Hello Everyone,
Mood on the street and around town is upbeat. Most REALTORS I have spoken with believe that the Marin County real estate market is picking up. Sellers are better educated about current values and know that they have to price for the market if they want to sell. Plenty of qualified buyers competing for a limited amount of inventory make it their business to know the market and refuse to overpay. Lenders backing them up with strict appraisal guidelines, appraisal reviews, and requests for multiple appraisals so prices have to be real. Interest rates still excellent. Stock Market and consumer confidence recovering and the FED holding the line on interest rates last week with a statement that they intend to continue to do so for an extended period. "Jumbo" loans still difficult to obtain with lots of hoops for buyers to jump, vault, or squeeze themselves through. Well-qualified buyers with good income, credit, assets, reserves can qualify but the process is time-consuming. Upper end of the market continues to be sluggish as a result. Cash is king, with all-cash offers holding a decided edge over buyers who need to obtain loans, particularly on higher-priced homes.
City by City Report out this week shows 7 of 13 listed Marin cities and towns with percentage in contract up, and 6 down. No dramatic moves. Novato in first place, gaining since last month and now at 45.8% in contract. Novato real estate still very sensitive to price in spite of this due to continued REO and short-sale activity. Sausalito still at the bottom of the heap with only 17.89% in contract, but significantly better than last month's 10.2%.
Momentum in YTD units sold seems to be slowing, with SFR's still up about 55% from this period last year at 479 vs. 308. Condo YTD units sold at 143 vs. 130 last year at the same time, or up 10%. With the expiration of the Federal tax credit, remains to be seen whether the market is still strong enough (assisted by the California state tax credit) to continue on its upward course.
Signs of strength in the market include the high ratio of accepted offers to new listings in both the SFR and Condo market------ 88.5% and 95.1% respectively.
CB MarketQuest Market Action Report for April (attached) just out shows SFR's in a strong position with prices up, Days on Market down. Condo's a bit more challenging. See reports for full information.
Opportunities abound, particularly in the upper end of the market where qualified buyers continue to get great deals. Good prices and good rates will probably continue for a while, but not forever. Now is a great time to buy. Check with a professional REALTOR experienced in the specific area of interest.
More next time. Until then,
Best wishes to all,
Fred
P.S. For access to spreadsheets please see http://www.fredanlyan.com
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