Real Estate blog

Archive for December, 2007

As property values have skyrocketed in overheated markets the rental market has tended to lag considerably.

We’re so accustomed to having our intelligence insulted by politicians that we rarely complain about the dumbed down worldview that we’re spoon-fed by both sides of the political aisle. The partisan mudslinging that we’re subjected to these days makes it hard to imagine a world in which candidates might campaign by voicing nuanced, well articulated views on the complex issues facing our country. That’s too much to ask for, but at least we get to watch the primaries, which offer up the entertaining spectacle of Democrats savaging fellow Democrats and Republicans bashing Republicans as they fight for their respective nominations.

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We’re so accustomed to having our intelligence insulted by politicians that we rarely complain about the dumbed down worldview that we’re spoon-fed by both sides of the political aisle. The partisan mudslinging that we’re subjected to these days makes it hard to imagine a world in which candidates might campaign by voicing nuanced, well articulated views on the complex issues facing our country. That’s too much to ask for, but at least we get to watch the primaries, which offer up the entertaining spectacle of Democrats savaging fellow Democrats and Republicans bashing Republicans as they fight for their respective nominations.

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One economic indicator that I consult from time to time is the Global Insight quarterly study on housing prices in America. Here’s an interesting conclusion from the report: of the 330 regional markets surveyed, Houston is the most undervalued.

The Global Insight uses a number of factors in determining the theoretical price equilibrium level for each market, to include tax rates, population density, income levels, plus a somewhat nebulous “desirability factor”. So, as with all economic studies there is some art mixed in with the science, but nonetheless I find this study to be an useful data point when thinking about the relative valuation of markets.

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HomeGain recently announced the addition of a helpful new toolтХитЦУтХи╨ТтФм╨╢the Home Sale Maximizer. This user-friendly resource guides sellers in identifying repairs needed to maximize their overall home sale. Agents can also make great use of this tool for setting listing prices, and showing sellers how they can increase the salability of their home. Louis Cammarosano, General Manager of HomeGain adds, “With the addition of Home Sale Maximizer to its product suite, HomeGain now offers consumers the ability to get a instant free home valuation without registration as well as information on how to make their homes worth more.”

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The big question these days seems to “What’s happening with housing prices in my area”? Well at least in the Black Forest, that doesnтХитЦУтХи╨Т╤В╨Ф╨▓t seem to be a very easy question to answer. The year to date numbers are fairly erratic and don’t seem to show any real trend, as the accompanying graph shows.
I thought this looked kind of strange given what we are seeing in the market todayтХитЦУтХи╨ТтФм╨╢So, I took a look at the number of new listing that hit the market as well as the number that sold. Additionally, I kept a running tally of what was left over, letтХитЦУтХи╨Т╤В╨Ф╨▓s call this inventory. This as I found out is where the real pain is in the market, at least in Black Forest. The most disturbing graphic is the steep red line the show the accumulating inventory.See Graph

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I’ve been away from Houston for the last couple of months in what has turned out to be sort of an experiment in long distance landlording. A couple of days ago I got an alarming phone call from the neighbor of a property I own in the suburbs informing me that the large tree that was in the front yard of the house had blown over in a storm and was lying across the street.

The tree, it turns out, was dead. Last time I’d driven past the property was early spring, and I noted that the tree seemed a little late in sprouting leaves. I made a mental note to follow up on this, but never got around to it. That was a mistake, and one that could have been costly had the tree fallen on the house, on someone’s car – or worse of all had hurt someone. As it turns out a gusty windstorm blew it over into the road where it caused a minor inconvenience but no real damage.

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HomeGain recently announced the addition of a helpful new tool╤В╨Р╨╢the Home Sale Maximizer. This user-friendly resource guides sellers in identifying repairs needed to maximize their overall home sale. Agents can also make great use of this tool for setting listing prices, and showing sellers how they can increase the salability of their home. Louis Cammarosano, General Manager of HomeGain adds, “With the addition of Home Sale Maximizer to its product suite, HomeGain now offers consumers the ability to get a instant free home valuation without registration as well as information on how to make their homes worth more.”

(more…)

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