Healthiest End to Spring Home Buying Season in Three Years

Real Estate News  |  Aug 20, 2014 |  By: Rachel Stults 




For the first time in three years, the peak home buying season is bucking its usual slowdown, showing nationwide price and inventory increases, according to the realtor.com® July National Housing Trend Report.
“This is the first time, since the beginning of the recovery, that we expect to see positive momentum throughout the second half of the year,” said Jonathan Smoke, chief economist for realtor.com^®.
For the past two years, the housing market saw external economic factors overshadow the gains made during the peak home buying season of April to July.
But not this year, Smoke said.
“This year, we’re ending the traditional season with high buyer and seller confidence demonstrated by price appreciation, increases in inventory and quick home sales,” he said.
Here are some highlights from the realtor.com® report:

July National Housing Indicators for 2012 – 2014

Year	Total Listings	Year over year change	Month over month change
Jul-14	1,979,475	2.3%	4.5%
Jul-13	1,935,623	-6.4%	1.3%
Jul-12	2,067,430	-14.1%	-0.8%

Year	Median List Price	Year over Year change	Month over month change
Jul-14	$214,900	7.5%	-0.1%
Jul-13	$199,900	5.3%	0.0%
Jul-12	$189,900	0.0%	0.0%

Year	Median Age of Inventory	Year over year change	Month over month change
Jul-14	82 days	-3.5%	7.9%
Jul-13	85 days	-16.7%	6.3%
Jul-12	102 days	-1.0%	7.4%

Homeowners are more optimistic about selling than in previous years, according to the data. In July, the number of homes on the market increased 2.3% compared with last year—and increased 4.5% from the month before.
One factor fueling this uptick in inventory is a 7.5% increase in median list prices year-over-year. Plus, despite higher prices and more homes on the market, buyers are snatching up properties faster than last year. Median age of inventory for July 2014 is 82 days, three days faster than in 2013.
While July growth may seem modest, it’s a stark contrast to housing indicators over the last two years.
In April 2013, mortgage interest rates began to increase significantly, making potential mortgage payments more expensive for home buying consumers. By July 2013, this slow but steady tightening of home buyer budgets dampened demand. As a result, month-over-month increases in inventory lessened and properties spent more time on market.
And in July 2012, concerns of broad debt defaults and economic weakness in Europe influenced big decreases in the stock market. Overall economic uncertainty contributed to weak consumer confidence, which influenced potential home buying consumers to remain on the sidelines while low prices made owners reluctant to list.
As a result, July 2012 median list prices remained flat both month-over-month and year-over-year. Inventory remained at very low levels and homes spent more days on the market.
“While seasonal patterns are emerging in July month-to-month comparisons, all other metrics point to fundamental market health and a build-up of momentum,” Smoke said.

Get Organized to Simplify Your Next Move

Realty Times Written by Phoebe Chongchua on Thursday, 07 August 2014          

When you're selling your home, getting your belongings organized can seem like a low priority. You're dealing with finding the right real estate agent, the best time to list your home on the market, and maybe even house-hunting for a new place to live.
All of that can keep you quite busy considering many of us have to do those things while we work a full-time job. Organizing your home so that you can simplify your move just doesn't seem practical.
However, there is one main reason why getting organized can not only simplify your next move but also help improve your chances of selling your home faster and for more money.

When you go through the process of getting organized, you should be eliminating items from your home which helps to clear clutter. Clearing clutter is one of the first things agents and experts who stage homes for sale will tell you to do.
When the clutter is gone, the home can be shown much easier. Potential buyers can see what makes your house so special and different from others in the neighborhood.
If you're putting off the process of getting organized because you think you should wait until you accept an offer, let me encourage you to get motivated to do it sooner. I've seen it happen many times. The homeowner thinks there's plenty of time and then when an offer is accepted they're thrust into high gear because the buyer wants to close escrow fast.
Of course, your agent can negotiate the closing date but sometimes a faster closing is a must. Yes, you may be able to rent back from the new owners to give you more time to prepare to move but you can't avoid the fact that you'll need to move at some point.
Here are five tips that can help you jump start your organizing and simplify your next move. You will be glad you started before you get an offer to purchase your home.
1. Sort piles of belongings into groups: keep, giveaway, maybe, and trash. The "maybe" pile, you box up and seal for six to 12 months. If you don't have a use for your items in the "maybe" box during the year then perhaps you can donate it.
2. Give yourself plenty of time. Be patient:  this process of getting organized takes time. Know that when it comes to sorting through personal papers and memorabilia,  it will take you much longer than reviewing other items. Leave some extra time for the expected reminiscing that will occur.
3. Store your items in clear plastic bins. Using clear boxes helps to let you have a quick view of what's inside. If you use cardboard boxes or colored bins,  use a pen to clearly label what's inside and which room it will go in at your new home. You might want to use a large piece of paper to write the label on so that you can reuse the bin again later for another purpose.
4. Get rid of the paper. A big problem in many homes is the paper trail they have from room to room. It could be magazines, newspapers, documents, advertisements, receipts... you name it. Most homeowners keep a lot of paper which creates a lot of clutter. Go through your files and reduce the paper by shredding or recycling documents you don't need. You'll find that a lot of what you're hanging on to, you just don't need.
5. Do it now! This is the most valuable tip. As soon as you finish reading this, go put a time on your calendar when you will begin to get organized. Placing it on your calendar should help you block off time to get started and prevent procrastination. If you take care of things right away, you'll find that life gets simpler. The same goes for your move. So, get organized and simplify your next move!