Top 10 Cities With The Greatest Price Reductions

Real estate research site Trulia.com says 24.6 percent of current homes on the market in the United States as of July 1, have had at least one price cut, totaling $27.1 billion in reductions.

The average price-reduced home has had a 10.4 percent reduction, down slightly from 10.6 percent as of June 1.

Some areas appear to be stabilizing quickly with the overall number and percentage of price reductions declining, including Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Dallas, Washington, D.C., and Baltimore.

“All real estate is local and we’re seeing glimmers of hope as price stabilization occurs in major cities across the nation, including some of the earliest hit cities that have experienced huge declines in the past few years,” says Trulia CEO Pete Flint.

The top-10 cities with the most price reductions as of July 1 are:

1. Jacksonville, Fla., 39 percent
2. Boston, 35 percent
3. Minneapolis, 33 percent
4. Milwaukee, 33 percent
5. Honolulu, 33 percent
6. Tucson, Ariz., 31 percent
7. Chicago, 31 percent
8. New York, 31 percent
9. Austin, Texas, 31 percent
10. Raleigh, N.C., 31 percent

Source: Trulia.com (07/10/2009)

Market Activity

After four separate offers for our NE Bellevue listing near Microsoft we have finally gone Pending. The market has definitely picked up in the conforming loan price range and when properties are priced correctly they will still sell fast. We were fortunate to receive our first offer on day one and the positive activity continued from then until now, almost 30 days later.

In this case, pricing the property correctly meant under-cutting an almost identical house located only two blocks away by a mere $15,000... just enough to excite several buyers into making offers. Overall, a fantastic start to our new attorney short sale program!

For more information about properly pricing your property or about our attorney short sale system please contact Shawn Filer today at 206-919-5388 or shawn@shawnfiler.com

Will 'Echo Boomers' Save the Housing Market?

Echo boomers, the children of baby boomers, will be the salvation of the housing market, Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies predicts.

In its annual state of the nation’s housing study, the center says that the 75 million Americans born between 1979 and 1995 will mean plenty of demand for housing units.

"There will be 5 million more echo boomers than there were boomers when they first started swelling housing markets," says Eric Belsky, executive director of the Joint Center.

Belsky predicts that once the job market turns around, the housing market will recovery quickly because inventories are close in balance between supply and demand.

But the study warns that while echo boomers will increase demand significantly, they may not drive up prices much because their real incomes are lower than those earned by people a decade older when they entered the job market.

"While fundamentally we see what could be the foundation for long-term recovery, we still have to get through today's challenges," says Nicolas Retsinas, director of the Harvard center.

Sources: CNNMoney.com, Les Christie, and Reuters, Lynn Adler (06/22/2009)

Coldwell CEO: Market Needs More Move Up Buyers

This year’s peak home-buying season is suffering from the absence of move-up buyers, Jim Gillespie, CEO of Coldwell Banker Real Estate, told Reuters News.

Gillespie called move-up buyers, “a key to a U.S. housing market recovery” and he met recently with Congressional leaders to support a $15,000 tax credit for all buyers of primary residences.

Rising mortgage rates also slowed the spring sale season, Gillespie said. "When the mortgage rate rose above 5 percent, it spooked many buyers who were already hesitant.”

Source: Reuters News, Julie Haviv (06/18/2009)

Are REITs a Key to Real Estate Recovery?

If you want to bet on the real estate recovery without finding financing and taking possession of property, then consider buying real estate investment trusts.

Fortune magazine says that blue-chip REITs offer a reasonably conservative opportunity for individual investors to profit from the coming real estate rebound. Boston Properties (BXP), Regency Centers (REG), Simon Property Group (SPG), and Vornado Realty Trust (VNO) appear to be among the strongest, the magazine says.

Philip Martin, a senior vice president of Golub & Co., a real estate investment and development firm, thinks there isn’t an oversupply of commercial properties.

"So when we do recover, you are likely to see a pretty healthy snap-back in real estate prices," he says. "This is an excellent environment for those REITs with the right combination of knowledge and capital. They are going to have an opportunity to make some great deals, and the risk-adjusted returns at this point in the real estate cycle are going to be pretty darn good."

Source: Fortune, Michael V. Copeland (06/22/2009)

Home-Sale Hassles of the Rich and Famous

Home-Sale Hassles of the Rich and Famous Anybody having trouble selling their home should take comfort in the fact that even celebrities are having the same problem. Here are some celebs who can’t seem to sell their houses:

Jon and Kate Gosselin, co-stars of the popular TLC show "Jon & Kate Plus 8," have been trying for three months to sell their former home in Elizabethtown, Pa.

Rapper 50 Cent has given up selling his mansion in Farmington, Conn., after dropping the price from $18.5 million to $14 million.

Richard Gere and wife Carey Lowell have dropped the price on their home in New York’s Hamptons from $8.8 million to $7.2 million.

Model Elle Macpherson cut the price of her London Victorian from $9.5 million to $8.5 million, and has since dropped it to $7.5 million.

Star of "Real Housewives of Orange County" on BRAVO TV Jeana Keough, also a real estate practitioner, is facing foreclosure.

Source: Chicago Tribune, Mary Umberger (06/21/2009)

www.shawnfiler.com has been redesigned for Spring 2009

www.shawnfiler.com has just finished a redesign for Spring 2009, including new Real Estate Listings and information for the greater Seattle area. For more information on Shawn Filer, Seattle Luxury Real Estate, Coldwell Banker Bain, or Coldwell Banker Seattle, please visit www.shawnfiler.com

$50 Million Price Drop for Hemsley Estate

The heirs of the late Leona Helmsley have cut the price of her Greenwich, Conn., home by 40 percent to $75 million from $125 million.

Helmsley and her late husband, Harry, paid $11 million for the property in the early 1980s. The renovation of the 20,000-square-foot, Jacobean-style mansion led to her conviction for tax evasion in 1989 after she billed her company for millions of dollars in costs related to redoing the home. She served time in federal prison for the crime.

The $50 million reduction is believed to be the largest price reduction ever on a U.S. house.

Source: The Wall Street Journal, Christina S.N. Lewis (04/20/2009)

Picking Real Estate Pros Is for the Dogs

When Candy Spelling, the widow of legendary Hollywood producer Aaron Spelling, decided to sell her home, she let her dog pick out the real estate professional for the job.

Spelling asked her security service to bring her beloved Wheaten Terrier Madison in each time she met a candidate and watched how the dog reacted. If Madison did not respond pleasantly, she took the individual off the list.

Sally Forster Jones, an associate with Coldwell Banker Previews International in Beverly Hills, was the winner. She will co-list the 56,500-square-foot mansion, known as "The Manor" in the exclusive Holmby Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, for $150 million, making it the most expensive house on the market in the U.S.

Both Spelling and Jones told the Associated Press that they are unsure how many rooms the 56,500 square feet, three-story mansion has.

Source: The Associated Press, Alex Veiga (03/27/2009)

Mariah Carey Makes an Offer on World's Most Expensive Mansion

Pop diva Mariah Carey has reportedly made an offer on Fleur de Lys, the world's most expensive estate, which is listed at $125 million. The the palatial 15-bedroom mansion in Beverly Hills (above) was built by Texan billionaire David Saperstein. The five-acre estate is home to a 41,000-square foot French limestone mansion inspired by France's magnificent Vaux le Vicomte palace outside Paris. It features Italian marble walls, French limestone floors, gold-embossed leather wall coverings, gold-leaf crown moldings, a ballroom with ceiling frescoes, a library complete with rare books, two kitchens and a screening room with seating for 50.

Surrounding the mansion are rolling lawns, ornamental gardens and mature trees, a 3,000-square-foot manager's house, staff quarters for 10 people, a spa and pool with a pavilion, a championship tennis court, and a lavish garden folly. Contactmusic reports that after three months of house hunting Carey and her rapper / actor husband Nick Cannon have made an offer on the estate, for an undisclosed amount. "They like the home because there's so little that needs doing to it," a source close to the couple allegedly remarked. The house is currently owned by Saperstein's ex-wife Suzanne, whom he ditched for the childrens' hot Swedish nanny.

Source: Jared Paul Stern, celebrity Real Estate Blogger for Luxist.com

America's Best and Worst Housing Markets

As the housing downturn wears on, some cities are stabilizing and some
aren't.

In Las Vegas, the weakest market in the country, prices continue to drop.

"I don't know what those guys were drinking when they thought all this building made sense. If it does work out soon, then there's some force out there in the universe that I'm not aware of," Steve Cesinger, chief financial officer at Dewberry Capital, an Atlanta-based real estate investment firm.

Forbes magazine analyzed monthly declines as well as year-over-year declines in home prices. It also looked at how many months of equity homeowners have lost. With these figures in mind, it determined the 10 best and the 10 worst U.S. housing markets. Here they are:

10 Best
New York City
Washington, DC
Charlotte, N.C.
Portland, Ore
San Diego
Denver
Boston
Dallas
Los Angeles
Seattle

10 Worst
Las Vegas
Phoenix
Detroit
Minneapolis
San Francisco
Chicago
Cleveland
Atlanta
Tampa
Miami

Source: Forbes: Matt Woolsey (02/24/2005)

Foreclosures on Hold While Stimulus Crafted

Home foreclosures are slowing as lenders wait for Congress to approve the stimulus package.

Foreclosures.com reported that foreclosures completed in January dropped 26 percent from December to 72,694, the fewest since April.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Office of Thrift Supervision told the savings and loans it regulates to suspend foreclosures on owner-occupied homes while the details of a plan to help borrowers reduce payments is worked out. The new plan is expected to hold monthly housing-related payments to 31 percent of income, as opposed to 38 percent, which was the previous standard. Workouts including lower payments will also be available to borrowers who are in danger of falling behind, but haven't so far.

Meanwhile, Moody's Economy.com predicts that 1.5 million homes will be lost to foreclosure in 2009, up from 1.4 million in 2008 and 750,000 in 2007.

"What the foreclosure-mitigation efforts will do is to keep the number of foreclosures from increasing substantially this year and next year," said Celia Chen, senior director of housing economics at the firm.

Source: The Wall Street Journal, James R. Hagerty and Ruth Simon

Where Prices Have Increased and Decreased the Most in 2008

U.S. Home values declined an average of 8.4 percent in the first three periods of 2008, down $2 trillion in total value, according to Zillow.com Real Estate Market Report, released this week.

Thirty of the 163 metropolitan statistical areas covered by Zillow, either showed gains in the median value of homes in the area or values stabilized.

Here are the 10 areas where values increased and declined the most.

Places Where Values Increased the Most

• Ithaca, N.Y., 5.6%
• State College, Pa., 4%
• Jacksonville, N.C., 3.9%
• Winston-Salem, N.C., 3.4%
• Bay City, Mi., 3.2%
• Rochester, N.Y. 3.1%
• Greenville, S. C., 2.8%
• Anderson, S.C. 2.7%
• Burlington, N.C., 2.6%
• Spartanburg, S.C., 2.0%

Places Where Values Decreased the Most

• Las Vegas-Paradise, Nev., -24.6%
• Bakersfield, Calif., -24.9%
• Madera, Calif., -26.2%
• Gainesville, Ga., -26.4%
• Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif., -30.4%
• Modesto, Calif., -31%
• Salinas, Calif., -32.4%
• Merced, Calif., -32.5%
• Vallejo-Fairfield, Calif., -33.2%
• Stockton, Calif., -35.5%

Source: Zillow.com (12/15/08)

When will Real Estate hit bottom?

After one of the most challenging Real Estate downturns in history, many people have only one major question that they want answered... "when will we see prices hit bottom?"

We can only speculate about when the turnaround will take place, but most professional economists are hinting at a price bottom in the second quarter of 2009. In Seattle, we can expect home prices to dip another 6-10% between now and then - followed by a recover that will drift around the rate of inflation over the next several years. That being said, many properties, both distressed and otherwise, have already taken a huge hit on price. This fact, combined with record low interedt rates and near record high inventories create one of the best BUY NOW markets in history.

If you can qualify for a loan, which is still easier said than done for most people, then you should be out there right now looking for your next great investment. Until recently you needed almost 50% down on investment properties in order to receive enough income to have the building pay for itself. What are the numbers now??? let's just say that things are looking great for anyone with the means to buy!

Modular Housing Qualifies for Green Certification

NAHBGreen verification is now available for modular homes, providing the green-building certification process to the sector that manufactures 20 percent of the country's housing stock.

The Modular Green Approved initiative was introduced on Nov. 25 by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), the NAHB Building Systems Councils (BSC), and the NAHB Research Center.

Modular Green is a new program provided by the NAHB Research Center, which also oversees the National Green Building Certification initiative for traditionally constructed houses.

Traditional homes are inspected onsite by NAHB Research Center-trained verifiers who examine the insulation, framing and other components of the building envelope –as well as the materials and products that help produce water efficiency, better indoor environmental quality and other hallmarks of green building.

While a modular or systems-built home is built to the same codes as a traditional, site-built home, the inspector can’t see behind the walls when it arrives at the building site, making the verification process more difficult. By ensuring that the house and its components meet green requirements in the factory through this new program, the rest of the inspection can be conducted onsite.

“Consumers have become wary of vague, unverifiable green claims,” says Bret Berneche, BSC Modular Council President and CEO of Cardinal Homes, a modular manufacturer in Wylliesburg, Va. “With this program, consumers can be comfortable knowing they are getting a product that is verified against a nationally recognized program.”

Because modular homes are factory-constructed, they make use of resource efficiencies that make them less costly to manufacture, meaning they are more affordable and environmentally friendly.

"This is a very important step for the industry as more and more builders rely on systems-built construction methods," NAHB President Sandy Dunn said in a statement. "Modular construction helps builders reduce their overhead and go green with ease by assembling a significant portion of the home in the factory."

Source: NAHB

This Property Type is Soaring in Value

Can you guess what it is???

Farmland is hot property these days. Nationwide, it is up nearly 9 percent from a year ago.

Iowa farmland has increased in value 18 percent. South Dakota’s value has risen 21 percent.

The rise reflects rising profits from agriculture. The use of corn to create ethanol has driven up the price of corn and beef cattle that feed on corn.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that farmers will earn a record $95.7 billion this year, 10.3 percent more than last year and 57 percent more than the 10- year average of $61.1 billion.

While some wealthy landowners celebrate this, average farmers and young people who want to own their farms are shut out.

"There are a whole lot of young people wanting to farm – both children of farm families and young people from cities and suburban towns who want to farm," says Teresa Opheim, executive director of Practical Farmers of Iowa. "The price of land is making it very, very difficult for them to get started, even to come up with a business plan that's viable."

Source: The Christian Science Monitor, Richard Mertens (11/18/08)

Top 10 Priciest Real Estate Markets

More than 43 percent of sellers of luxury homes have had to reduce their prices, according to one study of high-end home sales.

The Institute for Luxury Home Marketing’s newly launched Luxury Housing Report says that homes in ZIP codes at the top end of the housing market are selling more slowly, up from 110 days on the market in May to 130 days in September.

Median prices have remained stable at a $1.154 million, or $336 a square foot, about the same as September.

Here’s the situation in the top 10 priciest markets and the average days on the market:

1. Atlanta: Median price, $788,062. Average days on market: 123
2. Boston: $1.45 million, 125
3. Chicago: $1.48 million, 153
4. Dallas: $844,036, 120
5. Honolulu: $1.15 million, 110
6. Las Vegas: $482,197. Inventory, 137
7. Miami: $1.96 million, 220
8. New York: $3.6 million, 186
9. San Diego: $2.1 million, 83
10. Seattle: $1.1 million, 113

Source: The Wall Street Journal, Robert Frank (11/11/08)

Home Sales Rise as Affordability Improves

Existing-home sales increased last month as buyers responded to improved housing affordability conditions, according to the National Association of Realtors®.

Existing-home sales – including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – rose 5.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.18 million units in September from a level of 4.91 million in August. Home sales are 1.4 percent higher than the 5.11 million-unit pace in September 2007.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said more markets are seeing year-over-year gains.

“The sales turnaround which began in California several months ago is broadening now to Colorado, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, and Rhode Island,” he says. “The South was hampered by much lower home sales in Houston in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike.”

NAR President Richard F. Gaylord says low home prices and low interest rates have helped attract buyers.

“This is the first time since November 2005 that home sales have been above year-ago levels,” Gaylord says. “Credit tightened at the end of September, but the improvement demonstrates that buyers who’ve been on the sidelines want to get into the market to make a long-term investment in their future.”

According to Freddie Mac, the national average commitment rate for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage fell to 6.04 percent in September from 6.48 percent in August; the rate was 6.38 percent in September 2007.

Yun says there may still be market disruptions.

“The credit markets are not settled yet, although the mortgage market stabilized with the government takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac," Yun says. "Inventory remains high, and price declines are pressuring owners."

Yun says that an additional housing stimulus would stabilize prices more quickly and help bring faster stability to Wall Street.

"Removing the repayment feature on the [$7,500] first-time buyer tax credit and permanently raising loan limits would bring more buyers into the market and further reduce inventory,” Yun says.

A Closer Look at the Numbers

- Total housing inventory: at the end of September fell 1.6 percent to 4.27 million existing homes available for sale, which represents a 9.9-month supply at the current sales pace, down from a 10.6-month supply in August. This marks two consecutive monthly declines since inventories peaked in July.

- National median existing-home price: $191,600 in September, for all housing types. That's down 9 percent from a year ago when the median was $210,500.

“Compared to a fairly small share of foreclosures or short sales a year ago, distressed sales are currently 35 to 40 percent of transactions," Yun says. "These are pulling the median price down because many are being sold at discounted prices. The current market is not being dominated by speculative investors. Rather, 80 percent of current buyers are purchasing a primary residence, which is a bit higher than historic norms.”

- Single-family home sales: increased 6.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.62 million in September from a pace of 4.35 million in August, and are 3.8 percent above the 4.45 million-unit level a year ago. The median existing single-family home price was $190,600 in September, which is 8.6 percent below September 2007.

- Existing condominium and co-op sales: were unchanged at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 560,000 units in September, but are 15.7 percent below the 664,000-unit pace in September 2007. The median existing condo price was $199,400 in September, down 10.2 percent from a year ago.

By Region

Here's a breakdown across the country of existing-home in September:

- West: sting-home sales in the West jumped 16.8 percent to an annual rate of 1.25 million in September, and are 34.4 percent higher than September 2007. Median price: $253,600, down 18.5 percent from a year ago.

- Midwest: sales increased 4.4 percent to an annual pace of 1.19 million in September, but are 2.5 percent below a year ago. Median price: $152,500, which is 7.9 percent lower than September 2007.

- South: sales rose 2.2 percent in September to a pace of 1.9 million but remain 7.8 percent below September 2007. Median price:$167,200, down 4.1 percent from a year ago.

- Northeast: sales slipped 1.2 percent to an annual pace of 840,000 in September, and are 7.7 percent lower than a year ago. Median price: $246,800, down 5.4 percent from September 2007.

Source: National Association of Realtors

Enduring Home Design Trends

Katherine Salant, nationally syndicated columnist and author of The Brand-New House Book, says houses designed with both a master and second bedroom on the first floor have become the most popular because they appeal to all age groups.

Young couples use the second bedroom as a nursery. Middle-age couples use it to keep aging parents close by, and older couples like the design because their differing sleep patterns make sharing a bedroom difficult, Salant says.

Here are other trends Salant points to:

1. The newest variation on the home office is a completely separate office space, connected to the house by a hallway or a breezeway.

2. Kitchens are getting smaller, but they are connected to much larger dining areas, often with a center island where family members can sit while they have an informal meal.

3. Oversized family rooms with high ceilings are giving way to smaller, cozier rooms with lower ceilings.

4. Home theaters have lost much appeal because people don't want to watch television in a separate area of the home. TV viewing is a more informal activity that people engage in while they're doing other things like cooking or getting ready for work.

Source: The Washington Post, Katherine Salant (10/18/2008)

Some Housing Markets Still Thriving

Prices are holding up nicely in the ZIP codes of the rich and famous.

Forbes magazine examined the top 100 most expensive ZIP codes in the United States and concluded that most saw strong price appreciation in the last 12 months.

Here are the top-10 most expensive ZIP Codes and the median home sales prices:

1. Fisher Island, Fla., Miami-Dade County, 33109. Median sales price: $3.85 million
2. Alpine, N.J. Bergen County, 07620, $3.59 million
3. Mill Neck, N.Y. Nassau County, 11765, $3 million
4. Newport Coast, Calif., Orange County, 92657, $2.8 million
5. Water Mill, NY, Suffolk County, 11976, $2.72 million
6. Atherton, Calif., San Mateo County, 94027, $2.7 million
7. Santa Barbara, Calif., Santa Barbara County, 93108, $2.7 million
8. Wainscott, N.Y., Suffolk County, 11975, $2.56 million
9. Rancho Sante Fe, Calif., San Diego County, 92067, $2.47 million
10. Beverly Hills, Calif. Los Angeles County, 90210, $2.41 million

Source: Forbes, Matt Woolsey (10/07/08)