by Phil Hoover, Real Estate Broker

Boise Real Estate’s Long Road To Recovery: Part II

 

Reduced Listing Inventory

If you’ve tried to find a clean, sharp, closeable home in the Boise market lately, you know the choices are few with less than a four-month supply of listing inventory.

We are continuing to absorb our listing inventory steadily, even during our usually-slower Winter market.

I am not expecting a significant increase in our listing inventory anytime soon; not even this coming Spring.

New Construction

New home construction is returning to the valley; albeit in a measured way due to tighter construction lending practices and fewer builders who survived the downturn.

Many buyers are opting for new homes, even if they have to await completion, because they can’t find the home they want in the resale market.

Low Interest Rates

You can get a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage these days for less than 4%.

Today’s interest rates are the lowest we’ve seen in the past several decades.

Affordability

When you consider today’s drastically lower home prices, combined with today’s interest rates, it quickly becomes apparent that it’s cheaper to own your own home than rent in many instances.

A Different Breed of Buyer

I an encouraged to see people buying homes for the right reasons now.

Today’s buyers are buying homes to live in; not to use as their personal ATM while refinancing every year so they can spend their (false) equity on toys they don’t need.

The speculators are gone from today’s market and that’s very healthy in the long term.

Conclusion

The Boise real estate market’s road to recovery continues to be long and winding.

But, we’re very fortunate to be emerging from a market downturn that was nowhere near as severe as that experienced in other parts of the country.

The market we have is the market we have (and it’s pretty darned good compared to most!)

And, I think it’s the market we will have for the foreseeable future.

Welcome to the “new normal”!

 

January 3rd, 2012 Posted in Inside Real Estate | Print This Post Print This Post | No Comments »

Boise Real Estate’s Long Road To Recovery: Part I

I am often amused/puzzled by the numerous articles in the media describing how (insert your year of choice here) will be the year the Boise real estate market recovers.

Here are a few examples:

Recession and Recovery July 2009

Recovery In  Building Is Forecast For 2011

Real Estate Recovery In Limbo Until 2013, Experts Say

Most of these articles are written by someone sitting in a cubicle in another part of the country with meager understanding/knowledge of the Boise real estate market.

And, it’s painfully obvious that absolutely NO ONE can predict when or how our real estate downturn will end.

Aside from that, these articles raise many interesting questions about the Boise real estate market.

First, what will a “recovery” look like?

Will we return to 2006 market conditions when home prices were as much as 40% higher than today?

I hope not.

Will a recovery mean a return to the former level of sold homes we experienced five years ago?

I doubt it.

Will a recovery include a return to speculation and the belief that buying multiple homes with nothing down is a path to quick riches?

Please no !!!

I don’t think a recovery will include any of those elements.

In fact, I think we’re already experiencing our recovery in the Boise real estate market.

Our real estate market has weathered the worst of times (2008/2009), we have found “the bottom” (it was a year or more ago), and we are seeing a return to sanity.

Here are some positive indicators I am seeing:

Prices Have Leveled Off

We are finally seeing a semblance of stability in year-over-year price comparisons in the Boise real estate market.

Check back tomorrow for Part II

 

January 2nd, 2012 Posted in Inside Real Estate | Print This Post Print This Post | No Comments »

Happy New Year !!!


January 1st, 2012 Posted in A Day In My Life | Print This Post Print This Post | No Comments »

Interesting Real Estate Factoids

  • Average U.S. interest rate since 1972 = 8.92%
  • It’s more expensive to rent than buy in 76% of American cities.
  • 82% of Americans want to own their own home.
  • 17% of all U.S. home buyers are single females.
  • There are 400,000 fewer real estate agents in the U.S. now than at the peak of the market.

Source: Buffini and Company webinar

 

December 31st, 2011 Posted in Inside Real Estate | Print This Post Print This Post | No Comments »

Mortgage Borrowing Will Soon Cost More

Thanks to language included in the recently-passed federal payroll tax cut extension, the cost of a mortgage will increase effective April 1, 2012.

David Stevens, CEO of the Mortgage Bankers Association was quoted as saying the new fees could mean an extra $4,000 in fees for a $200,000 mortgage.

Congress included the language in the payroll tax cut extension legislation to offset roughly $35.7 BILLION of costs in the “tax cut”.

How are we getting a “tax cut” when the money is taken out of our other pocket?

Just what our struggling housing market needs at this time, right?

Source: HousingWire.com article

 

December 30th, 2011 Posted in Inside Real Estate | Print This Post Print This Post | 2 Comments »
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