Is the rebound in housing for real? Really!

While our national real estate market has clearly been on the mend for at least the past year, building positive momentum month after month there are still many potential buyers who refuse to believe what they read, hear and see as it relates to housing.

These doubters are scared  to their own detriment. Which brings to mind this saying " The error of optimism dies in the crisis but in dying it gives birth to the error of pessimism. This new error is born, not an infant, but a giant." Which is exactly what has happened to many who now look at home ownership as high risk.

So while they will believe what they believe, lets look at some simple clear signals that in my opinion tell a very different story.

1-For the first time since the housing collapse most areas throughout the nation are experiencing home price appreciation. Many of these have realized year or year gains of 10% with estimates for continued positive gains ranging from 3-5% yearly for the next  five years. Home prices are going up for real which cannot be disputed.

2- Those who are still fearful have decided its better to rent then own. As a result of this phenomenon rental rates have been rising at double digits rates year over year. So it should come as no surprise that investors are buying up houses at a steady clip because they know its better for them to own and collect rent because there is no shortage of tenants.

3-  When you look at builders stock prices you will see that many have rebounded quite nicely the past two years and since the markets looks forward not backwards its been signally investors believe the turn around in housing is for real.

4- Another way to gauge the housing markets is to look at housing related commodity prices, for instance, look at lumber prices which collapsed in 2009 but have since rebounded to their old highs. If you do not believe the housing industry is in recovery how do you explain such price appreciation if there is no demand? Where is all the lumber going? What is it being used for if not the construction industry?

5-Yearly housing starts have risen to a little over 1 million, almost double from their lows of just a  few years ago but still half what they were at the height of construction. So housing starts are rebounding and have room to grow.

6- Another telling signal the real estate market is on our minds is seen in the rise of Internet searches concerning real estate which have doubled the last few years.

7- Then who hasn't heard the local stories about houses hitting the market one day, getting multiple offers the same day and going to contract. Its happening all over the country.

Granted these may not be the same indicators that the main stream media report on when talking about  the real estate market rebounding, but none the less they are worthy of consideration. Sooner or later all these bits and pieces of information will come together to form a real conclusion which will be " I don't want to say I told you so , but I told you so".

Peter ReJune
Realtor Broker Associate
Keller Williams Palm Beach
561-793-2493

Palm Beach Home sales exploding

The residential Palm Beach real estate market is BACK. Although the national home real sale statistics had shown for many months that the nations real estate market in general was on the mend with many areas posting year or year double digits price gains, the same could not be said about Palm Beach. However now the Palm Beach residential real estate market can boast the same excellent results as well.

When you compare this years first four months Palm Beach residential sales with last year you can see a definite positive strong trend in place.  Compared to last year this time, there has been a 37% increase in homes under contract, a 40% increase in homes sold, the listing price to sales price ratio is up 4%, and the average sales price is up a whopping 20%. So the metrics for Palm Beach residential resales is looking very good, with the only negatives being a shortage of resale inventory, with active listings down 17% and new listing down by 13%. However this is precisely when a negative is actually a positive for sellers because when supply is down, with buyer demand remaining constant or improving, home prices rise and the market begins to turn. This is exactly what is going on right now in Palm Beach. Its a phenomenon we haven't seen in this market for many years, buyers competing for a limited supply of quality homes. Can somebody say " sellers market"

West Palm Beach Foreclosures (REO) coming soon

Once again Palm Beach county is setting records in the world of real estate "according to RealtyTrac’s Foreclosure(REO)  Market Report for February 2013: One in every 282 housing units with a mortgage had a foreclosure filing during the month – more than three times the national average." that ups 6% from January 2013 and up 20% year to date. Florida has the honor to be #1 in the nation with the highest foreclosure rate for the past six months in a row!

Now dont let these stats get you down, on the contrary if your a buyer you should get excited because what this means to you is OPPORTUNITY. These REO homes coming to our markets soon have been in the REO pipeline for a long while. In the mean time Palm Beach County homes sales has been steadily growing with inventory drying up which has resulted in a shortage of good resale inventory.

So if you have been wanting to buy a home in our area look at the increase of REO properties coming as OPPORTUNITY to get a good quality home at below market prices.

You can keep track of REO inventory as well as daily changes through my website http://www.peterrejune.kwrealty.com. Just select the area of the county your interested in,

Palm Beach County Homes sales

Just like the Beatles sang " Its getting better all the time" Palm Beach County homes sales for February when compared to this time last year have shown dramatic improvement.

Resale inventory ( Listings for sale) have dropped to 5.8 months supply which is down 11.1% YOY and considered very light supply. This is not enough to meet the current demand, which bodes well for sellers who can expect more competition from buyers which translates into potentially even higher sales prices.

Single Family Homes sales are up 27% YOY
Condo sales up 28.5% YOY

Number of days a property is on the market for sale has dropped 13.9% from 101 to now 87 days YOY

A whopping 55% of all sales were to cash buyers which is up 6.2% YOY

So if your thinking about selling, there is no better time then right now to get your property listed for sale because the momentum is clearly on your side. Whether the market for sellers gets better or not is anybodies guess but for right now you have the wind to your back. Just dont fight it, what I mean to say is if you want to sell faster and at a higher price you need to make sure your home is priced properly at fair market value otherwise all you will be doing with your over priced listing is directing your potential buyers to look at and buy other more fairly priced homes, not yours.

If you've been thinking of buying you better get serious because everyday you wait is costing you money, right now homes prices are on the rise so do not let a good deal get away from you, you have to act sooner rather then later. If you need to finance your purchase be sure to get yourself pre approved because most sellers will want to know up front if your qualified because they do not want to waste their time finding out, especially when they can sell to somebody else that is qualified.

Whether your a buyer or seller you can call me to help you put together a detailed plan on the best way to approach this market so that you will come out ahead.

Thank you
Peter ReJune
Realtor Broker Associate
Keller Williams Palm Beach
C-561-793-2493

Real estate sale stats nationally

The National Association of Realtors says that based on the recent national housing stats it appears the industry could be shifting from a buyers market to a seller’s market.

Supporting data:
New home listings fell in January by 4.9%, leaving approx. 1.75 Million properties for sale which is the lowest sales inventory since 1999.
Home sales rose in January, to an annual rate of 4.92 million sales which is up from 9.1% one year ago.

So right now we have more buyers chasing a declining number of homes that are for sale. If the current pace of sales continues it will take about 4 months to sell the entire current national supply of homes on the market. Not only does this help to confirm the market could finally be shifting to the sellers side but then add to that a consensus by economists that they see sales increasing nearly 12% from last year and it really seems like a change in market sentiment.

This then explains why NAR believes sellers are beginning to have the upper hand.

Some advice for sellers:

If you want to sell quickly and get the best price possible put your feelings aside and look only at the current facts. You have to take into consideration your local resale market conditions, your homes overall condition, your neighborhood condition and your personal financial situation.

Its a known fact that homes priced to Fair Market Value will sell more quickly and at higher prices then over priced listings. Say what?

A home priced properly will get many showings its first week on the market then an over priced listing.

A home priced fairly will get more written offers faster then over priced listing if they get any offers at all.  

A home priced fairly will be contracted and closed before an over priced listing gets its first written offer.

A home priced fairly means money in your bank account sooner rather then later, or permits you to move into your new home sooner rather then later.

An over priced listing means you will be losing more and more money every single day it doesn't sell and close.

If your goal is to put as much money as you can in your pocket then hire a professional Realtor who will tell you what you need to hear not what you want to hear. You will be better off for it!