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Housing outlook for the coming years.

April 3, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Crystal Ball

I read a lot of blogs and real estate news sites, looking for the latest thoughts on what’s going on in the market and where we’re heading. There are always varying opinions, but lately, the housing outlook seems to be showing positive signs among economists and people who get paid to think about this stuff all day long. Fannie Mae economists have recently predicted gains in the real estate market over the next two years with mortgage rates remaining relatively low. While no one can truly predict the future, it’s good to see the positive signs are beginning to affect the outlook of economists and housing forecasters. We’ve definitely seen signs of the market picking up over the last year and into this year.

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Cash is King in Real Estate…or is it?

January 18, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Cash is King

It wasn’t long ago that the words “cash offer” were the best words for a seller and their agent. Things have changed recently and now a cash buyer isn’t the holy grail for real estate agents it once was. Unfortunately, scam artists have found ways to beat the system and use cash offers as a way of pulling one over on the public. We’ve seen several attempts at these scams and Kimberly Howell even appeared on a FOX News special report about these scams that, according to police, have skyrocketed in recent months in San Antonio.

The idea of the scams is to take possession of the property without actually paying for it. Sounds impossible, but sadly, it’s not. Scam artists will then either occupy the property and work to avoid eviction (which is much harder than it should be, particularly in the case of a scam) or they will attempt to flip the property quickly in another cash deal. By selling it again for cash, they avoid most of the red flags that would be brought up by title and lenders and can earn a quick buck (if they paid nothing they can still sell the property at cut rate prices and it’s still 100% profit for them).

What does this mean for cash buyers?

While it will frustrate many cash buyers, they are now facing more scrutiny than before. From proof of funds to requirements that their proceeds are wired to title before they’re allowed to close, steps are necessary to protect all parties in the transaction. This can be off-putting to some cash buyers, particularly those with more than enough money to buy a property outright – experience shows that many people who have a large net worth do not often like to show their hand or spell out their finances. Unfortunately, with these scams being played out in low and high priced housing, there is little sellers and their agents can do other than be vigilant and make sure they do their homework before accepting a cash offer. We at Kimberly Howell Properties have put several systems into place to help safeguard our clients, particularly during cash transactions.

As agents, we work hand in hand with agents from other companies when any type of fraud or scam is suspected. Our office spends time educating our agents on the scams and ways to detect them so that our clients are guarded against them. The scammers will always come up with a new trick or scheme, so we consistently watch and learn, so that we may prevent them from happening in the future.

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How’s the Rental Market in San Antonio?

September 18, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Rental Market in San Antonio

“How’s the rental market in San Antonio?” I’ve been asked this question numerous times in the past few weeks, and the answer is simple: the rental market in San Antonio is booming.

Homes for rent are being snapped up off the proverbial shelves, and owners of rental properties are often in a newfound position of strength, with higher rental prices and multiple tenants to choose from. By the time you view the home, there might already be multiple applications on it.

Why the rental market boom?

There are several factors:

  • It’s harder to qualify for a mortgage. Tightened lending regulations over the past few years have made it more and more challenging for homebuyers to qualify for a home loan. And even if they qualified in the past, the added scrutiny in the process can easily push a buyer into the “denied” pile. Even government backed mortgages, specifically FHA loans, have had an increase in costs (minimum downpayment remained steady at 3.5%, but MIP, or Mortgage Insurance Premium nearly doubled this year).
  • Foreclosures. While San Antonio wasn’t nearly as hard hit as other areas in the country, let’s face it, we still have had an abundance of homes going back to the bank. With foreclosures or short sales on their credit, many more families cannot qualify for a loan. And many sellers (especially those who bought in 2006-2007) who want to sell have seen their home values impacted enough by these foreclosures that they can’t sell without losing money. So, their option is to rent those homes out, or to rent themselves until they can find the right buyer.
  • Military. San Antonio is a huge military city with bases like Randolph AFB, Ft. Sam Houston, and Lackland AFB. Many military families are stationed in a location for just a few years, so it doesn’t make sense for them to buy (their home won’t have had enough time to build equity and overcome costs of selling).
  • Relocations are up. With the recession, there was a sharp drop in the number of large corporations paying out relocation fees to bring on new employees or relocate existing ones to other cities. However, as the markets start to come out of this slump, we’re seeing more and more companies jump back in. Many individuals relocating to a new city for work want to take some time to get the lay of the land and become more familiar with the city they’re moving to before investing a ton of money in a house. So they rent for a year, or even two, and then decide where to go from there.
  • Elections. Election season is always a funny time in real estate. The purchase of a home is often the largest financial investment most people will make. Elections bring out a sense of uncertainty: Who will be in power next? And what does that mean for me? For my job? For my tax status? All questions that leave potential home buyers stationed firmly on the fence. But they still have a place to live, and paying $1,500/month is far better in many people’s eyes than losing thousands on a bad investment or foreclosure down the road.

What does this mean for renters?

In a nutshell – higher prices and more competition. If you’re looking for a property to rent, make sure you are prepared to act quickly, and that you have all of your documents – application, proof of income, etc. – in a row early. If your credit is shaky, be prepared to put up an extra deposit. The more flexible and reasonable you can be, the better your odds of finding the right place for you and your family.

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San Antonio’s Most Expensive Homes

May 1, 2012 By Leave a Comment

San Antonio's Most Expensive Homes

SA Scene recently released its list of the one hundred most expensive homes in San Antonio. The list was based off of Bexar County Appraisal District data for 2011 *. Homes ranged from $10 million down to $2.29 million and the owners included a who’s who of Spurs players, doctors, business owners, and car dealership families. What interested me most was the question, “so where are all these expensive homes?”

Fifteen neighborhoods were represented on the list of the top one hundred most expensive homes in San Antonio. Most of them are names you would expect to hear in a list like this. There were a few on the list that I didn’t expect – not because of a lack of expensive homes, just surprised they made the cut. You can see the full list in the magazine, but here’s the breakdown by neighborhood of San Antonio’s most expensive homes.

Terrell Hills – It’s no surprise that Terrell Hills comes in at number one. This neighborhood also has the most expensive home on the list ($10 million). With forty out of one hundred of the most expensive homes, there’s no doubt why Terrell Hills is highly desired.

The Dominion – Many people associate The Dominion with luxury homes and with fourteen of the top one hundred most expensive homes, you can see why.

Alamo Heights – With its highly sought after school district and city plans that help preserve the natural beauty of the area, Alamo Heights is home to twelve of the one hundred most expensive homes in San Antonio.

Olmos Park – Dating back to the 1920s, Olmos Park is a small community, but still contains eleven of the top one hundred homes.

Hill Country Village – Property in this area goes fast and there’s good reason for it – location! On of the few places to find large tracts of land inside of 1604, Hill Country Village clocks in with eight of the most expensive homes in San Antonio.

Shavano Park – One drive through Shavano Park and you’ll know exactly why five of the homes from the list are located here.

Elm Creek – Although Elm Creek definitely has expensive homes, it doesn’t have enough to make a strong showing – only two homes made the cut.

The rest of the neighborhoods each had only one home that made it to the list of San Antonio’s most expensive homes; Anaqua Springs Ranch, The Champions Estates, Grey Forest, Greystone, Hunters Creek, Monte Vista, Northwest, and Terrell Heights.

Which neighborhood would you choose to live in?

* Using the Bexar County Appraisal District is not a true picture of a home’s market value. These values are not always inline with the current real estate market and tax valuations can be off by a lot in our experience, but for the purposes of what SA Scene is attempting, it’s probably the best data source.

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San Antonio Real Estate Market Update

April 2, 2012 By Leave a Comment

San Antonio Real Estate Spring Market

What a fantastic first quarter in the San Antonio real estate market… and I predict the rest of 2012 is going even better. If you stop and listen closely, you can hear the sound of the pendulum swinging. That pendulum is the real estate market swinging from a buyers’ to a sellers’ market.

Last month I witnessed, on more than one occasion, good home purchase offers fall to the wayside because the sellers received other, more attractive offers in the same day. It’s been a long time since we’ve had this kind of action in the real estate market. Desirable homes are not staying on the market very long (some as little as two or three days) and the sellers are often getting multiple offers from separate prospective buyers. Gone may be days of buyers aggressively negotiating for sellers’ rock bottom prices. On the flip side, anyone wondering when would be the right time to sell their home; now just might be the right time.

Two other indicators, the Housing Affordability Index and the Pending Homes Sales Index, also support this prediction. These are just two of many measures tracked by the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) to monitor the industry’s economic pulse and they both show the real estate sales market is on an uptrend. The Housing Affordability Index measures the ratio between median home price, median family income, and average mortgage interest rate. According to NAR, this index in January reached 206.1 – its highest level since recordkeeping began in1970. An index of 100 is the point where a median-income family has exactly enough income to qualify for the purchase of a median-priced home. So a ratio of 206.1 indicates that today’s typical family earns over double the income needed to purchase a median-priced home. That’s a lot of buying power and Pending Home Sales Index from January may be showing that playing out. The Pending Home Sales Index is a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings. According to NAR, January’s index rose 2 percent, continuing an upward trend and reaching its highest mark since April 2010. More people are buying homes and if access to credit improves, we should see even more increases.
Like I said, 2012 is going to be an exciting year leading, hopefully, to an even better 2013. So now is the time to buy, sell, and invest in real estate in San Antonio.

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