5 Reasons You Shouldn’t For Sale by Owner

Some homeowners consider trying to sell their home on their own, known in the industry as a For Sale by Owner (FSBO). We think there are several reasons this might not be a good idea for the vast majority of sellers.

Here are five of our reasons:

1. There Are Too Many People to Negotiate With

Here is a list of some of the people with whom you must be prepared to negotiate if you decide to FSBO.

• The buyer who wants the best deal possible
• The buyer’s agent who solely represents the best interest of the buyer
• The buyer’s attorney (in some parts of the country)
• The home inspection companies which work for the buyer and will almost always find some problems with the house
• The appraiser if there is a question of value
• Your bank in the case of a short sale

2. Exposure to Prospective Purchasers

Recent studies have shown that 92% of buyers search online for a home. That is in comparison to only 28% looking at print newspaper ads. Most real estate agents have an extensive internet strategy to promote the sale of your home. Do you?

3.  Actual Results also come from the Internet

Where do buyers find the home they actually purchased?

• 43% on the internet
• 9% from a yard sign
• 1% from newspapers

The days of selling your house by just putting up a sign and putting it in the paper are long gone. Having a strong internet strategy is crucial.

4. FSBOing has Become More and More Difficult

The paperwork involved in selling and buying a home has increased dramatically as industry disclosures and regulations have become mandatory. This is one of the reasons that the percentage of people FSBOing has dropped from 19% to 9% over the last 20+ years.

5. You Net More Money when Using an Agent

Many homeowners believe that they will save the real estate commission by selling on their own. Realize that the main reason buyers look at FSBOs is because they also believe they can save the real commission. The seller and buyer can’t both save the same commission.

Studies have shown that the typical house sold by the homeowner sells for $184,000 while the typical house sold by an agent sells for $230,000.   This doesn’t mean that an agent can get $46,000 more for your home as studies have shown that people are more likely to FSBO in markets with lower price points. However, it does show that selling on your own might not make sense.

Bottom Line

Before you decide to take on the challenges of selling your house on your own, sit with a real estate professional in your marketplace and see what they have to offer. Call Tony Elias today at 619.449.1919 for a FREE no obligation consultation.

HOME APPRECIATION SLOWS

County median price rises to $445,000 as increases return to regular levels even amid tight inventory
Annual home price appreciation in San Diego County is nearly back to a normal pace, continuing its descent from last year’s gains of more than 20 percent.

Last month, the median price for a home sold in San Diego County was $445,000, which is 6.6 percent higher than the median price in July 2013, real-estate tracker CoreLogic DataQuick reported Wednesday.

By comparison, home prices in July 2013 were up 22.1 percent from the previous year, an increase driven largely by investors who fixed up and resold distressed properties, or rented them out and therefore constrained supply.

“When we were seeing 22 percent price appreciation, I would argue it wasn’t the case that the same exact house was selling for 22 percent more,” said Jordan Levine, director of economic research at Beacon Economics. “It was that the mix of houses were skewing toward less distressed, which pumped up those overall medians.”

Levine said he sees annual appreciation returning to about 4 to 5 percent, which is in line historically with incomes and inflation. In the housing bubble that led to the Great Recession, eased lending standards allowed home prices to grow beyond what incomes could support, Levine said.

From June to July, the median home price in the county declined by $5,000. At the same time, activity in the county’s real-estate market declined both over the month and annually. In July, there were 3,474 transactions closing in San Diego County, down from 3,736 in June, and an 18.5 percent drop from the 4,260 transactions in July 2013.

Gary Kent, a La Jolla-based agent with Keller-Williams, said he considers the current housing market to be the first balanced market since 2000, meaning it’s not a strong buyer’s or seller’s market.

“I think that’s partly because prices have reached the point that we have some people selling because they like the price they can get for the house,” he said. “The flip side is that buyers aren’t seeing what looked like bargain prices anymore. Some buyers are dropping out of the market saying, ‘Well, it’s not a bargain.’”

While the market may be returning to regular levels, inventory remains constrained, although it is improving. In July, there were 8,122 active listings in the county, up from 5,443 a year earlier, the San Diego Association of Realtors reports. July’s supply represents a little more than two months of inventory, while Levine said economists would like to see five to six months worth of inventory.

He also noted stricter lending standards were curtailing affordability, although the average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage in July was 4.13 percent, down from 4.37 percent a year ago, Freddie Mac reports.

The slowdown in the housing market isn’t limited to San Diego but extends across Southern California, where sales fell to a three-year low, DataQuick analyst Andrew LePage said in a statement.

“Prices came a long way in a couple of years, and now a lot of would-be buyers just can’t stretch their finances enough to buy in today’s more conservative lending environment,” he said. “The more spectacular annual price gains of a year ago — over 20 percent — seem far back in the rear-view mirror now. Looking ahead, such double-digit price jumps seem unlikely unless there’s a burst of pent-up demand, perhaps triggered by more robust income growth, a loosening of mortgage credit or a significant move in interest rates.”

Los Angeles saw its median home price increase 7.6 percent over the year to $457,500, while Orange County’s median value increased 8.4 percent annually to $585,000.

A separate report released this week by the National Association of Realtors, which measures only single-family homes, says in the second quarter San Diego County was nation’s fifth most expensive housing market behind San Jose, San Francisco, Anaheim-Santa Ana, and Honolulu.

Written by, 

Jonathan Horn

U-T San Diego

You’ve Played the Housing Market Perfectly. Don’t Blow it Now!

Many people suffered through the housing crisis. We realize that most of the heartache was the result of a housing and mortgage market gone wild. Many consumers were swept away by the waters of a frenzied real estate market that resulted in a crisis even the experts didn’t see coming. 

However, some of the suffering was caused by home buyers and home owners simply making bad decisions. NOT YOU! You didn’t buy that house that stretched your family finances past the point of sustainability. You didn’t take out a home equity loan and buy new water skis. You didn’t do a cash-out refinance for the maximum amount possible. 

Instead, you bought a home your family could enjoy – and afford! You waited for interest rates to drop to historic lows and then refinanced your mortgage; not for the sake of taking cash out but instead to lower your monthly payment. You have equity in your house and a nice, low mortgage payment. You played the housing market perfectly. 

Don’t Miss the Last Move

Yet, there is one more move many should consider. With interest rates still at historic lows, and prices projected to increase by almost 20% over the next four and a half years, this may be time to buy a new home. 

Whether, you are a growing family ready to move-up to that waterfront home you always wanted or an empty nester downsizing to a home that makes more sense, now may be the time to buy. If you have considered buying a vacation/retirement home, there may never be a better time to move forward with that plan. 

You have been fiscally astute enough to navigate the treacherous waters of a housing market that sank many a homeowner. Now, that the seas have settled, don’t think there aren’t even greater opportunities on the horizon. 

Home Prices…Where are They Headed?

Today, many real estate conversations center on housing prices and where they may be headed. That is why we like the Home Price Expectation Survey. Every quarter, Pulsenomics surveys a nationwide panel of over one hundred economists, real estate experts and investment & market strategists about where prices are headed over the next five years. They then average the projections of all 100+ experts into a single number.  

The results of their latest survey

• Home values will appreciate by 4.6% in 2014.
• The cumulative appreciation will be 19.5% by 2018.
• That means the average annual appreciation will be 3.6% over the next 5 years.
• Even the experts making up the most bearish quartile of the survey still are projecting a cumulative appreciation of 11.2% by 2018.

Individual opinions make headlines. We believe the survey is a fairer depiction of future values. 

Buying a Home? You Don’t Need to Do It Alone

Last week, Discover Home Loans released an interesting survey which revealed how prepared home buyers are for the actual mortgage process. The survey reported that 94 percent of prospective buyers believe they are making a good investment decision if they buy a home. The survey also explained that 66 percent of buyers reach out to real estate agents to help determine whether buying a certain home would be a good investment. However, there is less certainty regarding the mortgage process.

Most buyers overwhelmed

The majority of potential buyers are actually overwhelmed with the plethora of information available about the home financing process.  Here are some interesting highlights from the report:

• Nearly 66% feel overwhelmed with the amount of information available
• 76% of those under the age of 30 feel overwhelmed
• 76% of first time buyers feel the same way
• 54% of those buyers who have previously owned also were overwhelmed
• 59% of buyers turn to mortgage bankers to help evaluate mortgage terms and comparing offers
• 49% of buyers turn to real estate agents to help evaluate mortgage terms and comparing offers

There is help available…use it!

Cameron Findlay, chief economist at Discover Home Loans, gives great advice:

“The industry is becoming more transparent in an effort to help homebuyers become informed about changes that may affect their process. The sheer amount of information can lead to confusion and stress. Those looking to purchase should work closely with their lender and realtor to make sure they are comfortable with mortgage terms and understand the impact a loan will have on their finances.”

Bottom Line

The purchasing of a home can put great pressure on a family. Reach out to the best mortgage and real estate professionals in your market for assistance throughout the process.

The Importance of Using an Agent When Selling Your Home

When a homeowner decides to sell their house, they obviously want the best possible price with the least amount of hassles. However, for the vast majority of sellers, the most important result is to actually get the home sold.

In order to accomplish all three goals, a seller should realize the importance of using a real estate professional. We realize that technology has changed the purchaser’s’ behavior during the home buying process. Today, 92% of all buyers use the internet in their home search according to the National Association of Realtors’ 2013 Profile of Home Buyers & Sellers.

However, the report also revealed that 96% percent of buyers that used the internet when searching for a home purchased their home through either a real estate agent/broker or from a builder or builder’s agent. Only 2% purchased their home directly from a seller whom the buyer didn’t know. Buyers search for a home online but then depend on the agent to find the actual home they will buy (52%) or to help them handle the paperwork (24%) or understand the process (24%).

It is true that the percentage of buyers that are using the internet to search for homes and information on the home buying process has increased dramatically over the last decade. But the plethora of information now available has also resulted in an increase in the percentage of buyers that reach out to real estate professionals to “connect the dots”. This is obvious as the percentage of overall buyers who used an agent to buy their home has steadily increased from 69% in 2001.

BOTTOM LINE

If you are thinking of selling your home, don’t underestimate the role a real estate professional can play in the process.

What is holding back the Real Estate Market?

Though the housing market is recovering nicely, it is not doing quite as well as some analysts had predicted. There has been no shortage of excuses offered as to why this is: the rise in interest rates, more stringent lending standards, the weather.

However, we feel that there is one factor that is most responsible for curtailing the number of houses sold – the number of houses available for sale!

Inventory Levels are BELOW Historic Norms

In a recent economic forecast, Freddie Mac addressed this exact issue:

“Including newly built homes in the inventory count, the total number of homes offered for sale relative to the number of households in the U.S. has been running at the lowest level in more than 30 years, as shown in the second exhibit. The relatively low for-sale inventory reflects several features of today’s market.”

“A supply-constrained market (holding other factors constant) will result in a decline in the volume of sales and an increase in real transaction prices.”

NAR Report Confirms Inventory Constriction

History shows us that a balanced real estate market requires a six month supply of available housing inventory. The National Association of Realtors released their Existing Homes Sales Report earlier this week. The report revealed that we are still only at a 5.5 month supply of homes for sale. We have not reached the 6 month mark in over two years.

The recent increase in buyers now looking will again put a strain on this number. That is why today at 2PM EST, we are hosting a special webinar for real estate professionals;The 4 Keys to Prospecting for Listings that Sell. Agents can reserve their seat here.

Bottom Line

While inventory levels remain below historic norms, it will remain a seller’s market. This being the case, if you are considering selling your home, now may be the time to list it for sale.