Nov 21, 2016
While we had a great time trick or treating last month, my need for a crystal ball has not gone away. Interest rates on thirty year loans have moved up about a half a percent over the last week, and it looks like the Federal Reserve is going to raise their rates in December. Of course the last time the Federal Reserve increased their rate, the rates for thirty year home loans went down.
Homes in Hampton Roads are continuing to sell, and the months’ supply of inventory is a little over five months, which is the lowest number since 2009! The year over year numbers are looking better for sellers as well. When comparing the average sales price for a home in Hampton Roads, it is 4.57% higher in October 2016 than it was in October 2015. Also, Suffolk has 22.43% more homes under contract in October 2016 than we did in October 2015.
While I don’t have a crystal ball, I do expect the local real estate market to continue to do well over the next twelve months. The one thing I do know for certain is that eleven years ago today I was lucky enough to marry the girl of my dreams.
I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving and be on the lookout for our second annual Christmas Light contest starting next weekend!
By: Lee Cross
Oct 24, 2016
I (Lee) live in a house with a six year old, a four year old, and an 18 month old who have been very excitedly planning their Halloween costumes. As usual, I will also be assigned a costume, and this year I have been told I am going as a bear. While I know we will all have a lot of fun, I was hoping that my costume would have included a crystal ball!
Normally as we head into fall, real estate sales slow down. However, according to the Real Estate Information Network (Hampton Road’s multiple listing service) September 2016 had only 8% fewer home sales than May 2016. Plus the number of homes listed for sale continues to decrease in both year over year numbers (comparing September 2016 to September 2015) and from month to month (comparing August 2016 to September 2016). From a seller’s point of view, the lower number of homes for sale, the better.
Interest rates for thirty year home loans remain amazing. Based on a study by the Federal Bank of St. Louis, they were averaging 3.47% for the week of October 13, 2016. As you can see from the chart below covering the last forty five years, that is almost a record low:
Since I will not be carrying a crystal ball around on Halloween, I guess I will have to wait with everyone else so see what the next couple of months bring. I suspect the market will stay stronger than normal through the winter. So, if you are thinking about buying or selling, give me a call and I will be happy to talk more about how you can take advantage of our current market conditions. Also, we manage nearly 300 homes so if you have any lingering storm damage and need recommendations for trusted contractors, I am always happy to help.
by: Lee Cross
Jun 28, 2016
School is out and the buyers are too! According to the Real Estate Information Network (Hampton Road’s multiple listing service), the number of homes that became pending (under contract) went up by 32.68% when comparing year over year numbers (May 2015 to May 2016). Interestingly, Portsmouth had a 78% increase, Norfolk’s was only 1.18%, and Suffolk’s pending sales went up by 22.86%.
The months’ supply of inventory across Hampton Roads continues to fall, and in May it was at 5.62 months. This is calculated by dividing the total number of homes currently listed by the average number of homes that have sold each month over the last year. A rule of thumb is that in an average real estate market, the months’ supply of inventory should be between 5 and 7 months. In May, Suffolk’s months’ supply was 7 months.
Studies show that July is the second most popular time for owners to list their home in Hampton Roads, but August is a very slow month for buyers. So, if you are going to sell your home this year, you should try to have it listed in the next week or two.
If you are wondering what effect the increase in buyer’s demand has on your personal home, give us a call/email/text for a free, no obligation, consultation to find out what your house is worth
By: Lee Cross
Apr 20, 2016
The first couple of weeks of April have brought us pollen, cold weather, and a University of North Carolina loss in the NCAA tournament (no one picked Villanova in our Facebook contest). The good news is that statistics show buyers have been out looking for homes, the weather is warming up, and with the tax filing deadline on Monday, everyone should have a reason to smile this week.
According to the Real Estate Information Network (Hampton Road’s multiple listing service), the number of homes under contract continues to show strong year over year gains. Homes under contract throughout Hampton Roads are up over 20% when you compare year over year numbers (March 2015 to March 2016). Some other good news is that the percentage of distressed properties (bank foreclosures or short sales) is down to under 14% of the total active listings. This is the lowest percent of active listings since September 2009.
If you were unhappy with the amount of taxes you are paying, you may want to consider investing in real estate. Real estate investing has a lot of tax advantages. If you would like to talk through some of them, please give us a call (of course we can’t give individual tax advice, so you will also need to consult your CPA).
Don’t forget, studies show that lots of sellers make the mistake of waiting until July to list their home. Please don’t do that, as you will miss out on the three best months to sell your home.
If you are thinking of selling this year, give us a call/email/text for a free, no obligation consultation to find out what your house is worth
Mar 24, 2016
It is March and the Madness has begun on both the basketball court and the local housing market in a very positive way. Over the last couple of weeks, Lee has been involved in five different home sales that all had multiple offers, and as the numbers show below, our local sales market is picking up steam.
According to the Real Estate Information Network (Hampton Road’s multiple listing service), the number of homes under contract continues to show strong year over year gains. Hampton Roads had a 30% increase in the number of homes under contract in February 2016 compared to February 2015. At the end of February, the month’s supply of housing inventory was at 5.39 months. This is calculated by taking the numbers of homes on the market for sale and dividing it by the number of homes sold in the month. The month’s supply of housing inventory has been trending down for each of the last ten months. In an average market, this number is typically between 5 and 7 months. Different home types and price ranges are experiencing a different amount of demand. So as Lee’s recent multiple offers show, homes that are priced aggressively, especially in the first and second time buyer price range, are selling fast.
Mostly importantly, studies show that in our market, April is the month that your home is most likely to sell. If you are thinking of selling this year, give us a call for a free, no obligation consultation.
Apr 29, 2014
I have attached two charts from our MLS statistics that give you the history of what has happened and where we are today. Take a look at the charts and they will tell you how we got into the Real Estate bubble, how the market dropped, when it started to recover, how sales dropped in the early part of the year and have rebounded. Our current supply is higher than last year at this time and our days on market are up. The medium list price is up and the medium sales price was up 4.6% in the Suffolk area.
What does all this mean? The market is better, but still needs to have more demand to get it going with higher prices and shorter sales time. We are going in the right direction and Cross Realty experienced another good month in sales and rental management. Looking to finish the spring months strong.
Congrats to Lee Cross for winning a Gold Award in this tough market and for being in the top 4% of the sales people in our MLS area. Grandfather, Harry Lee, Jr. would have been very proud! Keeping the tradition of top professional service and community involvement strong for another generation!
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