I Keep Thinking That I’m Ready To Sell, And It Drops Again

A report from the Northern Express in Michigan. “Welcome to Traverse City, Petoskey, and Charlevoix — if you’ve got the money. ‘Home sales are continuing to rise in our area. In certain price ranges there are shortages of availability. So we are seeing multiple offers and consumers willing to pay more than the asking price and more than [its] true value to secure a home in Traverse City,’ said Carolyn Collins, president elect of the Traverse Area Association of Realtors.”

“Homes in or near downtowns, especially in the $100,000-$250,00 price range, are bumping up against a steadily declining number of such homes for sale. Those two forces continue to drive prices up, from an average of $243,762 in 2016, to $264,124 in 2017, to $277,542 this year, according to TAAR.”

“At the same time, the number of sales is decreasing, due to the shrinking inventory. Statistics from TAAR show sales of single-family homes for the year thus far lag behind both 2017 and 2016. This year’s total is 1,976, compared with 2,115 a year ago and 2,149 in 2016.”

“So will the cost of homes continue to rise, pricing even more people out? Is this a bubble that will ultimately burst, as happened in the recession?”

“Both national and local sources say the situation does not seem to portend a housing bubble. Edward Golding of the Urban Institute Housing Finance Policy Center, a veteran of HUD, who has also taught finance at several universities, appeared on a National Public Radio broadcast earlier this year to address the situation.”

“He noted that since 2012, house prices have increased substantially — about 34 percent faster than the prices of most other indices. But that is still far below the housing index in the bubble days: Between 1997 and 2006, house prices outpaced inflation by 84 percent. Golding refused to even use the word ‘bubble.'”

“In this region, it’s even less likely. ‘I don’t see any of the historical signs of a real estate bubble in our marketplace,’ said Wally Kidd of Kidd & Leavy Real Estate of Petoskey. ‘We aren’t seeing the speculative nature of real estate. People today are buying real estate to enjoy it. They’re not looking to make a quick buck.'”

“Another factor pushing sales: People have money now, and they are making home purchases they delayed when the economic outlook was not so rosy. ‘What we’re reaching is the end of the recovery,’ said Bob Pringle of Real Estate One in Traverse City. ‘The tight inventory is keeping prices up, but it’s slowing.'”

“Judy Porter, a Realtor with Real Estate One in Traverse City, also said the pace of sales has slowed down. She attributes it to several factors, including the time of year, the dwindling supply, and the fact that downtown prices have escalated so much that some who would like to downsize and move to a more central location can’t afford to. ‘Everybody wants to be downtown, but they don’t want to pay the price,’ she said.”

“Kidd said he also sees the market cooling, and the fact that interest rates are moving upward will also help it reach a more sustainable level. ‘The lending market has tightened up. They [lenders] have gotten a lot smarter. You’re not seeing the speculation craze. We’ve seen steady marginal price increases,’ he said.”

“Pringle said this area’s continued desirability as a resort and retirement community should help to insulate it from any potential downward trends. ‘There’s a lot of demand for retirement homes and second homes. That props us up. I think we’ll continue to see strong demand keep prices up even if the rest of the state is flat,’ he said.”

The Business Times on Colorado. “While real estate activity continues to increase in Mesa County, the pace of that growth appears to be slowing. ‘There’s a little bit of cooling off,’ said Robert Bray, CEO of Bray Real Estate in Grand Junction. He attributed slowing to the effects of higher interest rates in a market with rising prices and shrinking inventories.”

“Annette Miller, senior vice president of Heritage Title Co., in Grand Junction, also expects slowing in the fourth quarter. ‘I think it’s going to cool off.'”

The Washington Post. “Ten years ago, retired electrician Dave Roberts invested $650,000 in Donald Trump. Roberts bought a single room in Trump’s hotel on the Chicago River, then waited for his share of the Trump profit stream. But starting in 2016. Fewer guests checked in. Revenue dropped. Roberts estimated that his property value decreased by half, as the real estate market was flooded with unsold Trump hotel rooms.”

“Roberts said he had invested in the hotel against his lawyer’s advice. He had put down a $64,000 deposit on the unit in 2004, before the hotel was built. Then, in 2008, Trump asked for the rest of the money.”

“‘Lose your $64,000, don’t do it,’ Roberts remembered his real estate lawyer saying. The lawyer worried that he was paying too much, as a financial crisis and a housing bust loomed. But Roberts went ahead: ‘I’m careful with money, so I didn’t want to lose my $64,000.'”

“‘I owe more than I can sell it for,’ he said. ‘I can’t catch up with the drop in price. I keep thinking that I’m ready to sell, and it drops again.’ He has $290,000 left on his mortgage. ‘I don’t even like walking past the building’ now, he said. ‘I can’t even look at it.’