Happy Holidays!! As winter sets in, the activity has cooled along with the winter temperatures, which is seasonally expected. This being said, I'm advising clients who are on the fence, it can be a good time to put the house on the market.
With the charm of the holidays a home can show nicely with the festive decor bringing out the curb appeal and enhanced interior. The inventory shrinks with some sellers not wanting to deal with the selling process during the more difficult winter months, allowing a home on the market to stand out rather than being one of many. Prices will still need to be competitive as the buyer pool that is out is educated.
The overall market for the year is seeing a relatively flat price appreciation along with unit sales not keeping pace with last year. It has taken this year for sellers to realize that the market is not off to the races and that there must be a more balanced approach to the selling process as far as price expectation is concerned.
Check out my detailed Market Action Reports for additional data. If you would like a custom report for your neighborhood, price range let me know.
The list to sale price ratio has remained around 96% for our area showing that there is still flexibility in a negotiation. The outlier has been the luxury water market where homes are selling direct from owner to owner or with brokers in house, not on multiple listing services, a very hot niche market at this moment.
Nationally, confidence among U.S. home builders rebounded in November as low interest rates and a strengthening job market helped boost sales. The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo builder sentiment gauge advanced to 58, matching the second-highest level since 2005.
Realtor.comŽ 2015 Housing Forecast was just issued and they made their Top 5 Housing Predictions for 2015. Millennials will drive household formations, Existing home sales will increase +8%; Home prices will gain +4-5%: Mortgage rates will end the year at 5%: Home affordability will decrease 5-10. Click here for the details.
Mortgages remain low from an historic stand point and the outlook from our local lender is that rates will rise in 2015 but at a conservative and calculated pace not to spook the improvement that we are experiencing in the current uptrend in the housing market.
I wish you and your family the very best holiday season and look forward to presenting end of year numbers in my January 2015 issue.
