Placer County? Nope. Keep in mind the average size of house that sold last month in Placer County was about 450 sq ft larger in size than in Sacramento County. This makes for huge price differences, don’t you think?
6) Sales volume is down 7.5% this year compared to last year:
Sales volume is down in 2014 by about 7.5% when compared to the same time period in 2013. This might seem like a trivial number, but it equals about 1900 less sales on MLS so far this year.
7) Cash sales are down 34% in the Sacramento Region in 2014:
Our regional market was heavily driven by cash investors over the past couple of years, but cash is no longer king. In fact, there have been 34% less cash sales in 2014 compared to 2013, which effectively means there have been 2186 less cash sales so far this year. This is a huge reason why housing inventory has increased this year because there are simply less buyers in the market right now. As time goes on, non-cash sales continue to show an increase as owner-occupant buyers are ultimately beginning to drive the market more and more. Some good news in the market is that FHA, conventional, and VA buyers have been increasing in numbers.
8) It’s taking an average of 50 days to sell a house in the Sacramento Region:
It took one more day last month to sell a house compared to the previous month (10 more days since July 2014). It’s important to be in tune with the trends of each price range too since the market is not the same at each segment.
10) Housing inventory is a HUGE driver for the regional market:
The higher the price, the more inventory there is (generally speaking).
As you can see, housing inventory in the region is definitely increasing, and that has dramatically slowed values over the past couple of years. Remember that housing inventory was artificially low at times in 2012 and 2013 because of the massive influx of cash investors who came from outside of the market to take advantage of the lower prices at the time.
Since the current market is no longer driven by cash investors, real estate is more prone to be strongly influenced by the health and strength of the local job market as well as increases in inventory.
I hope this was helpful, and I do hope you can share something here in a conversation soon. Thank you so much for being here.
Sharing Trends with your Clients? If you want to share graphs online or in your newsletter, please see my sharing policy. Thank you for sharing.
Questions: How else would you describe the market? What are you seeing out there?
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The market continues to cool in Sacramento
The market is cooling, and that’s normal to see at this time of year. Yet beyond the expected chill of the season, the market as a whole is still clearly slowing down to become a buyer’s market. Let’s take a quick look today at real estate trends in Sacramento County so we can better understand what values are doing, and how to talk to clients about the market (don’t miss my 5 tips at the bottom). I’ll have a post on Tuesday to discuss the regional market and Placer County. Remember, you can use some of the graphs in your marketing too (see my sharing policy).
Two ways to read this post:
- Scan the talking points and graphs quickly.
- Grab a cup of coffee and spend a few minutes digesting what is here.
(I was getting spam from the form, so email me)
1) The median price dipped about 2% last month:
The median price declined from $270,000 to $265,000 from October to November in Sacramento County. Remember, it’s normal to see prices cool during this season, and the graph below helps illustrate that. Yet at the same time the overall market is definitely slowing regardless of the season.
2) The median price is 33% lower than it was at the TOP of the market:
Let’s get some context. The median price hit its peak in Sacramento County in August 2005 at $395,000, and now it’s about 33% lower at $265,000. It’s hard to imagine prices were that high, but at the time buyers were willing to buy at those levels.
3) Prices overall are softening
It’s important to look not just at the median price, but other metrics such as average price per sq ft and average sales price. This helps us get a stronger sense of the trends of the market so we don’t put too much weight on one metric.
4) Inventory increased to 2.75 months last month.
Housing inventory increased from 2.47 months to 2.75 months from October to November. This seems like a dramatic increase, but remember that inventory is the relationship between the number of sales last month and the number of current listings. Sales volume was REALLY low last month, so it’s natural to see inventory see an uptick. Having 2.75 months of housing inventory means there are 2.75 months worth of houses for sale right now (active listings).
Generally speaking, the higher the price, the more inventory there is. Knowing what the market is doing at various price ranges can help us better market or value properties. The market doesn’t behave the same at every price level.
BIG POINT: The market has ultimately become much more sensitive to increases in inventory in recent years, so what happens with inventory in coming months will help set the stage for next year.
5) Sales volume was sluggish in November (lowest November in 7 years):
We had a slow November. In fact, sales volume in November hasn’t been this low since November 2007. Granted, volume this year was only down by 4% from November 2013, but it’s still important to note when volume is sluggish.
Remember that sales volume always declines in the Fall months. This is part of the normal real estate cycle, and we see this every year. However, the decline in sales volume was slightly higher this past month than normal. Volume usually declines by about 15% from October to November, but this year was 22%. This isn’t something to write home about because it’s only one month of data. It’s simply important to explain what happened.
6) Cash sales are down 40% in Sacramento County in 2014:
Sales volume is down by 8.5% in 2014 compared with 2013. When we break down the numbers in Sacramento County, this means there have essentially been 1336 less sales this year compared to last year. The chief culprit in lower sales volume is the fact of 40% less cash sales in 2014 compared to 2013. Cash sales represented only 17% of all sales last month, which is far lower than 36% of all sales less than two years ago. This is great news for conventional, VA, and FHA buyers in that there is now more space to get into contract. Furthermore, non-cash sales are about 4% higher in volume this year compared to last year, which is also good news.
7) FHA sales were 25% of all sales last month (buyers are gaining power):
The market is still fairly competitive out there, especially for well-priced listings in good condition, but overall buyers continue to gain an edge in the market. One out of ever four buyers in Sacramento County last month used FHA financing. As you can see in the graph above, as cash declines, FHA has increased (conventional and VA are also increasing). Moreover, the market used to be about 33% FHA, so there is still some room for FHA to take an even greater share of the market.
8) It’s taking an average of 45 days to sell a house in Sacramento:
It took an average of 45 days to sell a home in Sacramento County last month (that’s the same as the previous month). As you can see above, the market doesn’t behave the same in every price range. Generally speaking, the higher the price, the longer it takes to sell. There were only 5 sales above $1M last month, and they sold very quickly. For reference, current listings above $1M have been on the market for an average of 119 days. Take stats below $100K and above $1M with a grain of salt since data is limited in both price segments.
9) Distressed sales are only 5% of the entire market:
The market hit bottom in early 2012, and since then both REO sales (bank-owned) and short sales have seen a dramatic decline. The market simply is not driven by distressed sales any longer. In fact, only 5% of all sales last month were REOs and 6% were short sales. Investors did a great job buying up the distressed market over the past couple of years, and banks have likely done a better job with loan modifications too. Some say there is a “foreclosure wave” coming, but friends, people have been saying that for 6 years. When looking at the stats, there is a slight uptick in foreclosures this year in terms of volume, but it’s more like a rain drop rather than a wave.
10) There are many layers to the housing market
These are some of my favorite graphs because they help show that the market is made up of many layers. Housing trends are never just about supply and demand, but interest rates, the job market, cash investors, the economy, buyer confidence, availability of financing, etc…
Conclusion: The market is experiencing a normal Fall seasonal dip, yet at the same time the market as a whole is definitely cooling. Interest rates have seen a decline lately, which helps buyers gain more power in the market to a certain extent, but increasing inventory is the trump card in that higher inventory carries the most weight to drive values these days in Sacramento.
5 Quick Tips for Real Estate Agents:
- Price Correctly: Houses that are priced right are selling, but overpriced homes are sitting. The market is still very price sensitive, meaning buyers will pull the trigger quickly when the price is right.
- Current Listings: Remember to price according to the most current listings that are actually getting into contract. Of course you’ll want to pay attention to sales, but remember that sales are historical documents in that they tell us what the market used to be like whenever the sales got into contract. Today’s market might have softer prices compared to six months ago, so that’s why current pendings (and listings) can sometimes help give us a better temperature of what the market is like right now.
- Concessions & Credits: As inventory increases, buyers in some price ranges are going to be asking sellers for more credits for repairs and/or concessions in the purchase price. Preparing your sellers for this reality is important. Also, remember to be cautious about padding the price with concessions beyond what it can appraise for.
- Know FHA Standards: One in four sales were FHA last month, so it makes it all the more important to be in tune with what it takes for a property to meet minimum FHA appraisal standards. On a side note, if you do not know where a carbon monoxide detector should be installed, read here.
- Being a “Short Sale Specialist”: There are still short sales happening, but keep in mind only 6% of all sales last month were short sales (which translates to 64 short sales in November in the entire county). It’s still somewhat relevant for your website and business card to say “Short Sale Specialist”, but keep in mind there are lots of agents out there to service this limited pool of sellers. Consider marketing to sellers who have equity again and to buyers who went through a foreclosure or short sale several years ago and can now re-enter the market (these buyers are called “Boomerang Buyers”).
I hope this was helpful. Thank you so much for being here.
Sharing Trends with your Clients? If you want to share graphs online or in your newsletter, please see my sharing policy. Thank you for sharing.
Questions: How else would you describe the market? What are you seeing out there?
If you liked this post, subscribe by email (or RSS). Thanks for being here.
The market ripened early this year. Buyers have simply been ready before sellers. On one hand listings and sales have been at fairly normal levels for the first two months of the year, so we can say the market is normal in that regard. But buyer demand really took off last month as pendings in the regional market were up by almost 30% compared to last February. This is the part that is not normal, and why we can say the Spring market ripened early.
One Paragraph to Explain the Market: Well-priced listings are going quickly and experiencing multiple offers, but otherwise properties are sitting on the market if they are not priced correctly. Buyers have been anxious to get into contract, but at the same time they seem to be showing discretion by not readily pulling the trigger on homes with adverse locations or issues. This has led to a sense of many current listings feeling like leftovers since they’ve been well vetted like thrift store clothing. The good news is we are reaching the time of year where more listings should be hitting the market to help alleviate the pressure of a lack of good inventory. Lastly, it took a few less days to sell last month, inventory decreased, and the sales to original list price ratio increased (all normal in Spring).
NOTE: I am posting once a week now, and this means my big monthly post will have less text, but a few more graphs (Placer, Sacramento County, & Regional Market).
Two ways to read this post:
DOWNLOAD 45+ graphs HERE for free (zip file): Please download these 45+ graphs here as a zip file (or send me an email). Use them for study, for your newsletter, or even some on your blog. See my sharing policy for 5 ways to share.
SACRAMENTO COUNTY:
PLACER COUNTY:
SACRAMENTO REGION (Sac, Placer, Yolo, El Dorado):
Questions: What is driving buyers to get into contract? Is it low rates? Is it a sense of needing to get in a home before values rise too quickly? What do you think?
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