Hat tip to W.C. for sending in this article:
http://money.cnn.com/2015/04/15/real_estate/housing-markets-fastest-sales/index.html?iid=HP_River
An excerpt:
The report tracked home sales listed on Trulia in the 100 biggest metro areas in the U.S. on Feb. 5 and were still available on April 5. In addition to the 8 cities in California, Seattle and Salt Lake City, Utah, also made the top 10 list.
Farther south in the Golden State, homes in San Diego are also selling at a rapid pace with 33% of homes listed in February still available 60 days later, down from 44% the year prior.
This means buyers, especially first-timers, need to go into their house hunt prepared, advised McLaughlin.
“Not only is it more difficult to buy where homes are moving fastest, the homes first-timers would buy are moving faster compared to middle and higher-priced homes. It’s a double whammy.”
San Diego had the biggest YoY change of the Top 10 cities:
So when I go looking at a house that has been on the market for, basically, the last calendar year at essentially the same price, that would qualify as an OPT?
Wonder if the report adjusts for properties that list and delist, or list and cancel which seems to be an increasing trend.
Wonder if the report adjusts for properties that list and delist, or list and cancel which seems to be an increasing trend.
Agreed, they are short on details but NAR and other real estate industry titans don’t publish ANY quality studies, so these get the press coverage – without examination.
I included it because SD was #1 YoY, which might only mean we are the best at ‘re-freshing’ our listings!
I would submit that any house in Coastal North County without an offer in two weeks at current pricing is an OPT
So when I go looking at a house that has been on the market for, basically, the last calendar year at essentially the same price, that would qualify as an OPT?
We all agree that price will fix anything.
But I’m getting more convinced that the upper-end market homes are so unique, and typically need so much updating, that there is a price that would fix it, but it’s nowhere close to what the sellers would take. Some houses would need to be discounted 25% to 50% to compensate for repairs/remodeling/re-construction, and high-end sellers would never go for that.
In an environment where prices are rising it’d be difficult to convince
sellers of OPT to lower the prices especially when they are not in a hurry to sell ( their day to day living expenses don’t depend upon the sale proceeds).
Case in point. Talking with the agent of an OPT. OPT on 3 or 4th mls listing over last 12 months (same agent) same basic price. Multiple houses nearby get listed and sold in same $$ range as OPT, while OPT sits with little to no activity. Agent’s comment: those new sales will bring the comps up, so they are thinking about raising the price of the OPT to be in line with the new comps…. clearly the sellers aren’t in any hurry.
If the agent were to sell it, he’d then be out of business – and it could be months or years before another listing comes along.
The current 2015 market is running similar to last year I believe you said recently. Are you saying the majority of the sales will occur in the January through June time frame? Do you think the market will remain strong in the second half of the calendar year for sales and prices? Just curious on your market outlook.
Apologies for not bringing this to your attention earlier. As you see, my sad corner of SoCal is #9.
I know this is a useful metric but caution against using it against past years. New game, new rules. Lots of unmet demand but not a lot of ability to pay in current credit conditions.
I rarely comment, even though I have been working at Klinge Realty for 5 years now, but I will put in my two cents today. The market will bear what a Buyer is willing to pay for a home. If an OPT all of sudden goes pending it is because a Buyer found some value in that property, that the last buyer didn’t. If an OPT continues to sit then it has no worth to any buyers that have seen it.
The WORTH OF A HOME IS NOT BLACK AND WHITE!!! A CMA or appraisal does not put value on a home. The value and worth of a home is what the buyer is willing to pay for it.
Example: My buyers are closing on a home on Monday. I have been working with these clients for over 3 years, yes, over 3 years. They got so tired of the market that they stepped out of the market and started renting in March of 2013. They emailed me in December of 2014 and wanted to start looking again. They found a home and made an offer, the seller countered with no appraisal contingency. AND GUESS WHAT? The home appraised $41,000 below the contract price. Did they back out? NO! They are closing escrow on Monday at the contract price. Why? Because, the location, the school district, the home, the neighborhood is more important to them than what some appraiser put on paper.
Ladies and gentlemen, owning a home is a risk, the market may go down, it may go up. We, I, Zillow, the NAR, the CAR can’t guarantee it’s course, but what I can tell you is that, Jim, Kayla, Donna, myself will give you an honest answer, we will guide you through the selling or buying of a home with integrity and honesty. For some, you may find someone else that you feel better working with, that happens. Heck 50% of marriages end in divorce, due to the wrong partner. But, for the other 50% bring on the happiness.
And get good help!