by rtdosen | May 25, 2015 | Ryan Dosen Real Estate Articles
It’s a Seller’s Market–Not a Name-Your-Price Market By Ryan Dosen Speaking at the Residential Economic Issues & Trends Forum at the Realtors Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo earlier this month, National Association of Realtors, or NAR, Chief Economist Lawrence Yun laid out a generally positive forecast for the economy and real estate market. Based upon Yun’s projections and other important economic data and market indicators, we expect to see a strong housing market that continues to outpace last year’s market, leading to an even stronger 2016. Small Slip in April NAR reported on Thursday that “despite properties typically selling faster than at any time since July 2013, existing-home sales slowed in April but remained above an annual sales pace of five million for the second straight month.” Yun’s takeaway from the 3.3 percent decline in total existing-home sales was that the setback was “the result of a lagging supply relative to demand and the upward pressure it’s putting on prices.” Empowered Sellers and Stubborn Buyers Indeed, we are still seeing frustratingly low inventory numbers in many of our local areas. We are also seeing many situations where sellers, apparently feeling empowered by the low inventories, are pricing their homes too aggressively. Many areas certainly are seeing seller’s market conditions. However, nowhere are we seeing “name your price” seller’s market conditions. There are lots of buyers out there and many aren’t even in deal-only mode. They are willing to pay market price for a home. That said, few buyers in today’s market are willing to overpay for a house. NAR reports that inventories were up 10.0 percent at the...
by rtdosen | May 22, 2015 | Ryan Dosen Real Estate Articles
The Appraiser’s Party Foul By Ryan Dosen When we were young, my brother Chris and I collected sports cards. My parents encouraged it somewhat, as it seemed a better use for report card money than candy or plastic toys. The cards at least had some hope of holding future value. We subscribed to these monthly price guides that would tell us the supposed value of the cards, and we believed the guides. We had nothing else to go on. I mean, these were ancient times. Before eBay. One day I was telling my father about all these “valuable” cards I had and he asked me how I knew that they were so valuable. I quoted him the guide. He said, “Son, something is only worth what someone is willing to pay you for it.” Eventually the Internet came along, and message boards came along, and we quickly found out that Dad was right and that our cards were worth far less than we thought. Fast forward to today. Shift your focus from the baseball card market to the real estate market. And now kindly stand on your head. The Home Price Perception Index Quicken Loans’ Home Price Perception Index (HPPI) tracks the difference between appraiser opinions and homeowner perceptions of home values. The most recent HPPI revealed that “homeowners rated their home values higher than appraisers did for the third straight month, with the gap widening to 0.69 percent from 0.4 percent in March.” While it may not be particularly surprising that homeowners think their homes are worth more than they actually are, that’s not where the story gets interesting,...
by rtdosen | May 8, 2015 | Ryan Dosen Real Estate Articles
Victoria Dosen (with baby Brynn) is one of many important mothers in author Ryan Dosen’s life. Daily Local News – Ryan Dosen Changes to the Mother of All Real Estate Forms By Ryan Dosen Only one year after receiving a major overhaul, the Pennsylvania Association of Realtors’ Standard Agreement of Sale (Form ASR) will be seeing more changes in the near future. The ASR is the standard form used for buying and selling real estate in Pennsylvania. So, even if you’ve bought or sold a home recently, you don’t know everything you’re going to need to know if you’re planning on buying or selling a home in the near future. Here’s a snapshot of some of the main changes… Updated Broker Blocks The first page of the current ASR contains blocks for the buyer’s broker and the seller’s broker. These blocks have space for the broker and agent name(s) and contact information. They also include boxes to be checked, specifying the broker and licensee as either (a) buyer (or seller) agent, (b) buyer (or seller) agent with designated agency, (c) dual agent, or (d) transactional licensee. No further explanation was provided. According to Pennsylvania’s standard Consumer Notice, a buyer (or seller agent) “works exclusively” for the buyer (or seller) and must act in the buyer’s (or seller’s) “best interest, including making a continuous and good faith effort” to find a property for the buyer (or find a buyer for the seller). A dual agent works for both the seller and the buyer and may not take any action that is “adverse or detrimental to either party but must disclose...
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