New iPhone App For House Hunters

Have you ever been driving around, stumbled upon a house that’s for sale but there isn’t any information available?  Whether you’re just looking for fun or you’re actively looking for a new home, the “myAgent by IDX” is an awesome tool to receive local real estate listings at your finger tips.

Using GeoTracking, the app identifies where you’re located and pulls up all the actives listings in the area.  Plotted on a map you’ll see where each house is located – scroll over the little house image and you’ll get additional information about that specific home (price, number of bedrooms, bathrooms and the public remarks from RMLS). 

Here’s how to get it!  There are two ways to download and install:

1.       From your desktop computer, click here to open iTunes on your local system, which will bring up the “myAgent by IDX” application. Click to install the app – you will need to enter the agent code “7125-55” when prompted.  The next time your phone is synced to your computer, the app will be installed on your phone.

2.       Or, from your iPhone, go to the App Store, and search for “myAgent by IDX”. Click to install the myAgent app.   ***Important:  when you open the app for the first time on your iPhone, the program will ask for your agent code. Type in “7125-55”. This will give you permission to access the current data through your phone.

The data for this application is pulled directly from RMLS and works well within the Google mapping system when searching for properties, as well as viewing results throughout the greater Portland area.

Please share with your friends, family and colleagues.  No more wishing there were flyers in the box, no more questioning the list price or how many bedrooms – get the answers at the tip of your fingers on every active listing!  Of course, call me if you have additional questions – this app will only provide high level information.

Have a good one – Happy Hunting!

~Kori

Signs of Real Estate LIFE?

This past week, the headline article in the Portland Tribune was “Signs of Real Estate LIFE?  Builders, Realtors look for signals that home sales are bouncing back“, so what was the consensus?  It sounds like a broken record but it’s still a great time to buy and that’s not just me, that’s the first line of the article.

As a Realtor, I struggle everyday with the question – is the market getting better?  Well, that depends.  Are you looking at a downtown condo hoping it’s a good investment or are you looking at a free-standing house in one of Portland’s close-in neighborhoods?  Even then, the answer is still, it depends. 

I was out on the river last night with my fellow dragon boaters as we cruised past the South Waterfront – you’d think we were looking at some abused caged animal… ah, it’s too bad, can believe all those beautiful condos have been foreclosed upon and were auctioned off for practically nothing?  First of all, it was 50 units within the John Ross which has a total of 303 units.  Yes, the South Waterfront is a “distressed” area but I personally believe it’s a result of the overall economy, eventually, this will be a happenin’ area – it was just a little premature for the Portland Market.  Similar to beach front property, there is only so much river front property so eventually, this area will take off as it was intended. 

Similarly, other close-in neighborhoods have not felt the hit that the outlining areas have suffered.  Yes, values are soft when compared to 2005-2007 but we all knew, that bubble was going to burst because prices were rapidly becoming falsely inflated.  If a neighbor sold their house a month prior for $300,000, the new listings were coming on at $325,000 and also selling in days.  We are still seeing a market where properties are on the market for literally days – it’s happening all over the city. 

So, if you ask me if the market is getting better, I’d say, it depends.  What area of town?  What are your short and long-term goals in-regard to the home?  A home is still a great investment!  It’s one of the few remaining tax deductions other than children for the majority of Americans who are not self-employed (and trust me, the deductions for the self-employed are dwindling as well).  Interest rates are still fantastic – remember, when the market was booming we were at 6% – 7% and in the 1980’s we saw interest rates in the double digits!

Regardless of the tax credit, it is still a great time to buy – the credit was a wonderful motivator but the market is not going to come to a stretching halt on May 1st – remember, there were criteria that limited the credits to a particular segment of the population, not everyone who purchased a home this past year is collecting tax credit.

~Kori

RMLS Market Action – February 2010

The February 2010 RMLS Martket Action Stats were published today.  Again, I keep saying it, and the proof is in the numbers, the market is picking up!  Slow and steady like the tortoise (we saw what happened when the hare lead the race in the late-90’s to mid-2000’s).

Sales activity was up in February 2010 both month-over-month and year-over-year.  We saw closed business rise 2.9% over January 2010 and 18.4% over February 2009!  No surprise, values are still down – the average sales price was down month-over-month 3.3% ($273,100 v. $282,400) – so what does this tell us? 

It’s still a great time to buy!  I hesitate to say it’s a buyers’ market, it’s THE market and everyone needs to adjust.  Sellers’ need to price their homes accordingly (which as we can see from above – right now, that’s 3.3% below what you would have listed it at last month).  It is still important to get it priced correct out of the gate and get your home sold – you’ll leave money on the table if you’re facing a price reduction in 30-45 days. 

So, does this mean it’s a terrible time for sellers?  NO.  Homes are still selling and selling quickly.  It’s about being ready for the market and pricing your home to compete!  Real estate is not a spectator sport and this is most definitely, not a spectator’s market. 

That’s why I hestiate to say it’s a buyers’ market – if you see a great property, it will be snached up.  Of my transactions over the past year – 67% were on the market for less than 30 days (that’s both buyers and sellers).  Again, it’s not a buyers’ or a sellers’ market – it’s THE market and you need to act accordingly if you want to take advantage of one of the best markets (and rates) we’ve seen in years.

~Kori

Barbara Corcoran – A Tycoon’s Tips

Okay, here’s another article from the March/April 2010 AARP Magazine – I’m sharing these articles because for those of us that are not yet subscribers, we wouldn’t get this information otherwise.

Now, I’ve got to tell you, I’m feeling “wise beyond my years” – last week I offered my commentary regarding the state of the market when I posted the RMLS Market Action – January 2010.  I specifically said, this is a great market… why, because values are still soft and money is cheap!  Here’s the advice of real estate mogul Barbara Corcoran from the current issue of AARP:

BUY NOW!  That’s the hot advice of respected housing expert Barbara Corcoran, who says she’s never seen a better time to purchase a home.  “Typically when real-estate prices are low, interest rates are high.  This is the first time I’ve seen cheap money and cheap prices simultaneously.  This is the good old days we’ve dreamt about.”

Corcoran has a knack for timing.  Having parlayed a $1,000 loan into the high-end New York City real-estate firm she started, The Corcoran Group, she sold the company for $66 million in 2001, before the market cratered.

Now, as an investor on ABC’s ”Shark Tanks”, Corcoran encourages buyers to jump at the abundance of good deals.  “It’s the perfect time to snatch a bargain or to up-grade,” she says.  And when does she think the market will rebound?  “Real estate is slow to unwind and fast to recover.  I suspect we’ll make up most of the loss of the last four years within the next 18 months.”

Now, that’s a bold statement but she is THE expert!  I said it’s a great time to buy for the exact same reasons and from a business perspective, I hope she’s right.  I believe we’ll see a rebound in the next 18 months, I’m just not sure if that will include a recovery of the losses we’ve seen over the past four years.  I actually hope that’s not the case- of course I want to see home values on the rise – as a REALTOR and as a home owner – however, I want to see a sustainable recovery.  If we regain the losses of the past four years in 18 months we will see inflated prices again and the dream of home-ownership out of reach for many first time buyers again.  Thankfully, Portland’s pendulum has not swung as aggressively to one side or another as it has in other markets (Arizona, Nevada, California, Florida) which also means our recovery should be less dramatic as well.  As Martha would say, “that’s a good thing”.

The moral of the story – it is a great time to buy.  Even if you miss out on the tax credit, values are still great and rates are still low.  I’d love to help you take advantage of this “perfect storm” and if you’ve been thinking about jumping into the market and have the means, you could still make the tax credit deadline as well – which is the whip-cream and cherry on top.  Give me a buzz or drop me a line and we can get started today building your real estate portfolio.

~Kori

2010: The Year of Growth as Projected by NAR Chief Economist

The following is an excerpt from an article by Robert Freedman, senior editor of REALTOR magazing-January 2010 Edition

2010: The Year of Growth

If 2009 was the year of economic recovery, 2010 will be the year of growth, says National Association of Realtors (NAR) Chief Economist Lawence Yun.

Existing-home sales in 2009 rose to an estimated 5 million units for the year, a 2 percent increase over the 4.9 million sales in 2008. For 2010, Yun is forecasting sales of 5.7 million units, a 13.6 percent increase.

The key to recovery in 2009 was the lower end of the existing-home market. Fueled by the huge number of distressed sales—which drove down prices nationally by an average of 13 percent for the year—buyers returned to the market looking for bargains. 

Also helping were continuing low interest rates (5.2 percent on average for 2009) and the first-time home buyer tax credit, which the IRS says had been tapped by an estimated 1.4 million households halfway through 2009, a figure that includes 350,000 to 400,000 consumers who wouldn’t have bought without it, according to NAR and other industry estimates. Close to 2 million buyers were expected to use the credit by the end of November, according to industry projections.

As a result of the sales pick-up, inventory for homes priced at $250,000 and under, which is well under the $417,000 conforming loan limit, improved to just 4.6 months in 2009, according to NAR data. That’s below what’s considered sustainable and has been inviting multiple bids in high-demand markets.

In part because of the difficulty of obtaining jumbo financing, no such turnaround was seen in the upper-end housing market. Indeed, nationally the inventory of homes above the $729,750 threshold remained above 40 months throughout 2009.

But Yun is forecasting improvement in 2010, as the strong performance at the lower end helps kickstart the upper-end market. In time for the spring selling season, spreads between jumbo and conforming loans are narrowing considerably. In the fourth quarter of 2009, spreads narrowed to about 70 basis points from about 150 basis points a year earlier, and that trend is expected to continue with more lenders returning to the jumbo space.

The new-home market is expected to improve as well. NAR estimates sales this year to jump to 549,000 units, up from 397,000 units in 2009, and housing starts to reach 752,000, compared to 564,000 units last year.

Yun and Chris Varvares, president of the national economic forecasting firm Macroeconomics Advisors in St. Louis, make clear that, even under their best-case scenarios, the performance of 2010 will lag behind what they consider to be a market in equilibrium. Although Yun’s estimated 2010 sales volume of 5.7 million is close to what it was in pre-boom 1999, that level is low when the country’s population, now 30 million larger than it was a decade ago, is factored in. Ideally, sales should be closer to 6 million, he says.

One reason for the subpar performance is continuing slow household formation, a key precursor to home sales. Until young people stop doubling up in rental units or living with their parents in such large numbers, sales will continue to lag, Yun says. That shift will be fueled by job growth and consumer confidence.

Once household numbers increase, sales may ignite because the market is seeing a lot of pent-up demand. More than 16 million renter households at the end of 2009 had sufficient income to buy a median-priced home, up from just 11 million in 2000, before the boom, Yun says. Once they get off the fence, sales will start heading up to a level reflective of the population.

Click here for the complete article.

~Kori

RMLS Market Action Report – December 2009 & Annual Wrap-Up

The RMLS Market Action stats have been released for December 2009 with an annual wrap-up for 2009.  Closed sales were up by 52.6% in December 2009 compared to December 2008, which is to be expected since we spent half the month of December 2008 under a sheet of ice and snow.

Looking at the stats for 2009 vs. 2008, you might think we didn’t come that far in the market but let’s look at some of the factors.  Total sales volume (acutal $$$) in 2009 was down about 12% when compared to 2008 – although that sounds like a depressing fact we must take into consideration the impact of the first time home buyer tax credit.  Effective, April 2009, the first time home buyers drove the market for the majority of 2009.  The 2009 tax credit had an income limitation of $75,000 for an individual and $150,000 for a couple filing jointly driving the sale of sub-$300,000 properties.  

I expect we will see an increase in the sales volume in 2010.  The home buyer tax credit will continue to play a significant role in the real estate market; however, the 2010 credit has some significant advantages – one, first time home buyers can now make up to $125,000 as an individual and $225,000 as a couple filing jointly to qualify for the $8,000 tax credit; two, the credit was extended to current home owners who have occupied their primary residence for the last 5 years – current home owners may purchase a new primary residence in 2010 (up to $800,000) and receive a $6,500 tax credit.  The caveat, buyers must be under contract (an accepted offer) by April 30, 2010 and close by June 30, 2010 to collect the credit.

As in 2009, the tax credit may be extended; however, I wouldn’t count on it until it actually happens.  It’s like depending upon a bonus you think you might be getting from work to find out the day before checks would typically be cut that the company is not offering bonuses at that time.  Coupled with the tax credit nearing is current deadline, analysts are also expecting interest rates in 2010 to rise. 

The stats might look frightening when just looking at the numbers and in some areas the market is still very distressed.  That is why it is so important to work with an experienced Realtor. 

Over the holiday I showed a client a property off of Alberta, the house was amazing – 4 bedrooms, 2 baths, new Warsbo plumbing, duel flush toilets, tankless water heater, new energy efficient washer & dryer (included), original charm throughout, etc… on the market for only 3 days when we toured the house.  We had been looking for quite some time and I told my client, this one is going to move quickly.  We put in an offer, slightly below asking price – the next morning the listing agent called to say another offer came in at full price.  Because we had presented a strong offer (it’s not always just about the price) the seller opted to counter our offer at full price before responding to the second offer.  We accepted – that was Christmas Eve.  Over the course of the weekend two more offers came in over list price.  You need to know the market of each specific neighborhood. 

I heard someone comment the other day, ‘yeah, offer 5% below the asking price – that’s standard in this market.’  First of all, this person was not a Realtor and second, anyone making a blanket statement like that has no clue about what is happening in the market.  Moral of the story, the market is improving – just look at the ”Inventory by Months” chart on the first page of the RMLS Market Action Report – we have half the inventory we had in December 2008 and almost 2/3 less inventory than January 2009, since January 2009 we have seen inventory levels decrease exponentially.  If you are on the fence about buying a home and you have a stable income, now is the time to buy.  Take advantage of the tax credits and great interest rates.

~Kori

RMLS Market Action Report – November 2009

The November 2009 RMLS Market Action stats came out this morning with more positive market news.

Closed sales were up 72.4% compared to November 2008 and pending sales rose 19.9%. New listings dropped 7%. 

The 72.4% same-month increase in closed sales is the largest percentage increase on record for the area. The previous high was 56.9% in December 1996.

So I’m not accused of being a “Polliana”, when you compare closed sales in November 2009 over October 2009 we saw a 10.7% decrease.  I’m sure everyone has their theories, personally, I think the uncertainty of the First Time Homebuyer tax credit played a significant role.  We see a decrease in average sales price from November 2008 to November 2009 by 11.4% and a decrease month-over-month by 3.6%.

Does this mean home values are still on the decline?  Yes, no, maybe-so.  Here’s something that has always remained true in the world of real estate, it’s all about location, location, location.  The market is and always has been completely dependant upon area, not just what city/town you live in but what neighborhood within that city/town and where within that neighborhood (are you on a busy street or does your home have a view of downtown?).  The average sales price is down year-over-year because there are incentives for First Time Buyers which also cap the income for one to collect the tax credit.  There are still areas that are experiencing declines but ask yourself what was happening in those areas prior to 2006.

The market is the market – good, bad or indifferent.  The question is, do you want to be a home owner?  If you’re ultimate goal is to own a home, now is a great time to take that plunge.  Great rates and soft values in addition to tax incentives have created the perfect storm.  If you’re looking for a sign the market is turning, 72.4% increase in same-month closed sales is substantial.  If you continue to wait you just might miss the boat.

~Kori

Existing-Home Sales Record Another Big Gain, Inventories Continue to Shrink

Yesterday, the National Association of Realtors released the October 2009 real estate statsfor existing homes (currently built homes vs. new construction) which showed another strong uptrend established over the past seven months, while inventories continue to decline (fewer homes available for the existing buyers).

Existing home sales rose 10.1% nationally in October 2009, a 23.5% increase over October 2008.  Sales activity is at the highest pace since February 2007. 

These are national stats but we have also seen positive gains in the Portland Metro Real Estate market.  The RMLS Market Action Stats released November 12, 2009 showed a 37.1% increase in home sales in October 2009 when compared to October 2008.

If you’re curioius about what’s happening in you’re area – here’s a fun little tool to play with http://www.city-data.com/real-estate/PORTLAND-OR-97214.html, this report features zip code 97214 (Inner Southeast Portland) – to view the same report for another zip code, simply change the zip code in the URL directly (i.e. http://www.city-data.com/real-estate/PORTLAND-OR-97213.html).  As featured last week in “What Does It Really Cost to Buy a Home Today?“, 97214 has shown increased home values as did 97213 – both close-in Eastside neighborhoods.

Real Estate Tax Credit Moving Along

Things are moving along on the tax credit front on Capitol Hill and we hope to have some news to share with you all very soon. To pass the time we share with you and oldie but a goody: Schoolhouse Rock – still as helpful today as it was back then.  Let’s hope our bill passes – the real estate industry, directly and indirectly, fuels a large portion of our overall economy. 

~Kori

RMLS Market Action Report – September 2009

The monthly RMLS Market Action stats were released last week.  The opening remarks to the report:

“Sales activity in the Portland metro area continued to show improvement over same-month sales from a year ago.  Pending sales were up 34.1% and closed sales rose 9.8% compared to September 2008. New listings fell 14.3%.”

The market continues to show improvement overall; however, the market is still very dependant upon location, location, location and price.  The average sales price dropped 8% year-over-year ($315,300 Sept. 2008 to $290,100 Sept. 2009) which one could directly correlate to the first time homebuyer tax credit.  Due to the first time homebuyer income limitation most “first time buyer” transaction are in the sub $300,000 range.  The tax credit expires November 30, 2009 – first time buyers need their transaction actually closed by the 30th of November, not simply in the purchase process.

If the first time homebuyer tax credit is not extended, let alone expanded, I predict the real estate market will take a dramatic turn for the worse with a significant impact on the overall economy.  If you think about the number of people impacted professionally by a real estate transaction you can see how the real estate market alone can immediately impact the general economy.  Off the top of my head there are the real estate agents, lenders, numerous inspectors (home, sewer, oil tanks, septic tanks, lead based paint, mold, etc.),  contractors, title companies; let alone the subsquent businesses such as home improvement stores (Home Depot, Lowe’s, the neighborhood hardware store, paint store, lumber yard, etc), the city’s permit bureau, landscapers, garden nurseries and more.  Then, think about all these industries and the people who work in these industries, they need to eat (grocery stores, restaurants, cafes, coffee shops), they need transportation (gas, car payments, insurance, maintenance), they need shelter (rent or mortgage), they need to pay utilities…

Yes, as Americans, we could certainly consume less but you can see how the impact of the real estate market really effects everyone’s pocket book either directly or indirectly.  It’s important we keep the momentum behind the current market until we are truly out of this recession.

~Kori

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