About 19669247

Inventory of homes continues to tighten

The November sales numbers for Central Indiana have been tallied, and the verdict is the inventory of homes available is tightening as we head into the winter months.

 

Sales were up in November, 4% over last November and 9% for the most recent 12 months over the previous.  (That’s good news.)  But… new listings have not kept pace, leaving just a 4.4 month supply of homes available for every sale taking place. That number is down 12% from a year ago, reflecting the smaller number of homes available for each buyer to choose from.   Those trends have combined to force the median average sales price up to $145,000 (up 6% from last November).  That’s all good news for those thinking about selling.

Meanwhile, mortgage rates are near 4%, a number unheard of for all but the last several years of Federal Reserve tampering.  And those 4% interest rates make for monthly payments almost half of what they would’ve been during most of the second half of the 20th Century (for the same amount borrowed).

Want to see how all those numbers add up for your personal situation?  Ez, call me.

More people renting, landlords making more money

More people over 40 years of age are renting.  In fact, the US Census Bureau reports that 51% of households headed by 40+ers now rent.  This number is up from 43% twenty years ago.  I don’t think most of that is by choice.  The financial crisis uprooted about that many homeowners, and with a stumbling economy of part-time and low paying jobs, many people have not found their footing enough to once again become homeowners.

Thanks to the Fed, those homes taken from former lower and middle income homeowners wound up in the hands of Wall Street hedge funds, who made rentals out of them.  That play has not suited the former homeowners very well.  Between 2001 and 2014, while the national average income has fallen by 9%, rents have increased 7%.  Call that a double whammy that makes buying a home look like a great deal.

“U get what u pay 4!”

You’ve heard that old saw many times, and you know it to be true.  However, for some unexplainable reason we humans repeatedly test its validity.  I guess it comes down to trying to “get something for nothing.”  Instead, what we usually get when we venture down this path is “nothing for something.”

Case in point… A month ago I was talking with a home buyer who lived out of state and was preparing to relocate to central Indiana.  They came up and we looked at a half dozen houses, but none seemed to hit their hot button.  They were either overpriced bad houses, or good houses on terms this buyer really hoped not to pay.  Then, driving around on their own they came across a house that appeared to come pretty close to satisfying their housing wants and needs— and it was a really great deal!  (Or so it seemed.)

Flash forward a month, and I get a call from them, only to hear that they’d bought a lemon, and they were trying desperately to get out of the deal.  The plumbing was in shambles- with sinks, toilets and bathtubs backing up every time they turned around.  On top of that, the seller was a dirtbag, and had spray painted over water stain lines and mold on the basement walls.  So, they have problems, and they need to cut their losses and get out of this lemon before it consumes their money and their health.

Now, I can’t guarantee that when someone works with me that all of the potential problems get revealed before the buyer writes a check.  However, I’ve been doing this a long time and have extensive experience as an inspector, appraiser and building contractor (not to mention realtor); and all of those experiences has put me in a position to recognize and comprehend what’s going on far better than someone buying their first, second, or even their tenth home.  Let’s just say, the odds are much, MUCH better that the house being purchased is going to have real and lasting value.

Housing is a huge investment- many times greater than anything else you buy.  So, be smart and put together a team of trusted advisors when you get ready to buy a home.  That’s what I do for my clients.  My team can save you a whole lotta’ grief, and time, and money.  And steer you away from a lemon in disguise, a pig with lipstick, a money pit.  It’s a lot cheaper to do it right the first time.  Call me.