Dmitry and I have had our busiest Spring in real estate in years in 2008. We are working with more clients than ever before. Last week we had a couple of closings and we asked the other Realtors and mortgage brokers if they were seeing what we are seeing: a lot more buying activity in the market. The answer was YES!
It’s too soon to say that the market has turned. As I have long stated, South East Michigan needs to create jobs to stimulate an enduring stabilization in the housing market.
Still, here are a couple of things we have observed:
- The supply of rental properties is actually decreasing. Cautious would-be home buyers have delayed their home home purchases waiting for the market to bottom out. With a few years of falling home prices behind us, it is easy to understand their reasoning. The challenge for them will to be to time the market and purchase before the market starts heading up. With rental supply in some segments drying up, this creates an opportunity for investors who wish to be landlords, and it forces some of the cautious tenant/would be buyers to take the leap back into home ownership.
- The last 5 of our most recent sales have involved multiple offers. There are buyers out there, and if they see value, they react.
- The condo market remains amongst the most challenging for sellers. Sellers of condos are often more profoundly impacted by their neighbors sales prices than sellers of single family homes.
- Today’s buyer is still VALUE oriented. Buyers want a deal.
- There are some great homes out there!
- It seems that prices are down, but sales are up. To me, that is the beginning of stabilization. As supply falls, prices should begin to level out. It will take a while for us to return to the record high values we experienced in 2004/2005.
Opportunities exist for sellers and buyers right now. Be prepared, informed and open minded, and you’ll be one step closer to the finish line.
Written by Maureen Francis
SKBK Sotheby's International Realty, 248.430.4450
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Norm Fisher 05.01.08 at 8:39 am
Exciting news that we seem to be hearing more often about a number of U.S. metro areas. Best wishes for a full, and speedy recovery
Missy Caulk 05.02.08 at 10:01 am
We are fighting multiple offers in Ann Arbor too. I just posted on April 2008 being really slow for closings, but lots of homes under contract now. May is looking good.