Where have all the houses gone?

Where have all the houses gone?

Nope, not the name of a new country song but it could be.

Why is the inventory of existing homes on the market so far down compared to last year?

·         The flood of foreclosures and short sales has all but disappeared, processing all the way through the market.  There is not another wave of of foreclosures of any meaningful size that is on the horizon.

·         New construction is just ramping up.  There are fewer new home developments with a surplus of homes built and ready to go.  Custom builders are seeing an increase in business because there are so few existing homes move-in ready.

·         There are still quite a few owners that are upside down on their mortgages – their home value is less than what they owe the bank.  Over the long run, prices need to go up to make these homes viable for sale.  Unfortunately, it takes time for prices to rise and there aren’t enough sales happening right now to speed up the price increase.  Back in the day, if a homeowner was upside down, they only had to wait a few months for the market to catch up to them.  Not anymore.

So for now, even with interest rates at historical lows, we can still expect inventory to stay low.  As prices inch up over time, we can expect to move towards a recovery with an increased inventory of existing homes.

PS – This is great news for those of you who are selling that are not upside down on your mortgage versus home value.  You will sell quickly and be at or above the current market value.

Sandy LeRette – Realtor® ABR – Better Homes & Garden Real Estate / The Masiello Group – 436 Amherst Street, Nashua, NH  03063  cell: (603) 661-7301 email: slerette@masiello.com

Bob LeRette – Div. Sales Manager/ Real Estate – Boston.com & The Boston Globe,  617-929-2104 email:  robert.lerette@boston.com   & Realtor® - Better Homes & Garden Real Estate / The Masiello Group – 436 Amherst Street, Nashua, NH  03063

Springtime Market

You have to love New England.  The extremes of our weather can be crazy.  But sandwiched between 2-foot snowstorms and sweltering humid days – is Springtime!   

April and May are the biggest months in Real Estate.  It’s our holiday selling season.  Summer and Fall are pretty good too but Spring is by far the busiest.  There is nothing like the optimism of warmer days and budding trees to put people in the mood for buying and selling houses.

The recent low inventories have created a sellers' market. And even as listings increase with the Spring market, it’s still low when compared to last year.  Due to this, buyers can expect to compete against multiple offers on houses they are ready to pursue.  

Before we all get excited about Real Estate prices going up, sellers cannot overprice their home just because of low competition.  The house still needs to appraise for the value of the mortgage.  Appraised value is based off condition and the recent sale prices of similar properties in the market.  The key word there is “recent’ sale prices.  Prices will inch up over time but we can’t expect a huge jump all at once.

Smart buyer will work with their agent to put in a fair offer at market value or just above.  Low-ball offers are a waste of everyone’s time in this market.  Sellers don’t have to worry that there won’t be another offer coming shortly.

If the market were a teeter-totter it would be almost flat and balanced.  It’s a level playing field.    If, as a buyer, you’re afraid of overpaying or, as a seller, afraid of not getting top dollar, now would be the perfect time to step into the Real Estate ring.

Sandy LeRette – Realtor® ABR – Better Homes & Garden Real Estate / The Masiello Group – 436 Amherst Street, Nashua, NH  03063  cell: (603) 661-7301 email: slerette@masiello.com

 

Bob LeRette – Div. Sales Manager/ Real Estate – Boston.com & The Boston Globe,  617-929-2104 email:  robert.lerette@boston.com   & Realtor® - Better Homes & Garden Real Estate / The Masiello Group – 436 Amherst Street, Nashua, NH  03063