New Albany Ohio Real Estate

It Takes Location, Condition and Price to Sell a Home! Selling a home in today’s market is challenging to say the least. In the past, you could overcome a less desirable location with a great price. You used to be able to overcome dated condition/décor with a great location and floor plan. And occasionally, a home in a great location and superior condition would sell for more than one might have predicted. But not today.

Today’s buyers want it all – a great location, excellent condition and a price that is too good to resist! There is enough inventory on the market that a buyer will pass on a home with wallpaper, a dated kitchen, or flooring in need of replacement. Most buyers will not even look at a home that they perceive to be priced unrealistically. To a buyer, an overpriced home indicates an unmotivated seller.

Price is still the key but the location and condition part of the equation are factors that must also be considered when setting the asking price. Currently, there are more homes than buyers for those homes. When Tony and I are determining the best possible price for a home, we will identify the 3 homes that offer the most competition and then recommend that the home be priced in front of them. We do not want to “test the market” or “follow the market down.” Rather, we want to “lead the market.“

This pricing strategy doesn’t guarantee that a house will be the next home sold but it sure will increase the likelihood of it being shown to potential buyers. It has to be shown to sell. Once you have an offer, you can accept, counter or reject it. But at least having an offer, puts you (the seller) in charge.

Find out how actual selling prices compare to listing prices in your neighborhood by getting an instant MLS Market Snapshot.

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You need to call Kate & Tony Thomas!

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If you’ve been thinking about building a new home in New Albany, now is your chance! The New Albany Company is soon to announce the creation of the New Albany country club’s newest community – Ackerly Park. Ackerly Park will be an extension of Upper Fenway with Ackerly Farm road extending north and meeting up with Market Street. The majority of the 27 lots will be priced between $150,000 and $165,000 and range in size form .29 - .42 acres.

New Albany Realty will be kicking off the sale of the new lots with a preview event May 14, 2008. This is an “invitation only” event. If you are interested in receiving an invitation to attend the event and learn more about the lots available at Ackerly Park, please email me at katet@newalbanyrealty.com.

Whether you plan to buy or not, it’s nice to be “in the know!”

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The procedure for obtaining a loan continues to tighten as the banks, investors, and HUD figure out how best to insure that jumbo mortgages are secure investments.  The US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced on April 1, 2008 that jumbo mortgages (loans exceeding the conforming loan limit of $417,000) may require 2 appraisals in order for a buyer to obtain a loan commitment.   According to the HUD Mortgagee Letter, a 2nd appraisal may be required when 3 requirements are met:

• The loan amount, excluding the upfront mortgage insurance premium, will exceed $417,000, and
• The Loan-to-Value equals or exceeds 95%, and
• The property is determined as being in a declining market.  A declining market is determined by either the appraiser or the lender.

Every time I speak with one of our lenders, it seems there are more and more changes that need to be understood and incorporated into the mortgage approval process.  However, this is probably a good change… though it could slow down or add additional cost to the process.  I find myself counseling our buyers that there is a little bit of a learning curve as everyone becomes more familiar with the sweeping changes that have taken place in the mortgage industry.

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Yes, absorption is the correct term for Sponge Bob’s ability to soak up water and the same holds true in the real estate industry. In real estate, the absorption rate is the amount of time, generally expressed in months, that it will take a market to “absorb” the current inventory based on recent history. In other industries, this measurement may be called turnover rate or simply weeks or months of supply.

As I’m sure most of you know, Kate and I have a background in retail where you live and die by turnover rate. If the inventory is turning too fast, you’re going to run out of stock and have empty shelves; too slow and it’s time to pull out the red pen and take a mark down!

In real estate, you often hear references to it being a Buyer’s Market or a Seller’s Market. The National Association of REALTORs suggests that a market is in balance when there is a 7-9 month absorption rate. When inventory is six months or less – it’s a seller’s market as there is more demand than inventory. Homes sell quickly and for close to or sometimes above list price. When the months of supply exceed 9 months, it’s considered a buyer’s market. Homes take longer to sell and the list price sales price ratio slides.

How do you figure the absorption rate? It’s a simple formula:

Inventory ÷ # Units Sold x Time = Absorption Rate

For example, if the market you are evaluating (subset) has 12 homes on the market and 6 homes sold in the past six months, the absorption rate would be 12 months.

The key is to understand the subset. In New Albany, there are many subsets, defined by price, neighborhood, age, location etc. Remember, real estate is local…very local. The absorption rate of a $1M brick home has little to do with understanding the market or absorption rate for a $400,000 vinyl sided home in a different neighborhood.

If you are interested in the absorption rate in your neighborhood, try out our free MLS Market Snapshot feature and have a look. Of course you can always drop me an email at tonyt@newalbanyrealty.com or call 614-939-1234 and I can run some quick numbers for you.

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