Consumer driven, team players are a must, level of experience is negotiable (our training is excellent), but ability to communicate and work electronically are a must. We provide a great agent “toolbox” that will allow you to grow your business and communicate with out clients. We currently have a small office on Woodward just south of Adams, and a fantastic communication system of agents on the go. IF you want to be busy making clients happy and closing transactions email: Scott@ChangingStreets.com.

We have heard their is a ton of “shadow inventory” in the foreclosure market, and there maybe but it seems the banks are content to sit on them for a while right now and let them trickle into the market. We currently have 360 bank properties in our pipeline that will hit the market in the next nine months, that is not much, (compared to the buyers we work with we will sell over 800 homes this year) so I don’t anticipate a flood inventory in the next 12 months.

I hate to be positive about the real estate market but freshman (high school) econ tells me supply and demand drive markets. Dare I say we have seen the market turn into a sellers market in many segments?

Many of our bank owned listings are selling with five plus offers and a final price 3-4% above asking.  These are crazy claims and we are currently putting the data together for  a future blog. Point is it is time for agents to start marketing and quit chasing price reductions, buyers are in the market and giving up because they can’t find what they want…there seems to be a disconnect between, buyers and listing agents.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/27/realestate/27Mort.html?_r=1&hp

It is the same form all mortgage lenders on ChangingStreets.com use for thier clients.

You can also search for any home listed by search by Address Here.

You can also set up an advanced search and save to have results email to you…great stuff. Enjoy the site and let it and us work for you! Our goal is to make your real estate experience Smart, Easy, Sane.

Buyers and selling agents must meet the following qualifications to be eligible for the incentive:

• HomePath property sale must close on or before December 31, 2010 and close within 60 days of offer acceptance
• Only owner occupants purchasing a HomePath property as their primary residence will receive up to 3.5% in closing cost assistance
• Only selling agents representing owner occupants purchasing a HomePath property as their primary residence will receive a $1,500 bonus. To be eligible for the agent’s bonus, the initial offer must be submitted on or after September 23, close within 60 days of offer acceptance and close on or before December 31, 2010. No bonus will be given for investor purchases.
• Buyers and selling agents must request incentive upon submission of initial offer in order to be eligible. 

This is really amazing. We can help in three ways:

1. Getting a solid HomePathapproved lender to give you needed pre-approval

2. Prepare Offer and View Homes

3. Here are the listings that qualify!

Feel Free to contact us with any questions:  1-866-787-3380

Not only is the average sales price up, which can could be do to changes in buyer trends on size, area, quality…., I like to look at specific markets and price per square foot.  Lets take Birmingham homes sold as a prime example.

In third quarter of 2009 100 homes sold in Birmingham for an average sales price of $351,072. The average size of the homes sold was 2213 square feet giving us a sold price per square foot of $158.64.

For the same period this year 84 homes have sold for an average sales price of $412,242 ( a 17.4% increase). The average size of the homes sold was 2294 square feet giving us a sold price per square foot of $179.20 ( a 12.9% increase).

I think this method really shows that the market is moving in the right direction. I used this same basic method in 2005 to notice that although prices were going up in third and forth quarter that price per square foot was coming down, signalling the value issue ahead.

Prices are strong across southeast Michigan, average sales prices in Independence Township in Northern Oakland are up 28%* Q3 2010 vs. Q3 2009. (Price per square foot is up 12.5%). Prices in Genessee County/Flint area are up over 10% for the same period.

Who knows what is happening after the elections or next year, but we really need to enjoy the market trending higher, it is truly a great time to lock in a low rate and a rock bottom price.

* Clarkston / Independence TWP home sales for third quarter of 2009 were 109 at an average sales price of $180,555 and an average size of 2133 square feet for an average price per square foot of $84.64

For third quarter of 2010 the average sales price was $231,239 and the average size was 2428 square feet giving us an average sold price per square foot of $95.22.

The higher end of sales is also on a roll 29 sales over $1,000,000 so far in Q3 vs 21 for all of Q3 2009. Not only is the number of high end homes up but the average sales price is up as well to $1,431,296 this is up over $119,000 from $1,312,976.

The number of sales is down, I anticipate by the time the dust clears at the end of the quarter there will be 3150 sales which will be down just a hair over 800 from last year. The good news is that inventory is down as well and prices continue to rise. So a drop in units is not that big of a deal as it relates to current inventory levels.

There are some fantastic opportunities for home buyers out there right now with Fannie Mae owned properties and Homepath Financing. Learn more on our REO page.

It  will be interesting to see how the quarter wraps up, check back!

It’s true! Thanks to you our loyal friends and clients and your voting skills, we did it! Check it out if you don’t believe me! The news made my day, and continues to make me smile,  So thank you everybody who put up with my gentle reminders to vote, and took the time to do so. You rock!

Speaking of rocking & favorites & summer – Flint summer is not over yet! We barely have time to clean up and recover from Back to the Bricks (That’s my daughter and hubby in the pic in my GTO) before The CRIM FESTIVAL will be here! Are you ready?

Yep, just like our slowly recovering real estate market, I’ve managed to make some lemonade this summer and been treated to a few surprises. Hopefully you all can say the same. Tell me something about your summer. I love a good story.

In July of 2009 1369 homes sold in Oakland County for an average sales price of $141,585. The average home was 1805 sq ft, for an average price per square foot of $78.70. There were 13 homes sold that listed for greater than $750,000.

In July of 2010 1046 homes sold in Oakland County for an average sales price of $159,320. The average home was 1885 sq ft, for an average price per square foot of $84.97. There were 15 homes sold that listed for greater than $750,000.

What is interesting is the highest end of the market, the over $750,000. I have spoken to agent across the state and they all concur that high end buyers are out there, but they are very educated, very diligent and very CASH in a lot of cases. The 13 homes listed for greater than $750,000 in Oakland County in 2009 had an average sales price of $1,070,000 and an average size of 5158 square feet (an average price per of $207) the highest priced was $2,000,000 and sold for $1,500,000.

In 2010, however, the average sales price was $893,433 and the average home was 4884 square feet (an average price per of $182). The highest listing price was $1,795,000 and that home sold for $1,275,000.

YTD on the over $750,000 listings there have been 107 sold vs. 71 in 2009. The average sales price is up a meager $6,771 dollars. The price per square foot is down $3 to $192.06. So the total sales volume of homes listed about $750,000 is up over 50% year to date.

2009:  $72,357,789

2010:  $109,984,650

How about some good real estate news, feels good.

I’m a part time real estate agent/full time freelance writer and social media enthusiast, right? So why such low frequency posting? Because I am so busy selling! Why am I so busy selling?  Because buyers are so abundant that I can’t avoid them even with my eyes closed and running in the opposite direction!

Not that I want to, Sillies, just creating a visual.

And the buyers aren’t just out… houses are moving. Properties are closing. Even with all the changes and new regulations in the mortgage industry, business is getting done.  And I’m loving it!

In fact I am having a ball.

Hoyt has all the good statistics you know… what’s selling, who’s buying, how much they are spending as compared to this that and the other. You’ll have to talk to him about the science of it all. My thoughts on the market come from a much simpler source… my disposition.

Thank goodness a lot of my posts were lost when we switched from the old site to the new. Hm… now that I think of it… maybe they weren’t so much “lost” as “left behind.”  They were ugly, after all.  Fueled by my frustration with the changing market and the decline of being able to work with real people who were buying and selling homes. I have often said that the smiles of the parties at the closing table were equally as motivating as the checks I received. And the ebb and flow of my disposition as those smiling buyers and sellers disappeared and reappeared again,  prove it!

No need to revisit the last few years of gloom, though. The important part of the story is – fun at work has snuck up on me, like a long lost friend sneaking up behind me and covering my eyes. “Surprise! You love your job again!”  Why? Because I am dealing with people. Which I love. It’s not that I don’t like banks and investors. They are an important part of the machine, for sure! But too much of the banks & investors and not enough REAL PEOPLE upsets the energy of the real estate business.

Now for all you REAL PEOPLE buyers that I am so happy to see, here are a couple buyer financing tips…

Be honest and up front about everything when you apply for your mortgage. The blemishes are going to show up even if you don’t share them. And even the slightest embellishment is “fraud”. Scary word! Also – do your best to avoid any changes to your credit portfolio between the time you are approved and the time you close. Many lenders are now requiring a final credit pull just before closing to make sure that everything matches the information that was used in your qualification. So try to avoid a job change, applying for new credit, or increasing credit balances from the time you are approved to the time you close on your home loan.

So lucky me! The people are back and they’re buying and selling and Real estate trends run parallel with my mood trends. I think from now on I’ll pass on the real estate reports and get my market trend reports from my mood ring.