I’ve been reading reports from other areas of the country about low appraisals. Basically, the appraisals are coming in low because they are not recognizing the shift in the market, and that because of excessively low inventory that prices are on the rise.

I have not experienced it yet in our market, but I can see it as a possibility. Like flowers in the spring, one feels right now if they look closely enough that they could actually watch them grow. That is how I am feeling about the prices of homes in the market at this time. I can almost see them rise.

So are low appraisals coming here next? And when the appraisers model is to look back 6 months, how do they adjust for prices that appear to be visibly rising? First thing that they need is to justify the price with multiple offers. That we are getting. Next there need to be all cash sales. These are typically investor buyers, or relocation buyers. We are getting both of those. Or, there need to be buyers who can afford to pay the difference between the appraisal and the purchase price (and want the house enough to “overpay”).

The people that will be impacted if appraisal start coming in low will be the first time buyers, or those with low downpayments.

While we definitely need a recovery in the market and I do believe that home prices dipped abnormally low on their correction. I do not want to see another bubble like we had in 2004-2006.

Some statistics that I just got demonstrate what price ranges are being searched by consumers. These are numbers provided by the major players, Zillow, Trulia, Realtor.com, etc.

Last month, there were 28,171 views of 3 bedroom properties listed between $100-200k. There were 23,551 views of 3 bedroom properties between $200-300k.

And then the drop-off begins. Between $300-400k the number of 3 bedroom property views dropped to 11,132.

Just an interesting thing to keep in mind when looking at how much competition there is in the market with you. As a buyer, if you can raise your price range, you become a bigger fish in a smaller pond. And as a seller, if you can lower your price, you are in a pond with a whole bunch more fishes.

Then a few years ago, the Britt Festival got a new executive director Jim Fredericks, and I must say the tone of the entire establishment seemed to change. There were many improvements made on the hill, and the artists that came to play represented a wider cross section of musical taste. He brought in Primus, Crystal Method, The Decemberists, the Avett Brothers, Sarah Barellis…to go along with the geriatric standbys that the Britt had come to rely on. Artists that released their last album 30 years ago, and have been touring the has-been circuit ever since.

Now I know, I’m being a little harsh on artists like The Doobie Brothers, Cyndi Lauper, REO Speedwagon, etc….

And I’m sure people love that Michael Franti is here every year, Chris Isaak is here almost every year, Brandi Carlile has been come a regular fixture.

But I loved the last executive director’s mixture of old, new, and regulars. It gave everyone a chance to see a concert that excited them. So of course, for doing such an exemplary  job, someone came and stole Jim away.

So I awaited with baited breath for this years schedule to see if his absence would be felt.

And let me say……I Miss You Jim!

You may be hearing the term Boomerang Buyer when people talk about the housing market. Boomerang buyers are people who lost their home in foreclosure or sold as a short sale, and are now beginning to return to the real estate market. These are going to be good strong buyers. They will have some added knowledge of the working of the real estate world, and are used to being home owners.

The latest bust in the market started around 2007, with probably the worst of it coming 2009. Many people lost their homes at this time, but still have jobs and ties to the community and will be ready to own again. Especially seeing the current prices, they will be interested in recouping equity and building wealth through real estate again.

In our local market, more than 2500 homes were resales from the foreclosure market in 2008-2011. And another 1000 houses were sold on short sales.

The homeowners who lost those homes will be back in the market, and many of them are coming back now.

Here is a chart from my #1 lender Linda Fitzgerald at iMortgage about the current wait time for people who have lost their homes, or had a bankruptcy about when they can get financing again to buy a home.

If you are a boomerang buyer, and want to get back into the market. Let Linda and I get you started on building some equity and wealth in real estate.

According to an article in the Chicago Tribune, based off a study by Reuters, the media has started referring to homes that are vacant, but have yet to be foreclosed on as “zombie” homes. They are deteriorating because they are vacant and nobody is looking after the upkeep.

Homes that have already been foreclosed at least have a maintenance crew that looks after basics..shuts the water off and checks on them periodically. Although I would have to say the maintenance is not very good. But at least it is something.

So what do you do if you have a zombie home in your neighborhood? By all means, keep your children and pets away from it. It will feed on their brains. Other than that, there is not a lot one can do in our area. If you knew the people who owned it, there still is a chance that it could be sold by a short sale. You could have them get in contact with me, and we could sell it and get new owners in there to take care of it.

Otherwise, it might just sit there for a long time. In the article, it says that possibly 50% of the houses in foreclosure in the state of Oregon are “zombies”. And with the current regulations, it could be a long time before the foreclosure process is completed, and that house comes on the market as a REO property. So you and the neighbors might just need to band together and take care of the poor zombie house until new owners can breath life into it again.

And again, if you knew the owners…put them in contact with me. Lets see if we can get a short sale done. Then the zombie would come back to life in only 4-6 months.

2200 Houses for Sale 2010
1600 Houses for Sale 2011
1200 Houses for Sale 2012
What this means is if you are looking for a house right now, there is not a lot to choose from, but prices are still down considerably from 5 years ago.

And if you are looking to sell, now might be a good time to put your house on the market while competition is low.

Predicting economics seems to me to be like fortune telling. One can get lucky, and get it right some of the time, but it is far from a reliable science.

But if you check out my last post about the supply of houses vs. demand, it is easy to see how they are arriving at such predictions.

So all and all, I would call this good news. At the very least, it shows optimism…and that to me is the leading indicator of a healthy real estate market.

If you are interested in buying in this market at this time…please feel free to get hold of me.
Or you can search for a house on my website. Medford Oregon Homes

There are multiple offers on almost every house.

Why is this?

Well, it comes down to that basic economic principle of Supply and Demand.

Currently in Jackson County, there are 376 houses for sale under $200k. That is about one third of all of the homes currently available for sale. In an area of a hundred thousand people, 376 homes is a very small number.
So that is the supply….pretty darn low.

But you may wonder…in this economic environment, what is the demand for people purchasing homes? Well, in that same price range, the number of homes under contract currently is 371. Or in other words, for every house currently for sale, there is one house under contract. In addition, in the last month, 153 homes sold.
So demand is high.
If no other homes came on the market in that range…in 2 months or less the supply would be exhausted.

What is normal in a healthy real estate market for the ratio of supply vs demand?
Many experts say a 6 month supply.

And that is why there are so many multiple offers.

Always choose a CRS agent. A Broker who has their Council of Residential Specialist designation has attend the highest education classes available to Realtors. Not only do I hold my CRS designation, I am VP of the state CRS chapter and do my best to bring education classes in for all of the agents in my area to be more professional, and better able to help their clients.

So whether you are a first time buyer, or an experienced investor, I am sure you will find useful information about how to choose the right property, negotiate financing, find mortgage rates, making an offer, moving, and other information that will help you make an informed real estate decision in today’s market. The best method though still, even after one does all of their research is to choose the right agent to help you navigate the specifics of property in Ashland Oregon.

And don’t forget, your biggest resource. You can email or call me with your questions. I am passionate about answering questions and helping people.

If you want property around Ashland, but are worried about freeway noise, I have recommendations. The homes in Talent on Wagner Creek Road, or Phoenix Oregon homes on streets like Coleman Creek Road. Homes in Southwest Medford are also very close to Ashland, but away from freeway noises. If you don’t mind a little snow, I am a big fan of the Greensprings and Dead Indian Memorial areas East of Ashland.

If you currently own property in or around Ashland Oregon, and are thinking of placing it on the market, check out my latest statistics and find out why pricing your home appropriately is more important now then ever. Marketing your home in today’s market is an internet based experience, and you need an agent who is not only familiar with todays technologies, but one that teaches the other Realtors in the state how to effectively use them to market their listings.

The single most important thing you can do to assist in buying a house is to have a good credit score, to know your credit score and know how to improve your credit score. In times of a depression such as has been experienced in 2008-2010, credit scores have been sliding for a large percentage of Americans. Which makes the power of a good credit score all that much more important. Search online for your free credit report. The government passed a regulation that requires the 3 major credit agencies, (Experian, Equifax, and Transunion) to share with you for free your credit report once a year. There are also companies that monitor your credit report for a fee. Unless you are fooling around with credit issues, it is probably a waste of money, but can help to educate you as to what helps or hurts your credit rating.

Feel free to contact me for ideas for increasing your credit score.