Conne Terova

Here are the May stats for homes priced above 100,000.

Homes Prices above $100,000

Greetings~

April sales continue the same tale of two cities, growing strength in the under $100,000 market and continued slowing in the above $100,000 market, although the rate of decline has begun to decrease in the $100,000 to $250,000 segments. Download the attached summary for April's activity.

That is good news since recovery in the lower priced markets is the first required stage in a recovery. So far we have seen little effect from the GM and Chrysler news. There could certainly be another negative wave from further auto related changes however I think our market reacted to those changes a year or more ago. The negative impact on the market will be more like a slow leak in a balloon rather than a bursting, not so much dropping our market further as it will extent and slow our recovery.

NAR (National Association of Realtors) stats are also showing the beginning signs of a housing recovery across the country with the number of sales rising and housing inventories falling.

If you are waiting for that perfect time to buy in Florida, Nevada, Arizona, etc, now is the time. More importantly, the same goes for Northwest Michigan as well. Our recovery will be different from the rest of the country, longer and slower, but the national housing recovery will also have a positive effect on Michigan as well.

Important to keep in mind - more real estate fortunes will be made over the next 5-10 years in Michigan, Florida, Arizona and Nevada than anywhere else in the country!

Please contact me if you are in need of a Realtor for these areas.

Our informal survey of the number of vacant homes remains about the same, on average 6-7 out of 10, with more agents indicating that the number is falling as opposed to rising. It still means we are not ready for appreciation to begin, but we are moving in the right direction.

If you know of anyone that is a "FIRST TIME HOME-BUYER" - NOW is the time to take advantage of the new MSHDA down payment assistance combined with first time buyer tax credit can give a buyer as much as $15,000 towards their home purchase!!

Please pass this on and should anyone need assistance, please email or contact me at: (248) 318-7342.

Thank you!

Conne Terova

Team Terova

www.teamterova.com

This report is brought to you by Team Terova and Real Estate One

What has been the effect of the auto bailout on our market? So far not that dramatic. November and the first portion of December continue to follow the prior months patterns of units sales up and median sale price down. As we have said before, those with auto related jobs have not been buyers of real estate for 12-18 months or longer, so our market already reflects much of the auto effect. To our benefit, it does appear that in spite of the politics, the government will figure out how to help the auto industry.

However, should one of the big three file for bankruptcy our market will slow further from the effect on the tangent/support businesses. How much of an effect on home sales is tough to tell.

Determining the true home value change is tricky since both the median and the average price reflect as much the change in the type of home that is being sold (investors and first time buyers) as a decline in value. For example, the typical home in the city of Detroit is not worth just $7,500, but the typical home that is being purchased IS.

It is clear that, although inventories are declining, they have a ways to go to reach to point where home values will begin to climb. Therefore what is most relevant in setting a home price is finding the most recent strongest comparable sales, adjust for the home differences and then reduce that price. It is reasonable to estimate the price decline rate is at least 1 to 1.5% per month, so if that comparable home sold 8 months ago, your adjusted home value is 10-12% or more to get ahead of the market.

A reminder of those sellers who are looking to move-up in terms of home value and size: With rates currently hitting the 5% and less range, now is the time to act! What you might give up on your sale you will more than make up on the buy, it is a basic law of mathematics!

In our effort to maintain the leadership position in marketing our homes to more potential buyers than any other broker, we are now sending our listings to Yahoo Real Estate, one of the top real estate designations on the web with 5.1 million visitors is September alone.

Our stats for the market for November are as follows: