Written by Jim the Realtor

May 4, 2014

History has shown that the real estate market is guided by a set of fundamentals. Could history change course?

Maybe, and if so, it will be a result of how the buyer pool keeps filling with of first-timers, multi-generational buyers, multi-national buyers, investors buying the bottom 5%-10%, and move-up-or-downers – all while the supply is going in the opposite direction – fast:

Captions provided for my own speaking at end!

8 Comments

  1. Jiji

    I think you were almost there !!

    NEED MORE NEW HOMES.

    Else you have to tell people they have to move to another state when they retire.

  2. elbarcosr

    As long as you can get 30 year money in the 4’s and even 5’s, and as long as you can get 5/1 and 7/1 money in the low 3’s (and even high 2’s still), the new fundementals will play. An extra 100k is only 425-500 a month. Throw in the international money and buy and hold investors that signed long term leases and happy with the cash flow and appreciation (and where are their tenants going to go? If you think it is bad trying to buy a house, try to find someone a decent rental), and demand will be there for awhile. Pile on with the fact that as long as buying conditions are tough, the casual move up or down buyer will be dissuaded from even giving it a go. I’ve noticed a lot more construction guys with new trucks lately; makes me think that remodel and stay in place is become more attractive than moving (there is some hard scientific data for ya). Now for kicks, lets talk about what happens is inflation kicks in…..

  3. livinincali

    During the periods when the economy is in a bubble fundamentals don’t matter. In the late 1990’s PE ratios and other stock valuation measurements didn’t matter because of the internet revolution. In the 2003-2006 fundamentals didn’t matter because home prices always went up and neg am loans where a great product.

    Essentially my opinion is “the new normal” is just this bubbles “it’s different this time” rationalization. When does it end? Who knows, bubbles pop when they pop. I figure in the next 2-3 years this “New normal” will be paying the price for ignoring the fact that the fundamentals didn’t really change that much. Housing may fare better than other assets classes when the next bubble pops. That’s certainly debatable. Muni bonds did pretty well during the last blow up.

    Fundamentally a couple things have indeed changed though. Demographics and investment into residential real estate will have some effect on the market. I don’t think it’s enough to overcome traditional factors such as income, interest rates, debt ratios, etc. San Diego as a retirement destination for the wealthy? Maybe that does trump macro fundamentals for specific regions in San Diego County.

  4. elbarcosr

    I’ll give you one more on lack of supply. This is not new fundementals, it is a reversion to old fundementals. The idea that you should keep moving and keep buying up and churn your house like it is an investment was a 20 year fad. We are now heading back to old fundementals. Buy a nice house to live in, get comfortable with your life and kids and neighbors, and live. Kids can move in or sell it when you are gone.

  5. Mozart

    Imagine anyone thinking this post was possible even 2 years ago.

  6. dacounselor

    I look at this blog entry in combination with the prior two on CV and Chinese buyers to get a sense of the new fundamentals generated by the inflow of international buyers. San Diego buyers face serious challenges due to lack of new construction, remodel > move-up trend, and significant international interest layered on top of domestic interest in the area. It’s a tough combo of factors for buyers. Not sure when if ever there will be any significant relief.

  7. Jim the Realtor

    I agree – and think that any rate bump won’t be that detrimental to the exclusive areas.

    Buyers have already shrugged off higher rates and prices like they were a flesh wound.

  8. Jim the Realtor

    This article is trying to shed some light on new fundamentals:

    http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/05052014_corelogic_insights.asp

    Fleming said the housing and financial crisis has forced the industry to come up with new measurements for events and activities that were not previously monitored such as negative equity and shadow inventory. Now he says we need to pay attention to obsolescence. “Maybe the reason that home sales aren’t increasing is because buyers can’t find anything they want to buy. More viable homes for sale are needed to draw this demand out of the shadows.”

    In a second article, A New Source of Shadow Inventory, the economist maintains that the definition of the term should be expanded to include non-distressed existing homeowners who have no incentive to sell because the prevailing mortgage rate is higher than the mortgage on their existing home. Roughly half of the 50 million mortgaged homes in the U.S. have below-market-rate mortgages and if as conventional wisdom says, homeowners typically sell once every seven years, there may mean 3.57 million likely sellers who will not list their homes because the cost of financing a new home will be higher.

    Fleming says that adding these “rate-disenfranchised sellers” to the traditional shadow inventory results in a new estimate of 5.27 million homes as of January 2014. Compared to one year ago, when the interest rate was 4 percent, only 28 percent of potential sellers or 2 million might have been dissuaded from listing, expanding that shadow inventory from 2.2 million under the traditional definition to 4.2 million homes.

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