by Jim the Realtor | May 20, 2014 | Jim's Take on the Market, Market Buzz, Market Conditions, Tips, Advice & Links, Why You Should List With Jim |
Hat tip to Susie for sending this in from CNNMoney:
http://money.cnn.com/2014/05/20/real_estate/home-sales-fear/index.html?iid=s_mpm
An excerpt:
Tim Trampedach, a 36-year-old business owner who lives in San Francisco, has seen his home’s value soar from $1.2 million to $1.6 million in the past three years. He and his wife want to move into a bigger place, but there are simply no homes within their price range in their Portrero Hill neighborhood.
“My wife and I are effectively locked into the house,” he said. “We can’t sell because we can’t afford anything else nearby.”
They would probably struggle to buy their existing home at its current value of $1.6 million, let alone buy a more-expensive home that would make it worth it to move. If you just bought at $1.2M, jumping up to $2,000,000 or more is a big stretch.
But if you can make the jump financially, then how do you pull it off?
Here are more excerpts from the article:
In fact, demand is so high that real estate agents are actively seeking people who are willing to sell. “You get letters in the mail asking if you’re interested in selling,” said Jackson. “People knock on your doors.”
In mid-April she got an enticing, unsolicited offer on the house, which Zillow estimates to be worth $420,000.
“My husband and I talked it over,” she said. “We hemmed and hawed. It was too good to be true, but we worried: Would we find a house we wanted?”
The buyer agreed to give the couple until October to find a new place, so they took the offer.
One way sellers can protect themselves is to make the sale of their home contingent upon their ability to find another one to move into.
Patrick Matson and his fiance, Margarita Munoz, insisted on such a clause when they put their Anaheim, Calif. home up for sale. Up until last Friday they had an offer on their home, but their own search did not go well.
The couple had made offers on two homes in La Mirada, where they liked the school district for their four-year-old son. But both offers were rejected.
The homes they looked at were between $430,000 and $480,000, but were no bigger or better than their current place, which they listed for $415,000.
Discouraged, the couple decided to reject the offer and take their home off the market.
“It was not an easy decision to make, provided that we knew the folks who had an offer in on our home were going to be disappointed and it wasn’t what we wanted either,” said Matson.
The couple plans to make some upgrades to their current place and will try again in a year or two, he said. “Hopefully the market won’t be so competitive by then.”
You have to be able to buy high enough to make it worth it – my rule of thumb is 50% higher than the old house – AND be able to convince the seller that you aren’t submitting an offer contingent upon finding a buyer for your old house. Having your buyers do their inspection and appraisal and then release their contingencies would go a long way to making your offer look non-contingent.
You may have to help your buyer with some costs to get to that stage, but to pull it off the move-up, you have to make bold and decisive moves, work with a great agent, and hope for some luck!
by Jim the Realtor | May 20, 2014 | Jim's Take on the Market, Market Conditions, North County Coastal |
Zillow’s Negative Equity Report for the first quarter was released today, and it adds to why we aren’t seeing many short sales or REOs around NSDCC.
The upper tier homes have the most equity, and in San Diego only 5.2% of the higher-end homes are underwater:
With very little pressure on sellers, we will probably just settle into a real estate malaise for the rest of the year – with occasional bursts of activity caused by well-priced homes or price reductions.
http://zillow.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=159&item=437
by Jim the Realtor | May 19, 2014 | Bubbleinfo TV |
More of the stuff that happens around town, including a tour of the new Alga Norte Park in Carlsbad the day after the fire:
by Jim the Realtor | May 19, 2014 | Inventory
Between the fires and the MLS being turned off over the weekend, these stats should be light – and next week’s will probably be heavier.
So let’s enjoy Rich’s latest work that shows the SD active inventory up 48% YoY, but in line with previous years:
Click HERE to link to his full report.
The new MLS is working, but I haven’t figured out how to get average DOM and SF yet. There were a couple of abnormally-high cost-per-sf homes listed this week in the Over-$2,400,000 market, but it is hard to believe that the average $/sf bounced all the way back to $1,000/sf:
North SD County’s Coastal Region (La Jolla-to-Carlsbad)
The UNDER-$800,000 Market:
Date |
NSDCC Active Listings |
Avg. LP/sf |
DOM |
Avg SF |
November 25 |
95 |
$376/sf |
47 |
1,988sf |
December 2 |
79 |
$371/sf |
50 |
2,047sf |
December 9 |
72 |
$383/sf |
43 |
1,954sf |
December 16 |
81 |
$378/sf |
42 |
1,948sf |
December 23 |
77 |
$374/sf |
49 |
1,937sf |
December 30 |
76 |
$373/sf |
51 |
1,950sf |
January 6 |
74 |
$370/sf |
49 |
1,995sf |
January 13 |
71 |
$381/sf |
44 |
1,921sf |
January 20 |
72 |
$384/sf |
41 |
1,877sf |
January 27 |
75 |
$399/sf |
40 |
1,891sf |
February 3 |
78 |
$409/sf |
41 |
1,876sf |
February 10 |
82 |
$395/sf |
38 |
1,927sf |
February 17 |
85 |
$387/sf |
35 |
1,929sf |
February 24 |
90 |
$383/sf |
37 |
2,008sf |
March 3 |
82 |
$397/sf |
39 |
1,942sf |
March 10 |
88 |
$377/sf |
37 |
2,008sf |
March 17 |
89 |
$366/sf |
34 |
2,038sf |
March 24 |
79 |
$369/sf |
34 |
2,031sf |
March 31 |
78 |
$367/sf |
39 |
2,069sf |
April 7 |
87 |
$373/sf |
32 |
2,054sf |
April 14 |
97 |
$380/sf |
31 |
2,000sf |
April 21 |
87 |
$377/sf |
32 |
2,062sf |
April 28 |
107 |
$379/sf |
29 |
2,044sf |
May 5 |
114 |
$376/sf |
27 |
2,046sf |
May 12 |
108 |
$385/sf |
31 |
2,012sf |
May 19 |
107 |
$385/sf |
0 |
0sf |
The $800,000 – $1,400,000 Market:
Date |
NSDCC Active Listings |
Avg. LP/sf |
DOM |
Avg SF |
November 25 |
245 |
$448/sf |
61 |
2,856sf |
December 2 |
239 |
$448/sf |
64 |
2,851sf |
December 9 |
226 |
$461/sf |
65 |
2,812sf |
December 16 |
211 |
$464/sf |
66 |
2,794sf |
December 23 |
197 |
$453/sf |
73 |
2,813sf |
December 30 |
173 |
$450/sf |
78 |
2,821sf |
January 6 |
170 |
$470/sf |
65 |
2,757sf |
January 13 |
168 |
$463/sf |
59 |
2,764sf |
January 20 |
174 |
$444/sf |
51 |
2,882sf |
January 27 |
166 |
$435/sf |
52 |
2,902sf |
February 3 |
165 |
$441/sf |
53 |
2,857sf |
February 10 |
175 |
$443/sf |
51 |
2,852sf |
February 17 |
180 |
$447/sf |
50 |
2,803sf |
February 24 |
188 |
$438/sf |
44 |
2,846sf |
March 3 |
202 |
$421/sf |
44 |
2,936sf |
March 10 |
215 |
$431/sf |
41 |
2,854sf |
March 17 |
223 |
$421/sf |
42 |
2,918sf |
March 24 |
217 |
$419/sf |
42 |
2,941sf |
March 31 |
223 |
$425/sf |
44 |
2,887sf |
April 7 |
224 |
$428/sf |
44 |
2,881sf |
April 14 |
233 |
$429/sf |
44 |
2,892sf |
April 21 |
237 |
$432/sf |
44 |
2,894sf |
April 28 |
240 |
$430/sf |
45 |
2,848sf |
May 5 |
272 |
$434/sf |
42 |
2,838sf |
May 12 |
269 |
$438/sf |
42 |
2,831sf |
May 19 |
275 |
$436/sf |
0 |
0sf |
(more…)
by Jim the Realtor | May 19, 2014 | Listing Agent Practices, Why You Should List With Jim
Hat tip to DOB for sending in this article about a realtor report that uses average and median sales prices, which aren’t the best ways to compare. But it did describe an attempt at an off-market sale:
http://blog.sfgate.com/ontheblock/2014/05/15/a-rare-look-at-off-market-sales/#23276101=1
The average single-family home in San Francisco sold for 17% more in 2013 if it was marketed on the city’s MLS rather than if it were sold “off market,” according to a new report. The percentage narrows a bit for condos, which sold for 9% more on the MLS. The same report also found that despite this gap, 11% of S.F. sales occurred off-market in 2013. When looking at only the top 100 high-end properties, the percentage of off-market sales almost doubled, to 20%.
“I’ve heard a lot of heated arguments [about off-market deals], but very little data,” said real-estate agent and report author Matt Fuller. “This was an attempt to add some data to the discussion instead of just yelling louder.”
As a director for the San Francisco Association of Realtors, which runs the SFARMLS, as well a co-chair of the SFMLS & Technology Committee, it would be easy to think that Fuller has a vested interest in proving the MLS’s worth.
But Fuller insists that he was not expecting to discover such a large gap between on and off market deals, even though his own recent experience selling a property at One Rincon Hill (pictured above) is in line with his report’s findings.
Fuller said that the one-bedroom on the 41st floor got an off-market offer of $980K. The seller decided to take it to market anyway, and after quickly receiving six offers (four of which were all-cash), it sold for $1.050 million.
But, Fuller also said that, for some clients, the privacy or convenience of selling off-market may outweigh the added financial benefits of going on the MLS.
(more…)
by Jim the Realtor | May 18, 2014 | Jim's Take on the Market, Listing Agent Practices, Thinking of Selling?, Why You Should List With Jim |
Anyone can sell during a frenzy; when the going gets tougher, then what?
by Jim the Realtor | May 17, 2014 | Jim's Take on the Market |
We had about 30-40 people attend the open house today, which is great for this location because it’s off the beaten path.
There was at least three good potential buyers, and we may see an offer as soon as tomorrow. Nobody complained about the plant, which was a stark contrast to the last time I was in this neighborhood, but that was on Steinbeck in the tract below.
Having copies of this article helped – the height of new smoke stack will only be 90 feet, which is considerably less than the current 400-footer:
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/Jan/14/carlsbad-encina-power-peaker-plant-deal/
Everyone was excited about the thought of mortgage rates starting with a 3, which appears to be imminent. BofA is quoting 4.0% for jumbo mortgages with 0.9 points today.
The loudest guffaw was heard when discussing the new MLS system, which launched today. As expected, there doesn’t appear to be much different between the new and old MLS; it’s the same data sorted differently and with a smaller font type.
They added a new feature for those agents who don’t have a calculator – they now give the 12-month total of HOA dues. An agent called today wondering if my listing’s HOA fee was $1,392 per month (the actual $116/mo x 12).
They need to dumb it down, and make the font size larger, because we’re not dealing with phi beta kappas here. Kayla went to the new-MLS training session and said most in attendance were struggling with the basics, and one agent literally couldn’t even turn on her I-Pad.
I was busy enough talking real estate that I didn’t give away one hot dog, and decided to pack it in for tomorrow. But I’ll have the drone – stop by 12-3pm!
http://www.sdlookup.com/MLS-140026212-5212_Clemens_Ct_Carlsbad_CA_92008
by Jim the Realtor | May 16, 2014 | Thinking of Buying?, Thinking of Selling?, View, Why You Should List With Jim |
Thankfully the fire in Carlsbad has subsided, and we can get back to real estate. Check out my new listing of the former model in Spyglass Hills that has the full 180-degree ocean view, big yard, 3-car, new carpet & paint, and loads of builder upgrades:
Come by the open houses Saturday and Sunday where we will be having the All-American BBQ and get your photo taken by the drone!
http://www.sdlookup.com/MLS-140026212-5212_Clemens_Ct_Carlsbad_CA_92008
The seller says that it is Catalina Island we see in the video – and he is a Naval officer, so he should know. Come by and see for yourself:
by Jim the Realtor | May 16, 2014 | Local Flavor |
The fire fighters are doing a great job – the damage could have been substantially worse because this fire wasn’t located on the outskirts of town – it was right in the middle:
They didn’t have the DC-10 flying on Thursday because it was the pilot’s day off. This is San Marcos or Escondido:
by Jim the Realtor | May 14, 2014 | Local Flavor |
I stayed clear of the fires, but saw these photos and video online. Only 4 houses and 18 condos lost, 2 commercial buildings, and seven others damaged. I think the two houses above are the ones circled in yellow below – and the news is reporting that the third house circled was also destroyed:
Raw footage from Channel 6:
http://www.sandiego6.com/news/local/Brush-fire-breaks-out-in-Carlsbad-259256831.html
L. A. Times photo gallery:
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-san-diego-brush-fire-pg-photogallery.html
DC-10 Super Tanker has arrived:
San Marcos last night from a distance: