Market Trends and Condition

The legion of viewers hooked on fix & flip TV shows on networks like A&E and Spike TV isn’t just about “reality” that may be a bit “stretched.” Known as reality TV, these shows take viewers behind the scenes with investors who locate, bid on, buy, repair, and sell homes in weeks to months. It’s called Fix and Flip, and it’s exciting to many.
When the housing market crashed, there were a lot of these investors caught holding homes that they couldn’t sell when prices were crushed in short order. However, they’re back, and fix & flip is becoming a major market activity again.

This may be a surprise for a lot of people considering what Las Vegas has done in the last year but now it has all changed because they WERE goo markets. This again applies to the S/P price indexing system.

5 worst housing markets

1. Las Vegas

2. Phoenix

3. Detroit

4. Minneapolis

5. San Francisco

FORBES

The S&P/Case-Shiller home price index, released monthly, examines repeat home sales in 20 metro markets, including the city core and surrounding suburbs. This means that while prices in the tony San Francisco neighborhood of Pacific Heights might be holding up, the net effect of including a bankrupt suburb like Vallejo brings down the metro area's score. Each city's score is assigned based on the price difference from 2000, which is scored as 100. So San Francisco's score of 130.12 means prices are up 30.12% from 2000. It still has the potential for a further fall, given the 31% year-over-year drop.

Wishing you'd left the game earlier is a time-honored Las Vegas tradition. Today, that's true not only for gamblers but for homeowners there. The last time Las Vegas properties were worth more than the average mortgage? August 2003.

Blame overbuilding and risky loans, a gambling mentality or even the desert sun, but based on today's results from the S&P/Case-Shiller home price index, which measures metro home prices in 20 cities through December 2008, Las Vegas is the weakest market in the country. Prices are dropping quickly (down 4.81% since last month and 33% in the last year); the pace of decline is accelerating at the third-fastest rate in the nation; and based on lost equity, homeowners are out 65 months of mortgage payments.

http://money.cnn.com/2014/02/06/real_estate/tech-worker-rents/index.html...

Let’s refresh our knowledge a little on the CMA, Comparative Market Analysis and then see if it needs to be adjusted a bit in today’s mixed retail and foreclosure market. The CMA is used by the vast majority of real estate professionals to determine the current market value of a home. Listing agents use the CMA to determine the optimal price at which to list a home for a quick sale and maximum dollars to the seller. Buyer agents use it to compare listed homes and to show their buyer clients the actual value of the home if it appears to be overvalued or undervalued.
There are several steps in the process, none difficult, but all important and requiring accuracy and good judgment:

Having an investor friendly REALTOR is critical for you to be successful in real estate, however it is important to realize that not all REALTORs are created equal! This being the case you need a REALTOR that will assist you in finding deals, understanding the market, writing & submitting offers.

When you begin investing it’s a good idea to start in your backyard & have a REALTOR that understands your
“back yard”. One problems is that this is not the case for all REALTORs.

Hank Miller wrote an article for Inman News were he addressed this issue in more detail.

“Just as walking through a kitchen doesn’t make you a chef, living in a neighborhood doesn’t make an agent a “neighborhood expert.

In January every year it’s time for every media outlet to report on all kinds of economic data and make predictions for the coming year. Housing is in the thick of it, and there’s plenty of reporting and predicting going on. In general, a simple statement would be that overall housing markets are improving, but the level of improvement varies significantly by area. Several sources out there are saying pretty much the same thing about the spotty nature of the housing recovery.

Home equities are improving. Many homeowners who have been waiting to sell are finding that their equity has risen to a point where they can do so and trade up to a larger home. It helps that prices have been rising significantly, though most of that pressure has been from cash investor buyers.

Annual Home Price Growth Strong
The widely-followed S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index indicated that October sales were 1% higher month-over-month, and a significant 13.6% increase year-over-year. Home prices have posted an annual gain for 17 consecutive months.

Higher Mortgage Rates for New Home Buyers
In 2013, mortgage rates climbed a full percentage point. When applied to a fixed loan of $250,000 for 30 years, this raises the cost to the buyer by around $60,000 over the life of the loan. Freddie Mac is reporting that both 15 and 30 year fixed rates are on the rise.

Price Growth Slowing