State of Real Estate



State of Real Estate

It is no news to anyone that the State of Real Estate in the State of Michigan has been better, but at the same time, we have much to be thankful for locally when we compare with the situation faced by our brethren to the south.

Obviously a slow economy and the secondary mortgage market issues are playing a role and property values have fallen, but not to the degree that they have in many areas. The average residential price in this area fell 8.73% last year; it fell almost 40% in the Detroit area. Median price for properties sold by members of the Emmet Association of Realtors actually rose by 4% over the last year! The number of sales was also down again in 2007 and has been declining annually since a high in 2000, but the number of sales was still up from 1996 by almost 13.6% in the State of Michigan. In other words, the market isn’t as good as it once was, but it also isn’t as bad as it seems.

Area Real Estate offices have been reporting good activity for the first month of 2008 and statistically speaking, January is often the slowest month of the year for Real Estate sales. We are finding that although the majority of homes are remaining on the market longer than has been the case in the past, there are still homes that sell almost immediately, based on price and location.

We are also noticing an increase of home listings with Realtors that once were “for sale by owner.” In a difficult market, it becomes even more important to have a professional working for you. To paraphrase one advertisement, “if all it took to sell a house was putting a sign up in the yard….” In this market, with more regulations and more requirements and the confusing world of foreclosure sales, it becomes increasingly important to have a Realtor involved in the transaction.

Our outlook is cautiously positive. In the words of one Realtor, "Buyers are recognizing that there is a good selection of properties to choose from along with favorable prices and low interest rates.   We remain optimistic that this trend will drive the market and in 2008 the troubles in the housing and mortgage markets will begin to ease and we will see a steady increase in activity as we progress into the year" 

Cynthia Zumbaugh

Executive Officer

Emmet Association of Realtors

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download