The Lawhead Team came across a great article from USA TODAY about the recent inventory of homes for sale growing – a plus for home buyers!

More homes being listed for sale expand buyers‘ choices and may help to moderate price increases.

Julie Schmit, USA TODAY 9:04 a.m. EDT August 13, 2013

More homes are coming on the market, which is a good sign for buyers.

In July, the inventory of homes for sale nationwide was only down 5.2% from a year ago, Realtor.com says.

That’s an improvement from January, when for sale inventories were down 16% from the year before, according to Realtor.com.

More markets are also seeing inventories grow.

The for-sale inventory for buyers was up year-over-year in 25 markets in July, compared to just seven in April, Realtor.com says.

Three of those were Riverside, Calif., where inventories were up 26% year over year; Atlanta, up almost 18%; and Sacramento, Calif., up almost 17%.

All three cities have seen rapid price appreciation in the past year, in part because of super tight inventories.

“Larger inventories, especially in the hotter markets that experienced rapid price increases in the spring, are expanding buyers‘ choices and helping to moderate price increases,” says Steve Berkowitz, CEO of Move, which operates Realtor.com.

The national median list price increased 5.3% in July year over year, Realtor.com says.

Home prices were up 11.9% in June year over year, according to the latest data from market researcher CoreLogic.

The supply of homes for sale in June changed only a little.

In June, the supply stood at 5.2 months, the National Association of Realtors says, up from 5 months in May.

That means at June’s sales pace, all homes would sell in that time frame if no new inventory was added.

Inventory conditions will continue to broadly favor sellers for months and contribute to above normal price growth, the National Association of Realtors has said.

Check out complete article here:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2013/08/13/july-for-sale-home-inventory/2645411/

The Lawhead Team came across this article from Realtor® about the lack of inventory starting to ease up. Check it out:

Housing Inventory Shortages Start to Ease (Realtor® Mag)

Daily Real Estate News | Thursday, June 13, 2013

The percentage of homes for sale has risen 25 percent this year and housing inventories have started to outpace typical seasonal upticks, realtor.com® reports. 

Rising home prices likely are encouraging more home sellers to test out the market. The inventory crunch may be showing signs of easing with listings rising 5.8 percent in May. Still, the number of homes for sale is low by historical standards. Listings in May are still 10 percent below year-ago levels. 

The places where the number of homes for sale rose the most were Atlanta (rising 3.4 percent in May), Miami (2.8 percent), and Tuscon, Ariz. (1.8 percent). 

“Even with the increases, inventory in many markets remain tight, but any easing in the extreme shortages of the past year could ultimately cool the pace at which home prices have been rising,” The Wall Street Journal reports.

Meanwhile, median asking prices rose 4.8 percent nationally over year-ago levels, according to the report. Sacramento posted the highest increase in asking prices (rising 42.3 percent from April 2012) and Oakland (a 38 percent increase). 

Read the entire article here on Housing Inventory Shortages Start to Ease.

When it comes to real estate, it is safe to say that today, inventory is low. The Lawhead Team has some tips to finding the right house for you even in times of low inventory.

This spring, it looks like home buyers will have to deal with the lowest inventory we have seen in years. Most homes are usually sold between March and July, making it easier for families to be settled in before the new school year starts.

The following are some strategies to finding your home even in a time of low inventory:

Pre-Approval – Before you start looking for homes, it is important to get pre-approved for as much as you can afford. When making an offer during low inventory, sellers will be impressed you qualify for more than the list price even though you don’t want to go that high.

Compromising – If you are looking for a started home you’ll sell in a few years or a retirement place you’ll plan to live out your life in, don’t let the low inventory situation make you compromise on your dream. But remember, be flexible. What can you live without in your new home?

Persistence – Just because spring is here doesn’t mean you have to buy. Properties are sold year round and if you give yourself more time to shop during low inventory, you’ll increase your odds of finding what you are looking for.

Expand – Look at homes that may be a little further than you had planned. Widening your search during a time of low inventory will help you have more opportunities to find the home you’re looking for.

Open Houses – Open houses are a great opportunity to meet with other agents who have active listings in the neighborhood. Sometimes you can get a lead on a home before it is even listed – a huge benefit during a time of low inventory.

Deeper Look – Don’t judge a book by its cover. During times of low inventory, viewing a home online and making your decision that way may cause you to lose out on a potentially great buy. If the home is in your budget and in your neighborhood, look at it in person. You may be surprised.

Money – Winning a multiple offer bid takes more than just money. If there are certain little things you know the seller needs or wants, offering to help out may make your offer the winning bid. This is especially helpful during times of low inventory when every home has multiple bids on it.

Do you need help finding a home during this time of low inventory? Call The Lawhead Team!

Home prices are still down and mortgage rates are at their all-time low. It’s a great time to buy, right? Yes, but with inventory so low, it is hard to find a house suitable for your needs!

If you follow real estate at all, you already know we are in a very low inventory housing market. Fewer homes are for sale and that makes competition for the best homes on the market cut throat! Bidding wars are making a comeback but despite these challenges, it is still a great time to buy a home.

The following are some options for home shoppers during time of low inventory:

• If you are tired of losing the bidding battle, consider new construction. Building from the ground up means you can choose your own floor plan, your own home site and all the other details that go into a house. When buying a plot of land, there is no worry if another buyer is going to come in with a better offer. Plus, the inventory of empty lots for sale are a lot more plentiful than those of homes already built.
• For those homes that have stayed on the market for months, even in low inventory times, you can hire a contractor to improve. A strange layout or outdated décor can keep a home from selling in any market. But, if you love the neighborhood and location of the house on the street, consider buying the home and making the updates yourself with the help of a contractor. If the money you save buying the “unwanted home” can be used to remodel the kitchen and replace outdated items in the home, you may end up with a jewel!
• The days of low-balling your offer are over for now. If multiple offers are the norm, making your offer stand out will help you seal the deal. Find out from your real estate agent what types of things might tip the odds in your favor. Did the family already move across country? If so, putting in for a quick closing date may give you an edge over your competition during a low inventory market.

Do you have questions about buying a home during a low inventory market? Please call us!

The Lawhead Team would like to share a positive article from the Union Tribune we lately came across about rising equity in the housing market.

REAL ESTATE REBOUND SEEN IN RISING EQUITY, FALLING INVENTORY

With all the depressing reports about the “fiscal cliff” and potential rollbacks in tax benefits for homeowners, you might have missed some of the positive trends under way for real estate.

Start with homeowners’ equity. It’s growing again significantly, following five years of declines and stagnation. This is a huge piece of good news that hasn’t received the attention it deserves. After hitting a low of $6.45 trillion in the final three months of 2011, Americans’ combined home equity jumped nearly $1.3 trillion during the next nine months to $7.71 trillion — a 20 percent gain — according to the “flow of funds” quarterly estimate released in December by the Federal Reserve.

A homeowner’s equity is the difference between the market value of his or her house and the amount of mortgage debt it is carrying. Equity is a key measure of wealth — often the largest single item on a family’s financial balance sheet — and the Federal Reserve tracks the estimated equity holdings of millions of owners to come up with its quarterly numbers. As recently as 2007, homeowners’ collective equity exceeded $10.2 trillion. Between that year and late 2011, owners lost nearly $4 trillion in real estate wealth.

So the $1.3 trillion turnaround during the first nine months of 2012 was a big deal. It reflected the first sustained rebound in home prices in a long time in many local real estate markets. In a study released just before Christmas, researchers at Zillow.com found that of 177 major metropolitan markets, 135 had experienced net increases in cumulative home values during 2012.

Zillow broke it down into specific dollar amounts added to owners’ net worth, city by city: Owners in Los Angeles gained a cumulative $122.1 billion during the year, Washington, D.C., owners $40.4 billion, San Diego $31.2 billion, Seattle $20.1 billion, Boston just under $16 billion, Tampa, Fla., $8 billion, Sarasota, Fla., $5 billion, Tucson, Ariz., $3.8 billion, Oklahoma City $3.3 billion and Columbus, Ohio, $3.5 billion.

These are big numbers and hard to grasp, but think of it this way: The odds are good that even if you own in a market that experienced severe price declines during the housing bust, the value of your house rose last year, at least modestly. Even if you have negative equity, it’s likely that, thanks to appreciation in your area and your continuing payment of principal on your mortgage, your equity position improved.

Some of the most impressive gains in values were in areas that suffered the deepest price plunges — and the most painful losses in owners’ equity — between 2007 and 2011. According to a study by Realtor.com, list prices of houses in Phoenix were 21.4 percent higher in November than they were 12 months earlier. In Riverside-San Bernardino, prices were up 13.3 percent. In Las Vegas 10.6 percent; Miami 10 percent.

What’s causing price surges like these in cities that cratered just a few years back? Part of it is a recognition by buyers, including investors, that prices hit bottom and won’t drop any further. The intrinsic economic values of houses and land simply exceeded the near giveaway, foreclosure-sale prices prevalent in the post-recession years. Now prices are correcting upward as buyers come back into the market.

But virtually all major real estate markets across the country have seen declines in the homes for sale, in part because some sellers still fear they won’t get a good price, and because in some areas large numbers of potential sellers are still underwater on their mortgages.

Fewer listings mean more competition for what’s available for sale on the market, sometimes multiple offers, higher prices, and even the return of escalation clauses in contracts, where buyers’ offers contain automatic increases in multiple bid situations.

Ultimately, higher prices should begin to persuade more sellers to list their homes, pushing inventory higher and creating a healthier, more balanced real estate environment for 2013.

 Union Tribune article on rising equity and falling inventory may  be found here: http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/jan/06/tp-real-estate-rebound-seen-in-rising-equity/?page=1#article

The Lawhead Team recently came across an article from the Home Buying Institute about the low inventory of homes in the San Diego area.  As a leader in our industry, we would like to share this important article with our readers.

Buyers Struggle to Find Homes in San Diego, as Inventory Plummets

Currently, the San Diego real estate market can be summed up with a single phrase — inventory shortage. Home buyers are having a hard time finding suitable properties, especially in hot neighborhoods near the coast.

The supply-and-demand situation has completely reversed itself over the last few years.

Given all of this, it’s no wonder prices are rising. According to the San Diego Association of Realtors, the median sale price for single-family homes jumped 13% over the last year. The median for townhomes and condos rose by nearly 19% during the same 12-month period.

Inventory is Way Down in San Diego

According to Realtor.com, the number of homes for sale in San Diego County fell by nearly 35%, from October 2011 to October 2012. Some of this is the work of investors who sensed the ‘bottom’ months ago. They are now scrambling to purchase homes before prices rise any further. Investors typically pay cash, and they are willing to bid over the asking price in many cases. This makes it hard for regular home buyers to compete, especially first-time buyers who don’t have a lot of capital.

Real estate inventory has fallen for 15 months in a row, according to the San Diego Association of Realtors. The trend will likely continue into the first quarter of 2013, and possibly beyond that.

Investor demand for housing is still strong. But the level of demand among regular buyers is growing more slowly, tempered by high unemployment. But the job market is improving. San Diego’s unemployment rate fell to 8.4% in September, down from a high of 10.9% in January 2010. If demand continues to grow while inventory remains tight, we could see home prices rise even further next year.

Looking Ahead: More of the Same in 2013?

So what does the San Diego real estate market look like in 2013? Here’s a likely scenario for the first quarter, at least:

Mortgage rates are expected to remain low into the first part of 2013. This is partly the result of actions taken by the Fed. Earlier today, Freddie Mac announced that the average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage had fallen to 3.34%, the lowest in more than 40 years. This will act as a powerful incentive for San Diego home buyers in 2013, especially if the job market continues to improve.

Demand for housing is growing across the price spectrum. Investor activity may level off as prices continue to rise and there are fewer deals to be had. But this should be offset by rising demand from live-in home buyers. Low mortgage rates and a slowly improving job market will bring more of these buyers into the market.

Inventory will probably continue to fall over the next few months, as it has since the summer of 2011. All of these factors combined will make the San Diego real estate market highly competitive in 2013.

According to RealtyTrac, foreclosure activity in San Diego fell by 26% in the third quarter, compared to the same period last year. This means there will be fewer distressed properties coming onto the market in the months ahead — always a boon for home values.

Next year, we will likely see buyers paying over the asking price for homes, in many cases. Buyers will also have to make numerous offers before getting a home, as investors bid properties right out from under them. The low-ball offer will become a thing of the past.

In fact, we are seeing some of these trends already. The North County Times recently told the story of a couple who made offers on nearly 100 homes, offering $20,000 above the asking price in some cases.

Though inventory may be low in San Diego, having The Lawhead Team on your side will help you in finding your next dream home.  Because Two Lawheads Are Better Than One^TM.

Article can be found at: http://www.homebuyinginstitute.com/news/inventory-plummets-280/

The Lawhead Team recently came across an article from the Union Tribune.  Did you know the biggest problem in real estate at the time is lack of inventory?  Check it out.

No. 1 Real Estate Issue? Inventory.

Lack of housing inventory to feed consumer demand is a growing concern in San Diego County and statewide, a chief housing economist told local Realtors on Friday. Real estate pros fear this dynamic could keep the housing market from making progress because qualified buyers are edging each other out of slimmer pickings.

Leslie Appleton-Young, with the California Association of Realtors, said competition for homes began to heat up earlier this year in light of declining foreclosure resales and increased investor activity. The result, she said, has been increases in both sales and prices statewide, though we are still far from pre-recession peaks.

“The market is in the process … of healing,” she told local real estate pros at a housing summit held by the San Diego Association of Realtors. The event’s other keynote speakers — Gary London, with The London Group Realty Advisors, and Lawrence Yun, chief economist at the National Association of Realtors, echoed similar thoughts about inventory and the fact that California is in the middle of a tepid recovery.

Appleton-Young broke down housing inventory into three key categories, all very different from each other: equity, bank-owned and short sales.

“Equity” sales, or traditional sales, now make up almost 60 percent of total statewide home sales, up from 30 percent in January 2009, Appleton-Young’s numbers show. The share of bank-owned properties in the market have fallen from 60 percent three years ago to 20 percent now. And lastly, short sales, a process more lenders have now streamlined, are up.

This shift in the sales make-up indicates an increased demand in inventory, a higher presence of investors and a lack of distressed homes hitting the for-sale market. In other words, more potential buyers are competing for fewer homes, which can keep the market from moving forward, or at a stand-still, speakers said.

London and Yun, other speakers at Friday’s event, highlighted San Diego’s lack of housing construction due to an issue that’s specific to this county.

“You’re running out of land,” said Yun, who added that new-home construction has hit a 50-year low nationwide.

London said the age of traditional subdivision construction is over, pushing homebuilders toward going vertical and building in smaller batches.

The lack of inventory and the county’s population growth will help push up prices though the escalation will not be as rapid as in pre-recession days, London said.

Article at: http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/sep/07/sdar-summit/