I was at a holiday party in the snow in Boston last night thrown by one of the best attorney's I've ever worked with (Kosta Ligris - http://www.ligris.com/ for someone who really deserves the praise - incredible attentive service to buyers and sellers and just one of the smartest lawyers I've met). In talking with the brokers there, I heard a common theme - "I've never been this busy at the end of the year"; "I'm busier than I've been since April"; "the phone is ringing . . . and ringing"; "I had 19 (or 12 or 25 or . . .) people at my open house"; "the listing's been on the market since late September, but now I'm getting second showings."
It's easy to look for reasons why the market would be slowing down - families having holiday celebrations on their minds, people starting on early vacations, the weather going below the freezing mark (and snow actually on the ground this morning). Yet we're seeing new buyers entering the market, and existing buyers thinking seriously about buying.
The spike in interest rates (I had clients refinance recently with Dana Rosenblatt - again, a plug here - he's one of the most attentive, knowledgeable and aggressive mortgage brokers I've ever met and repeatedly finds the best rates in the market and then gets the deal done - he's at xdangerous@aol.com and worth sending an email if you're buying or refinancing - I'm hearing about amazing rates on jumbo fixed loans as well as conventional from him) has likely had an affect.
The rates are bouncing a bit, but buyers are realizing that the days or 4-5% interest rates will not last forever (we bought only a few years ago and were thrilled at getting 6.75% on a conventional at the time). The difference between a 4.5% rate and 6.5% rate on a $400,000 loan is roughly $500.00 a month! To look at it differently - if rates go from 4.5% up to 6.5%, a buyer who could afford a $400,000 loan today would only be able to afford a $320,000 loan - that's $80,000 less in purchasing power. With 10% down, if you pass up a house for $445,000 with 4.5% rates your mortgage is a speck over $2,000 a month. To keep that payment, the price would have to fall to $355,000 if rates go to 6.5% - if you still have to pay $445,000, your payment balloons to over $2,500 a month. And a 6.5% rate is not at all unreasonable (we're not talking about the 10-15% rates our parents paid).
We're also seeing a lot of people take their homes off the market (I've blogged about this before - as long as you can keep up with the snowplowing, I'm a big supporter of keeping your home active during the holidays - if you're home isn't on the market, I'd talk with you individually about whether to wait until mid-January to introduce it - often a good idea). This is leading to a shorter supply of inventory for those in the market, which is also adding to the strength of the market.
All in all, it's a good sign on the local (Boston and surrounding communities) level. I'm looking out for a very very early start to the Spring market of 2011 - maybe the second week of January depending on the weather! Happy house hunting :)
(As always, the market for real estate is incredibly local - trends discussed may varry from community to community. If you are thinking of buying or selling, call me at 617-593-5685 or email todd.glaskin@gmail.com I can either help you in your town if I'm an expert in your area, or can help you find the most skilled professional to assist).
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Monday, November 8, 2010
Should your home be on the market over the holidays?
This is one of the most frequently asked questions to real estate brokers. A home is listed and still on the market as November arrives. The leaves are gone from the trees, we set the clocks back and wake up to 35 degrees and sleet (sound familiar) and homeowners ask - should we take our house off the market and put in back in the "Spring" (I'll blog soon about when the spring market REALLY starts in Boston - a lot earlier than most think).
Having buyers coming into your home when there's snow on the ground, or your holiday decorations are up, or you have guests staying to visit, or you're cooking Thanksgiving dinner . . . OK, it doesn't sound like much fun either and the temptation is totally understood to just withdraw the house from the market (and talk to your agent about doing this, and whether it still accumulates the all important "Days on the Market" while it's withdrawn).
That said, there are still a LOT of buyers in the market even now in the second week of November. Our office tracks open house attendance for our sellers to keep them up-to-date on market trends, and yesterday's open houses (Sun. November 7 - rather gloomy weather) saw overall strong turnouts - actually more attendees on average than the previous week. The interest rate climate remains incredibly strong, and if we start to see an uptick that looks like it more than a market fluctuation (i.e. rates rise and look like they're going to stay trending that way), even more buyers will likely enter the market or make offers to seize the rate.
Also, as other people take their homes off the market, your competition decreases, letting your home stand out more (as compared to a mid-April market when buyers have to cram 30 open houses into two hours). Your home may also have decorations, working fireplaces, radiant heat, or other features that make it especially appealing over the winter.
As will all decisions, your home, your location, your circumstances and your market will greatly influence your decision - but don't just take your home off the market - you may miss out on the "perfect" ready buyer.
Having buyers coming into your home when there's snow on the ground, or your holiday decorations are up, or you have guests staying to visit, or you're cooking Thanksgiving dinner . . . OK, it doesn't sound like much fun either and the temptation is totally understood to just withdraw the house from the market (and talk to your agent about doing this, and whether it still accumulates the all important "Days on the Market" while it's withdrawn).
That said, there are still a LOT of buyers in the market even now in the second week of November. Our office tracks open house attendance for our sellers to keep them up-to-date on market trends, and yesterday's open houses (Sun. November 7 - rather gloomy weather) saw overall strong turnouts - actually more attendees on average than the previous week. The interest rate climate remains incredibly strong, and if we start to see an uptick that looks like it more than a market fluctuation (i.e. rates rise and look like they're going to stay trending that way), even more buyers will likely enter the market or make offers to seize the rate.
Also, as other people take their homes off the market, your competition decreases, letting your home stand out more (as compared to a mid-April market when buyers have to cram 30 open houses into two hours). Your home may also have decorations, working fireplaces, radiant heat, or other features that make it especially appealing over the winter.
As will all decisions, your home, your location, your circumstances and your market will greatly influence your decision - but don't just take your home off the market - you may miss out on the "perfect" ready buyer.
Monday, November 1, 2010
Don't let your home's photos be snow covered - let us take them now!
Now that it's November 1, 38 degrees at 8 AM, even we realtors are admitting that winter is approaching and we're starting to hear sellers talk about having their home on the market for the "Spring Market" next year. If you're thinking about coming to market any time between now and April, it may be a good time to have us come out and photograph your home NOW!
If you look at most marketing photos taken in December, January, February, even March and early April (prime "Spring Market" season) you'll see something like this:
Sure - it's somewhat cute, but the ice dams are almost visible, there's no lawn, planting, grounds or even walkway. If curb appeal helps bring buyers, this house probably won't even get a phone call. Yet every year, we get calls from people from December to March looking to list their homes for sale. I'd often argue that January and February are some of the best times to list your home for sale (future blog coming soon), but it's just sad sending out full color marketing pieces and posting photos and videos worldwide with dull, dreary, snow colored photos of what we both know is your gorgeous home. ddsa
If you look at most marketing photos taken in December, January, February, even March and early April (prime "Spring Market" season) you'll see something like this:
Sure - it's somewhat cute, but the ice dams are almost visible, there's no lawn, planting, grounds or even walkway. If curb appeal helps bring buyers, this house probably won't even get a phone call. Yet every year, we get calls from people from December to March looking to list their homes for sale. I'd often argue that January and February are some of the best times to list your home for sale (future blog coming soon), but it's just sad sending out full color marketing pieces and posting photos and videos worldwide with dull, dreary, snow colored photos of what we both know is your gorgeous home. ddsa
One of the best pieces of advice I'd give to any homeowner or investor - get out there this week (we'll have some bright sunny days) and get some fresh photos (have the leaves swept/blown off first if you can). Or better yet, give us a call at 617-593-5685 - we'll come out with our digital cameras during peak sunlight to capture your home in its "best light". Even if there's the tiniest chance you're thinking of selling in the next 6 months, you'll be able to have a photo like this representing your home:
Copyright 2010 - Todd Glaskin, 617-593-5685 http://www.toddglaskin.com/
Affliated with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage
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