New Trend In Real Estate

The newspaper and national real estate speakers are talking about the new trend in Real Estate.  It was first called the “Age Wave” and now it is being referred to by experts as the “Senior Tsunami.”  Undoubtedly, the next big shift in the real estate industry is going to be largely impacted by our aging population.  And the first wave has already begun to sweep the nation.   The first time buyer used to push our market but that buyer is having a hard time qualifying and buying.

“We (baby boomers) are the wealthiest consumer segment in the housing market.  We have money to buy homes if we can sell our home at what we think it is worth, and that is also improving,” states a housing researcher, John Sheleimer.

FACTS:
• One in eight Americans are currently 65 years or older.
• In the next 20 years the senior population is projected to double in size.
• Aging seniors are projected to move out of an estimated 11.3 million housing units between 2010 and 2020.
• 65% of senior homeowners own their home free and clear of any liens.

While some senior adults will choose to age in place, a staggering number of them will have no choice but to move into housing that better suits their physical, financial, and emotional needs. When this flood of older generation homeowners begins to relocate, they and their caregivers (adult children) will be looking to their trusted advisor in Real Estate for guidance and expert advice, and who better than the Magee Team?
 

Another trend is that the older buyers are less interested in the huge “retirement” communities that were developed in the past but are looking more for smaller age-restricted subdivisions close to traditional housing.  The over 55 buyer still wants amenities such as walking trails, pools, clubhouses, fitness centers and not necessarily limited to the smaller square footage since they have so much “stuff” they don’t want to get rid of. 

Some of us have been thinking about moving as we are in the situation that we have just mentioned.  If so, we would be happy to have a consultation to see if this is the time or not to make that move. 

 

Give us a call. 

Thanks,

Betty

 

The Market

The Market

There are some good trends in the market with one being that the housing is recovering even with the tight credit approval we are facing.  With still low down payment on FHA at 3.5% and a 5% down on conventional, it is a good market to buy.  If mortgage accessibility opens up (it is cyclic), we may just have a booming year in sales!

Now the downside is that Washington may change their policies and require more money down, like 20%.  They may trim or take away the mortgage interest deduction which is an advantage of owning over renting.  They also add capital gains on the home sale which we have not had for some years.  All of these would greatly halt the progress in home sales.

There will still be more unequal wealth distribution according to accondomist.  Homeowners are building wealth after buying at low prices.  Renters do not accumulate wealth and the renter population is rising simply because tighter credit hinders “good” renters from becoming homeowners.  Now we are seeing an increase share of property owners as investors and as a rule, too many investors in a neighborhood will bring the neighborhood down since properties are not usually maintained as well.  Owning a home is really down right now at a rate of 65.5% of the population which is the lowest in 15 years! Homeownership has always been the avenue in accumulating wealth for people. 

If you are renting, check out the possibility of owning a home and give us a call. 

Is Your House Moving?

We are still in August and in extreme heat in this area of the country! We have been over 100° from July 31 to August 17.  We broke that record on August 18 and turned around and went back to over 100° forecasted unto the end of the month and maybe longer. It hasn't been this hot since 1998. When it is this hot, there is no rain and therefore our foundations begin to move. With our wonderful clay soil, it expands when it gets wet and contracts when it becomes dry. So your foundation is probably moving!

But don't get in a hurry to get it fixed. In my experience in talking with engineers and foundation companies, when you're going through a drought, you need to wait to see how the house settles out once we get rain. Of course if we get a lot of rain, your house could also move.

So the best thing you can do is to keep the outside of your house evenly watered. The sprinkler system does help but you need to make sure it is in working order and that it touches all parts of your yard. The biggest culprit of foundation movement are large trees and shrubs and bushes that are planted too close to the house. They suck up all the water right under your house where it is the most moist. Sometimes soaker hoses can help. But they should be put 6 inches away from the slab.

But now that we are in the restrictive watering schedule for most of our cities, you need to take extra care that your foundation is watered when you can get the water.

Our Business

We were thrilled with our eight celebrations for thethis month. I wish we could relive the months of July and August again! It was just like the good old days. We would list the house and get multiple contracts or else get an offer that was what we were looking for within the first two weeks of putting it on the market. That does not mean that we didn't work hard to get it ready and that we didn't price it right because we did both of those things, but sometimes it just takes longer for us to get the right buyer. We found our buyers the right houses also and they had to move on the properties quickly or they were gone.

I wish we could sustain the momentum, but with school starting it has certainly slowed down, which is normal. The economic atmosphere with the continual depressing news and world wide happenings that are affecting our economy, all make the buyer and seller uneasy. I don't blame them, but I think they're going to be very sorry when they see the interest rates start climbing and seeing inflation increasing the prices of homes so they are out of the market before they even begin. In fact I have seen the interest rates climb a quarter of a point this week but we are still close to 4 1/2% which is really marvelous.

All of our cities this month have done better than what they did a year ago but now we are not comparing ourselves to the tax credit that we went through the first six months of last year. So we should be better and we are. As our contracts increase and our inventory goes down, our prices should go up and they have in most of our cities. So that should be encouraging to sellers that our prices are stable or going up, and it will should be encouraging to buyers that we have such low interest rates. So please call us if you have questions about the market.

My Car Accident
I went back to the hand Doctor to have one of my pins removed. I have three pins in my left hand.

Well, it was not fun. The doctor said my bone was healing well and I had good bones because it was tough pulling the pin through two bones and it was about an inch and a half long. Before the doctor came in, James told me to look on the tray and there were these pliers. These are what he used to pull out that pin. I'm not sure I care about my bones being strong! 

 I did have good news this morning at the ortho doctor. He said I could live with a new brace instead of that huge boot on my left foot. Anyone need a boot? I can also traded in my hard therapeutic shoe on the right foot with a good supporting tennis shoe. I still will not be stylish but at least I will have some decent shoes on rather than walking around in a boot and a hard shoe being completely unbalanced! Besides, getting those boots on every morning were a huge job for James, my sweet husband, to do. 

August Market Watch

We have really had a very good August in the North Dallas, Collin County area. When houses were listed at a good price and in good condition, the buyers were there waiting for us to come on the market. So they sold very quickly. Our buyers had to move a little faster in order to not have competition and to get the home they were looking for. The average sales price in most of our cities has increased, ever so slightly. The number of sales in August are higher than the sales a year ago, which is great. Our contract pendings are up and the inventory is down which should make the prices go up.

Did you notice the article in the Dallas Morning News paper with the upper end homes being leased because they couldn't sell them? Some of the buyers in that upper range decided it was better to lease than to buy. Yet at the end of the article, it states it is cheaper to buy a home in the Dallas area than it is to rent! I love it when the good news is put at the end of the article! With prices flat and interest rates closer to 4 1/2%, I don't see how a buyer could make a mistake in buying if they are planning to do so in the near future.

Yes, we can't see into the future, but from past experience, we won't see this type of market again. I know it's scary out there but if you want to move up or if you are a first-time buyer, this is the time to make your move. Let's put this in perspective. When I entered Real Estate in 1981, interest rates were at 18% and 21%. Could you afford a house at that interest rate? Not likely a very nice home at that rate. So call us and see if it's a good idea for you to buy or sell.

Accident Update, August 19.

Good news is I'm getting my new Infinity. Bad news is I still can't drive. My sweet husband is still my taxi driver. And my Team helps me out.

I have a round of doctor appointments next week. Hopefully I will get some of these boots off. But the left hand is my problem. It still hurts too much and is unusable.

But, I have this great new program. It's called Dragon Dictation. Even with my Texas accent, it can understand what I say and type it for me. That's what it's doing for me right now! I'm still learning, but it's doing very, very well. Haven't we come a long way, Baby! It's not very expensive and well worth it. You'll have to try it. It'll probably make me very lazy!

My Accident Update for Thursday, 8-11-11

We went to the hand doctor today and he unwrapped and cleaned gause around the pins.  He continued to show me how I should clean them every day and I died just looking at pins sticking out of my hand!  Have you ever had pins??   Ugh!

After they put the cast back on I hurt terribly rest of day while pain medicine did not help. Finally figured out there was pressure on the pins so I almost unwrapped it for bed and the pain subsided.

Went to Health South to get the brace adjusted to be raised around the pins and not hit them. Don't like the looks of this brace but boy it feels so much better.  Medicine doesn't affect me much but am slowing a whole lot in taking it.....after 3.5 weeks, pain is much, much less.  Very, very thankful since I and my Team are working very hard as we are busy!