Monday, January 26, 2015

January Market Update




Attached is your first London Market Update for the year. We do post these graphs, on the London Website under "Market Info" for the consumer, but your update will post to the "Agent Stuff" page and then the "Market Myself" sub-pages (where most all of your hand-outs and flyers are. Also:
  • Your update has all the supporting data for the graph.
  • The quick synopsis of the report is in the first, small "box" of data which provides a comparison of the last 2 months as well as the last 12 months of figures for: "For Sale", "Sold" and "Pended" homes.
  • The Fresno MLS data represents "All Residential Property Types" for all areas combined.
  • Your London Market Updated will post around the 15th of each month.
  • As always, this data provides a great snap-shot of the overall market, but different areas and neighborhoods can have fluctuating figures.
I encourage you to always familiarize yourself with this information. Make sure it’s part of your Market elevator speech. What’s that? Stay tuned for another email.



Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Lending is Available! WSJ article of 8-5-14



Hello everyone!
Attached is an article from the Wall Street Journal (8-5-14) that you may want to pass along to prospective buyers – at least use the information to help get them off of the fence!
Here are the takeaways:
1.       Lending Standards for mortgages are easing amid sustained increases in the US home prices.
2.       One in four major US Banks have announced easier guidelines for qualified borrowers.
3.       Investor demand for prime mortgages rebounded to its highest level in a year.
4.       If you have good buyers that couldn’t qualify 6-12 months ago, there’s a good chance that they can now – see your favorite Royal Charter Loan Officer.
5.       Mortgage interest rates are almost certain to rise this year – use articles like this to get your buyers in the game or off the fence.  Now is a great time to buy!

Good luck (and, remember, you can find this article under “Agent Stuff” and then “Stuff You Need to Know” on the LP website)!


Patrick




Thursday, July 31, 2014

7 Things You Can Do on Friday to Make Monday Awesome


With our 3 day weekend coming up, here’s an article that I thought would be helpful to wrap up this week, go into the with some momentum, and then hit next week fresh and ready to go.

Have a great 4th of July, but lets also keep taking advantage of our peak selling season.


All my best,

Patrick

P.S. Also attached for ease of viewing and printing.

 

Important Stats and Article


National housing numbers for the top 50 metros in the country just came out yesterday. Here’s how they stack up to our local markets.

*National stats are in RED and local are in BLACK.

 

Nationally, May sales were up 11.5% over April (2014) but down 9.9% from May 2013.  

Locally, sold (closed escrow) properties were down 4.7% from April and pended properties down 7.7%. Compared to May 2013 solds were virtually unchanged (751 to 756 properties) but pended sales were down 8.5% (915 May 2013 to 842 May 2014).

 

Nationally May prices were up 7.7% from one year ago.

Locally prices are up 4.7% from last year. But again prices have been moving up and down throughout the last 12 months. May prices were only 3.5% above the average of the last 12 months (Our local appreciation has tapered off).

Nationally months’ supply of inventory (MSI) is at 3.8 months.

Locally we are at 3.2 months but this represents a 50% increase from last year’s 2.2 months. We have more properties coming on the market and sales are tapering.

An even stronger message to get to your sellers is that listing inventory is up 48% (1,630 properties May 2013 to 2,416 May 2014). Although these figures are from the Fresno MLS, our markets from Hanford to Oakhurst and Merced are relatively the same.

Locally
May 2013
May 2014
For Sale
1630
2416 (up 48%)
New Listings
1114
1151 (up 3.3%)
Sold
751
756
Pended
915
842 (down 8.6%)
Avg. Sales Price
$212,000
$222,000 (up 4.7)
Days on Market
51
55 (up 7.8%)

 

If your perspective sellers are on the fence but wanting to make a move in the next few years, our market trends indicate that now could be the perfect time. Prices are up, but appreciation has drastically slowed. Inventory is up which is putting downward pressure on prices and sales are slowing. And don’t forget, for buyers interest rates are still at historic lows making this a good time to buy.

Although a little detailed and technical the article below contains great information to share with your sellers and others on some pending threats to the housing market.


Good Luck!

Working with Buyers


Everyone:

            Check out the flyer below, but here are a few more great suggestions:

1.      Before starting their search for a home, get to know your buyers. Have them “Come Into The Office”, “CITO” the clients.  Interview them and get to know their needs and wants. Always get to the whys- “why is that need important?” You can only help the most when you know the most.

2.      Royal Charter Mortgage is the most trusted source to help your buyers stay loyal to you. They’ll let you know just how much home your buyers can afford, and as part of your team they’ll re-enforce that your buyers are in great hands with you.

3.      If your “buyers” aren’t real buyers, just shoppers, they probably will not want you sending them new listings that meet their criteria on a regular basis. Why? Because their shoppers. If you find the perfect property and they’re not willing to look today- you guessed it, they’re probably shoppers, not buyers. Remember, only buyers buy!


What are the Tea Leaves Saying??


As we work with our buyers, sellers and prospects each day it’s important to glance up occasionally to take a reading of the "Tea Leaves". There is no crystal ball and we never have all the leaves, but there are usually enough market indicators present to provide good guidance. After all, our job is to provide our clients with accurate market information and an idea of what we could expect to see. The attached article from the Wall Street Journal caught my eyes yesterday and I want to encourage you to share it with all of your current and perspective sellers.

The article, "Loan Resets to Bite Consumers", focuses on the last large wave of Home Equity Line of Credit (Helocs) loans that are coming due or resetting within the next five years. As these loans become due, or reset at higher rates, many homeowners could be forced back into difficult situations and face foreclosure. A return to more foreclosure and short sale inventory will result in a softer market with lower sales prices. Here are some facts;

  • In 2014, nearly 820,000 borrowers for a total of 23 billion dollars are facing their Helocs coming due and or resetting.
  • For the next 3 years (2015-2017) an average of 50 billion in Helocs will come due each year.
  • These figures have banks from Wells Fargo to JP Morgan Chase more than concerned.
  • Any prudent seller should consider getting ahead of the market and sell now while the market is up.
  • Any re-entry into a market weighted down by foreclosures will affect all price points (entry level to upper end).
  • If your sellers have been holding out on their right price reduction, they should read this and consider the facts and their current opportunity.

Good luck!

 

MORTGAGE RATES DOWN - GET YOUR BUYER'S OFF THE FENCE!


Newsworthy – Let’s get our buyers off the fence!

Rates are down, but they will not last forever.  Inventory has ticked up and your buyers now have selection.

Let’s kick the summer sales season off now and put our buyers into the home they’ve been looking for.  Take inventory of your most serious buyers today, select the 3 best properties to show them (or go get a One Party Listing), get them excited and get them to the table to make an offer!!

Good luck! 

Patrick


- DSNews.com - http://dsnews.com -

Mortgage Rates Continue Month-Long Slide

Posted By Tory Barringer On May 30, 2014 @ 12:00 pm In Daily Dose,Featured,Headlines,Market Studies,News | No Comments

Mortgage rate declines have continued now for more than a month straight, bringing interest rates down once again to new 2014 lows.

In its weekly released Primary Mortgage Market Survey [1]Freddie Mac [2] found the average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) was 4.12 percent (0.6 point) for the week ending May 29, down from 4.14 percent last week and the lowest 30-year fixed average since October 2013.

The 15-year FRM also slid down, averaging 3.21 percent (0.5 point) compared to last week's 3.25 percent.

The latest rate movements accompanied mixed news in the housing market, noted Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac's chief economist: "Fixed mortgage rates eased a bit for the fifth consecutive week as reports thatexisting home sales [3] are up 1.3 percent but not as much as expected. However, new home sales [4] rose 6.4 percent in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 433,000, which followed an upward revision of 11,000 units for the prior two months."

Movements were mixed for adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs). According to Freddie Mac, the 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid ARM averaged 2.96 percent (0.3 point), unchanged from the last survey. Meanwhile, the 1-year ARM averaged 2.41 percent (0.4 point), down from 2.43 percent.

Bankrate.com's [5] weekly national survey also showed declines for fixed rates, though adjustable rates were up. According to the finance site's latest data [6], the 30-year fixed last week averaged 4.25 percent, while the 15-year fixed was down to 3.35 percent. The 5/1 ARM, on the other hand, edged up a few basis points to 3.24 percent.

With the Federal Reserve tapering its stimulus purchases, analysts for Bankrate say it's outside pressures pushing rates down: "A number of factors come into play: disappointing U.S. economic growth at the start of 2014; slower growth in emerging markets; the prospect of European stimulus measures; and geopolitical issues around the globe, to name a few. But the bottom line is this—any time investors get nervous, whatever the reason, it is good news for mortgage shoppers."