Coldwell Banker Schmidt Real Estate - Blog

Take Advantage of Market Mirco Trends

Matt Case — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 13:05:27 GMT

I handle REO (foreclosure) listings for several banks, including Bank of America and local banks, and the number of new listings incoming have dropped off dramatically recently. In conversation with others who handle these properties, and with local banks, this dip was often echoed. It's likely that a foreclosure moratorium in place over the winter has delayed some properties coming onto the market.

A little background research revealed that the number of bank owned listings as a percentage of all new listings did indeed peak last winter, and has since dropped dramatically. While this has occurred, demand for good values in real estate have not abated- I've got a list of ready buyers, actively seeking good values (OK, some are waiting for a great value). Driven by value, bank owned properties have cleared from the market at a rapid pace.

Here's a chart of the ratio of bank owned to total new listings since last August

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I don't expect the rate of new foreclosure listings to remain on a downward trend- there is a fair amount of consensus that we'll see a new round of foreclosures coming on the market this fall, and some indications that these are trending toward mid-range homes , and some higher end homes, as opposed to the past tendency toward the very low end of the market.

What this information reveals for buyers is that when they've identified a good value, quick action and a solid offer are in order. Prices have adjusted, and affordability is high.

What it means for sellers is that you likely have a roughly 60 day window of opportunity to sell with far less competition from distressed sale pricing on bank owned listings. This is your opportunity to price your home right, have it clean, staged and "turn key" ready and to make it as appealing as possible to purchasers.

Reinforcing this opportunity are low mortgage rates and, most importantly, the $8000 home buyer tax credit, which is scheduled to expire in November, and is driving buyers into the market.

Traverse City MI Foreclosure Homes

Fred Schmidt — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 14:06:22 GMT

So the big question is how many are foreclosure homes closed in May 2009 in Traverse City? 26 homes out of 88 were tagged as foreclosure or bank owned in Traverse City for May 2009. That represents about 29%. The better news is right now if you complete a search for foreclosure and bank owned homes in Grand Traverse County, there were only 74 such homes available as of June 12, 2009. That means that there is less than a 3 month supply of foreclosure/bank owned homes on the market today in Traverse City Michigan. With the number of foreclosures starting to perhaps taper off, there could be a chance that prices may begin to climb again in the near future. Please see below the diverse mix of foreclosures in Traverse City Mi:

MLS #	Ask Price	Status	Address	City	Zip	#BR	#BA	Apx Abv Grd Finished SQFT	Days On Market
1701847	$31,000	SLD	3405 N FOUR MILE RD	Traverse City	49686	3	1	1540	46
1700256	$44,900	SLD	2514 E M-113	Kingsley	49649	3	1.5	1056	105
1699778	$64,900	SLD	10235 US-31 S	Interlochen	49643	2	1	972	130
1700642	$70,000	SLD	1250 BASS LAKE RD	Traverse City	49684	3	2	1620	101
1699208	$74,900	SLD	4704 N MANOR WOOD DR	Traverse City	49684	4	2	864	161
1698455	$69,900	SLD	3628 EMILY LN	Traverse City	49686	2	1.5	1152	171
1701043	$77,900	SLD	8985 HARVEST LN	Buckley	49620	3	1.5	1100	76
1701092	$83,000	SLD	1701 WOODWARD AVE	Traverse City	49686	3	1.5	1000	64
1701696	$79,900	SLD	1589 INNWOOD NORTH	Interlochen	49643	3	1	810	64
1698458	$84,900	SLD	8613 SUMMIT CITY RD	Kingsley	49649	4	1	1512	172
1700153	$99,900	SLD	6435 APPLEWOOD LN	Williamsburg	49690	3	1.5	1700	143
1699873	$94,900	SLD	2081 SPARLING RD	Kingsley	49649	3	1	1052	123
1699609	$99,900	SLD	4147 HARRAND RD	Kingsley	49649	3	2	1266	161
1703526	$97,000	SLD	2154 GROUSE DR	Traverse City	49684	3	2	1176	14
1702077	$95,000	SLD	2096 POTTER RD	Traverse City	49686	2	2	864	48
1701202	$99,900	SLD	18978 TRAVERSE ST	Traverse City	49686	2	2.75	1456	77
1698047	$101,500	SLD	7310 FOREST LODGE RD	Traverse City	49684	3	2	1824	209
1699610	$114,900	SLD	2879 N OLD FARM LN	Traverse City	49684	4	2	1692	145
1700152	$124,900	SLD	3188 NIMROD RD	Traverse City	49684	4	2.5	1100	118
1701378	$127,900	SLD	2178 ARTHUR CT	Traverse City	49684	3	2	1152	83
1701846	$149,900	SLD	2141 BLACK FOREST LN	Traverse City	49686	3	1.5	1000	62
1692939	$132,250	SLD	7655 HAMPTON CIRCLE	Grawn	49637	4	2	1999	365
1701520	$149,900	SLD	1278 TERRACE BLUFF DR	Traverse City	49686	2	2	1212	70
1694131	$179,900	SLD	4566 DEEP WOODS DR	Traverse City	49684	2	2	1660	316
1699706	$199,900	SLD	6733 MATHISON RD	Traverse City	49686	4	3.5	2900	147
1693242	$279,900	SLD	377 HOMESTEAD LN	Traverse City	49686	3	3.5	1879	344

"Cash for Clunkers"

Matt Case — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 13:56:45 GMT

The passing of the $4500 "Cash for Clunkers" tax credit out of the House got me thinking. First, let's not fool ourselves into thinking that this is serious efficiency legislation- yes, it puts an incentive on deciding upon a fuel efficient vehicle, and that's certainly more palatable than forcing higher efficiencies and limiting consumer choice. But this is about getting auto sales moving more than anything. And as an old car guy (I grew up around my father's Chrysler dealership) I cringe when I hear that the "clunkers" traded in would be "recycled"- it's a certainty that some very serviceable vehicles are going to be taken out of circulation. That means they won't be available for resale to those who can't afford a new car.
Let's compare this incentive to the $8000 first time buyer tax credit, shall we?
Average new-car transaction price has dropped to $27,941, according to The Wall Street Journal. This means that the credit given is 16% of the average price- a pretty healthy incentive, and no restriction on who can buy, other than you have to move up in efficiency.
Compare this with the 2008 US Median Sale Price of $198,100 (per this NAR report) and the $8000 First Time Buyer Tax Credit, and we're looking at an incentive of 4%. Still very nice, thank you, but think what a bump in the tax credit, to say $15,000 could do. Especially if it were paired with revisions making the credit applicable to all buyers of primary residences!
Danielle Hale, a research economist with the National Association of REALTORS(R) put together this analysis that shows each home sale at the median generating $63,101 in economic impact. That's an enormous number, and one that drives activity in all sectors of the economy.
My opinion: The current home buyer tax credit is a good thing, but it would be a much more significant force in helping clear inventory and stabilize values with the changes noted above.

Traverse City Real Estate Sales Stay Steady!!!

Fred Schmidt — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 13:23:55 GMT

It's all good. The number of residential units sold in Traverse City seems to be stable over the last three months. According the Traverse City MLS stats (via TAAR MLS), there has only been a slight decline in units each month of March, April and May. See graph below for details:

The raw stats are as follows: March of 2008 there were 70 residential sales compared with 78 in March of 2009. This is only off by 9%. April of 2008 there were 81 residential sales compared with 79 in 2009 which represents a difference of only 2%. Finally May 2008 there were 104 closed residential units compared with 88 in the same month of 2009 which represents a 15% difference. Many prognosticators were expecting a 20-25% decrease in units compared with 2008. So things are looking much better than expected in the Traverse City Real Estate sales arena.

Keywords: Traverse City real estate, Traverse City Mi real estate, Traverse City Michigan real estate