Posted by Michael Saunders on May 4, 2009
The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported today that their Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) rose from February to March by 3.2%. This is positive news indicating that potentially, more sales will close in April, further reducing inventory and bringing the overall market to a healthier cycle. Full story here. The report attributes several factors including the near record high of the Housing Affordability Index – which compares the connections between housing prices, mortgage rates and family income – and the ability of first-time buyers (or someone who has not owned a home in the past 3 years) to receive an $8000 tax credit. Even better for our area, regionally, the South outperformed the nation with an increase of 8.5% on the PHSI.
A few weeks ago we reported on the reduction of inventories for closed sales and their impressive 39-month lows. Pending home sales tell a slightly different story and attempt to forecast the future by predicting what will happen if everything comes together as hoped. The following numbers are based off of Trendgraphix data for the Sarasota, Manatee and Charlotte county markets and are on a different scale from the PHSI:
Sarasota County Pending Home Sales:
Mar 2009: 1089 (+25%)
Feb 2009: 866
Manatee County Pending Home Sales:
Mar 2009: 602 (+19%)
Feb 2009: 505
Charlotte County Pending Home Sales:
Mar 2009: 579 (+42%)
Feb 2009: 363
A few more months like these are exactly what homeowners and the housing industry needs to correct their course. Keep an eye out next week when we get and analyze our local real estate statistics for April.
Posted by Michael Saunders on May 1, 2009
Two more early indications of a healthier real estate market for the Sarasota, Manatee and Charlotte counties is an increase in activity from our appointment center and on our website, michaelsaunders.com.
The MS&C appointment center, which sets up property showings between other area company’s agents and their buyers and listings represented by Michael Saunders & Company experienced an increased call rate of 30% for the first four months of 2009 (compared to the same period in 2008). Even more promising is that the call rate grew as the year progressed, with a 34% rise in April. More remarkable is the fact that the volume of calls are at levels exceeding any experienced in the company’s history – including the peak selling years of 2004 and 2005.
Likewise, web traffic to michaelsaunders.com rose 37% for the first four months of 2009 over the same period last year. We also saw a big increase of international traffic to the site. Our top visitors outside of the United States came from: Canada up 23%, United Kingdom up 18%, Germany up 26%, Netherlands up 72%, France up 11% and Switzerland up 25%.
Willkommen!
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Posted by Michael Saunders on April 13, 2009
ALL INDICATORS POINT TO A MARKET ON THE MEND
“It’s an absolute perfect storm from a buyer’s point-of-view,” said Michael Saunders, founder and CEO of Michael Saunders & Company, in explaining the market dynamics behind the substantial uptick in sales and pending sales that continued unabated through March; to say nothing of the corresponding decline in available inventories, as measured by TRENDGRAPHIX for its latest report on monthly sales within the region’s MLS.
“Several key fronts have merged to cause buyers to shrug off fear, cast indecision aside; and respond to the notion that right now is the best time to buy properties since the turn of the century.” Saunders explains. “In addition to the lowest prices in recent memory, interest rates are presently hovering around 4.78 percent, lenders are back in their comfort zone lending again; and buyers who haven’t owned a home in three years are apt to qualify for a first-time homebuyer tax credit—of up to $8,000—as long as they purchase by December 1. In other words, the bottom that everyone has been looking for is beginning to form; and the smart money is back to considering prime location even as it searches for unprecedented values. The best-priced opportunities in the choicest locations are selling first and fast.”
TRENDGRAPHIX’s latest report for March—just released—shows that months of inventory based on closed sale transactions have dropped to their lowest levels in over 39 months according to the latest MLS data for March, 2009. In the Tri-County region of Sarasota, Manatee and Charlotte counties, inventories are at their lowest since December 2005.
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