This month’s Washtenaw County Homes Report is out!  Directly from the Big House Data Executive Summary:

For the three years of data reflected on these charts, September 2007 is the lowest average sales price for the combined home and condo market in Washtenaw County.  The good news, and there are silver linings here, is that properties are selling, and that the twelve month moving average trend line for sales is flattening!  This indicates a momentum shift in the positive direction for closings compared to the prior twenty four months.

If you are a buyer in this market, you have never, and likely will never, see this kind of market again!  High inventory, prices readjusting to normalcy, a historically low cost of money and hungry Realtors®.  Buy NOW!

Ouch, lowest average sales price in 36 months!  Team366 stared at the numbers and realized that so far this year, 20.6% of the listings on the market have sold.  Compared to last year, when 30.1% sold across the same time frame, that represents a nearly 32% drop in the likelihood a listed home will sell.  So right now, an active home has a one in five chance of selling!

Now, of course, this assumes an average home, at an average price, with average marketing!  Team366, with the help of these stats, and our professional marketing system, is selling 65% of our listings this year.  Give us a call at 734.330.2392 to learn more.

For now, let’s see some charts!

Average List Price – Washtenaw County Housing

The average list price for housing listed in September was $237,517. For the three quarters of 2007, the average list price is down 3.5% compared to the first three quarters of 2006.

As you can see, the average list price has been diving (according to the 12 month moving average trendline) since March of 2007.  This is an encouraging trend to see as the market adjusted and continues to adjust, to the Pfizer withdrawal combined with the general readjustment of real estate values.  This means that sellers have learned that price is a factor in selling homes.

Average Sales Price – Washtenaw County Housing

Now there is a price drop!  Wow!  The average sales price for September 2007 was $194,938. Year to date, the average sales price is down nearly 6.25%.  Year to date, the average sales price is $224,566.

While this is an amazing number compared to the prior 36 months, when the average monthly volume is down only 8% and the number of closing are down only 2.5%, the market is not presenting itself as dead, by any stretch of the imagination.

Number of Listings v Number of Closings – Washtenaw County Housing

This chart shows that 2007 has been a banner year for listing homes, while the sales have remained relatively steady throughout the year so far.

This chart shows, beyond a shadow of a doubt, when most folks list their property.  If you need to sell your place, and are afraid of listing during the winter, look at this chart again and examine where your home will be able to gain the greatest exposure on the market with the least amount of listing competition.

There are some great reasons to list during the winter time, and fewer new listings hitting the market is one of them!

Technorati tags: Buyer Insights, Seller Insights, Market Statistics, Big House Data, Team366, Ann Arbor, Homes, For Sale, Marketing

Best home fixes to reduce water bill

By Paul Bianchina

If you’re looking for a way to reduce your utility bills and do something good for the environment at the same time, it’s worth taking a good look at your home’s plumbing fixtures. Older fixtures can waste a lot more water than you may realize, and a few simple changes can often make a significant difference.

TOILETS
The toilet can be one of the largest water users in your home. While toilets manufactured after 1994 are mandated by law to use 1.6 gallons of water per flush, most toilets manufactured between about 1980 and 1993 use 3.5 gallons, and pre-1980 models can use as much as 7 gallons of water every time you press that handle down.

One of the most obvious ways to save on water usage is to replace your older toilets with a new one. After some initial problems with the low-flow toilets of the mid-90s, when the reduced-water flush got a bad rap from not handling its waste disposal chores very well, manufacturers made significant design changes that greatly improved the operation of most toilets sold today.

In Europe, most new toilets feature a dual-flush technology that is really quite efficient. The toilet has two flushing buttons on the top of the tank: one button activates a 0.8-gallon flush for the removal of liquid waste, and the other activates a 1.6 gallon flush for solid waste. At least one manufacturer, Caroma USA (www.caromausa.com), offers these well-designed toilets for sale in the United States.

If you have an older toilet that’s in good working order but is wasting water with every flush, consider retrofitting it to use less water. One way to do that is with the Controllable Flush (www.controllableflush.com), which fits most toilet tanks and mimics the action of the dual-flushing European toilet. The no-tool installation is quite simple, and involves the removal of the old flush handle and lever arm and replacing it with the new components contained in the Controllable Flush kit. Pressing down on the handle and holding it for a few seconds allows a reduced flush of about 1.5 gallons, suitable for the disposal of liquid waste, while pressing the handle up raises the flapper valve up in the conventional manner, allowing for a full flush.

Toilet dams, available from many plumbing supply retailers, reduce the interior dimensions of the toilet tank so it holds — and therefore uses — less water with each flush. The typical toilet dam can save a gallon or more of water with each flush. The low-tech method of inserting a brick in the toilet tank, which causes the tank to displace less water, is not recommended — the brick can deteriorate and damage both the toilet and the plumbing lines.
You also want to be sure and check your toilet for leaks. If you hear your toilet running when not in use, you can check for leaks by simply putting a few drops of food coloring in the tank. Check it after about 10 minutes, without flushing, and if any of the food coloring has appeared in the bowl, you have a leak that should be fixed as soon as possible.

FAUCETS AND SHOWERS
Retrofitting your kitchen and bathroom faucets with an aerator is a great way to save water. Aerators introduce air into the water stream, which allows for good pressure with reduced water usage. Aerators are available for just about any type of faucet with internal or external threads, and simply requires screwing the aerator in place.

Aerators are marked with their water flow in gallons per minute (GPM). An aerator with a flow rating of 2.75 GPM or lower is typically considered low-flow, which will save both water and the energy required to heat it. It is estimated that a low-flow kitchen faucet aerator can save about 3 gallons of water per day in the average household, and a bathroom faucet aerator can save 2 gallons or more.

Replacing your old showerhead can be a real water saver as well. Here again, low-flow showerheads utilize air mixed with the water to improve pressure while reducing water usage, and still results in a shower spray that is invigoratingly strong. Look for a showerhead that uses 2.5 GPM or less, which are available in a wide variety of styles, including ones with pulsating massage action.

And finally, fix that that drip! In addition to being noisy and incredibly annoying, a small faucet drip that totals only two tablespoons a minute wastes about 15 gallons of water a day.

Copyright © 2007 Inman News – Paul Bianchina

Rethinking your home search

By Dian Hymer

Most home buyers claim they’re picky. And why shouldn’t they be? The real estate they buy will be home. It needs to provide more than just a roof over their head. It needs to satisfy emotional needs that aren’t easily quantifiable. The home is a reflection of the self, which makes the quest for the right place to buy complicated.

Since the home-buying experience is intermeshed with the psyche of the person in pursuit, there’s a psychological component to consider. For example, let’s say you have been searching for the right home for years. You haven’t seen too many properties that fit the bill, and have only made an offer or two during that timeframe. The property you really loved turned out to be entirely too expensive. You lost out in a multiple-offer competition on a property that was listed too low.

You’ve come close to making an offer several times, but have backed away after reconsidering. Each property had defects in terms of your ideal wish list. You weren’t willing to compromise.

HOUSE HUNTING TIP: Buyers who find they’ve been looking for the right house for more than six months should pause to consider whether their expectations are in line with reality. For instance, if you want a bay view and a level lot, you may find that you’ll wait forever. Bay views tend to be available only in homes that are built on hills. Home buying involves making compromises if you’re serious about buying.

In order to decide how you will compromise, you need to research the local housing stock to discover what is realistically possible. In other words, you need to do your homework. The perfect house won’t just magically appear. To save time, use the Internet to whittle down the list of homes for sale until you find the ones that suit your needs. Then make a point of visiting these in person, either with a real estate agent or at an open house.

Buyers with pressing needs usually have less of a problem finding the right home to buy. For example, if you live in an area with a school district you don’t like and you have children who are about to enter school, you need to move if you can’t afford private-school tuition. You have an urgent reason to move that preempts the desire for a perfect house. You’ll settle for the right number of bedrooms and baths, a yard and a good school district. You may be willing to give up on the Old World charm or character that you were hoping to find.
You may be getting out and seeing the listings that might work for you and still aren’t having success. In this case, you could be suffering from approach-avoidance. This syndrome can keep you from making a decision, even when you see the right house to buy. You come close to making an offer but never carry through.

Buying a home can be frightening, particularly if you are doing it on your own. It’s a big commitment, perhaps to a lifestyle that you’re not used to. It’s helpful to consult with advisors when you find that you’re getting nowhere. Talk to a trusted financial advisor to see if you’re looking in the right price range. If you’re over your head financially, scale back to a level that feels comfortable.
THE CLOSING: It can be useful to reconsider your wish list in terms of what you’ve learned about your local market and what to expect. By realigning your expectations and readjusting to a comfortable price range, you may feel more comfortable moving ahead.

Copyright © 2007 Inman News – Dian Hymer

Let June be no different then the months before!  It is time for monthly housing statistics from Big House Data!

From the Big House Data Executive Summary:

The effect of the Pfizer relocations will be felt for a time in Washtenaw County. Anecdotally, the post-buyout list prices are particularly aggressive. With this aggressive pricing, Pfizer is
selling their properties, but the non-Pfizer owners in those neighborhoods will be dealing with lower property values as a result if they decide to put their property on the market. This
anecdote goes a long way to emphasize the power of the convergence of price and quality. Obviously, the prices on these Pfizer relocation properties is such that the market is responding favorably and snapping them up before competing homes that, comparatively, are over priced.

List Price

The average List Price for housing in the Ann Arbor Area Board of Realtors was $227,645.  This is a roughly $20,000 increase from May.  It may be that the initial Pfizer relocation sell-off hangover is nearly over.  A few more months will show us for sure if this is the case

Sales Price

The average Sales Price for housing jumped to $221,784 in the Ann Arbor Area Board of Realtors.  This means that an average home in Washtenaw County cost an average of $221,784.  Interesting when compared with June 2006 and June 2005 with average Sales Prices of $247,086 and $249,129, respectively.

Number of Closing v Number of Listings

Here’s a new chart for regular readers of the Team366 Blog.  This is a three year trend of the listings (red) to closings (blue) per month.  The associated twelve month moving average trend line simply shows the momentum that the market currently has.