Jerry O'Donnell

The real estate market of today is a great example of a classic bubble. Like the Tulip mania hundreds of years ago, people got caught up in the excitement of ever rising prices. Flip a house, make a fortune over night! A lot of people made a lot of money. Lasted a good many years, too. Then reality comes crashing down on the party. Nothing rises forever. Now, a lot of people have lost a lot of money. A lot are just treading water.

There is no magic lamp when it comes to fixing this problem. The only thing that will work is time. Excess inventory needs to be sold. It will be, eventually. And reality needs to return to the mortgage market. Frankly, a LOT of people bought houses that should not have. No money down, no income verification loans should never have been offered. A lot of the blame is on the federal government and the horrible Community Reinvestment Act. But most of the blame is on us. No one forced us to buy beyond our means. We did it willingly, and now we suffer the consequences.

Maybe, in the long run, this will be a good thing. Some of us will learn from this. We will start to save again. Start to live within a budget. Good things, all.

With the way things are going in the economy, and with housing in particular, a lot of people are probably wondering how it impacts them as a buyer or a seller. Well, here is my take on it, in a nutshell.

For buyers: If you have a good job, a good credit score and cash in the bank, you are just fine. Mortgage banks have tightened up their standards. This is a good thing. But you can still find a wide range of mortgage products to suit your needs; however, you have to actually qualify for them. So, if you qualify for a mortgage you are in the strong position as a buyer right now. Stick with a house you can afford and you will do very well.

For seller: OK, it could be worse. You are selling to a much smaller pool of potential buyers right now. You need to make sure your house is the cream of the crop. Get your house in PERFECT shape. You want buyers to be blown away when they first approach your house in their car, and continue to be blown away when they get inside.

That is it, in a nutshell. Want more info, give me a call. 919-417-9753

Time for some updated numbers on Springcrest. Springcrest is located on the east side of Erwin Road just north of the Sage Rd. intersection. It is convenient to everything, and is within walking distance of East Chapel Hill High School. (OK, it is a long walk, but high school kids can use the exercise.) It is just a short hop to 15-501, Duke, UNC, shopping and other area services.

The chart shows the number and stats of the active homes in Springcrest, as well as the houses that have closed in the past six months. Activity has picked up since February, which is usual. But take a look at the average asking price/sf vs. the average selling price/sf. This could be a reason the Days on Market has crept up. Today’s market is not the same as two years ago. Asking prices need to take this into account. Even so, Springcrest is a very nice neighborhood and worth the look. So, if you are looking for a nice home, convenient to everything, and in the East Chapel Hill High School district, give Springcrest a shot.

The next neighborhood I picked for some statistics is the Stoneridge/Sedgefield neighborhood. It is located along Whitfield Road about one mile east of 86. It is in the area that is in the Chapel Hill School District, but not in the city limits. So, great schools, but no city tax. (There is a special school tax, but it is worth it!) Most of the homes in this neighborhood were built in the early to mid eighties, with at least an acre of land.

The chart shows the number and stats of the active homes in Stoneridge/Sedgefield as well as the houses that have closed in the past six months. These figures are a pretty good indicator of the average price in this neighborhood. You occassionally get houses priced much higher, but those are BIG houses on BIG lots!

So, if you want to be close to everything, but still have your “space”, check out Stoneridge/Sedgefield. Email me, or give me a call at 919-417-9753 if you want more info.

This month I figured I would give you a snapshot of the market for townhomes in the East Chapel Hill High School district. The market consists overall of a great selection of single family homes, townhomes and condos. This chart is a summary of the market conditions for townhomes in the district. It represents the townhouses which closed from 2/24/2008 to 3/24/2008, as well as those active on the market. As you can see there are 34 townhomes shown as active on the Triangle Multiple Listing Service. There were only 4 homes which closed in that same period. This means an absorption rate of 4 homes per month for a 9 month supply. Of course, it would vary depending on the price of the house, but you get the idea.

The averages are also impacted by some really expensive townhomes in Meadowmont. They increased the averages a LOT! So, don’t be scared off by some high looking numbers. There are actually many very affordable townhomes in the East Chapel Hill High School district.

If you’re in the market for a home, but don’t want the required chores that come with a single family house, give townhouses a look. You may be very glad you did.