Monday, December 13, 2021

Supply went down AGAIN?!

 Here is our latest table of Cromford® Market Index values for the single-family markets in the 17 largest cities:

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We have 14 cities where the market moved in favor of sellers over the last month and only 3 where the market moved in favor of buyers. The average change over the past month was +6.2%, having been +4.4% two weeks ago. We were unable to publish a table on December 2 due to the power cut.

The trend continues to strengthen in favor of sellers and this is unlikely to change until January at the earliest.

Supply is desperately scarce in Fountain Hills, which has nearly always seen the highest percentage of out-of-state buyers. Cave Creek and Scottsdale have joined Fountain Hills at the top of the table and this is the first time we ever recorded the top 3 spots being dominated by the Northeast Valley like this.

Most improved for sellers is Gilbert, with Mesa and Gilbert not too far behind.

There is nothing whatsoever in our data to support a theory that prices might come down any time soon. Supply is currently getting scarcer every week.

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It's not rocket science: Supply vs. demand. to the extent the supply side is weaker than the demand side there will be upward pressure on prices.

Decoding the Cromford® Market Index - historically an accurate short-term predictor of the local market movement. 

A balanced market (supply/demand) = a CMA score of 100

The CMA scores in the 200 to 600 plus range above continue to show an incredibly strong seller's market. The green and red arrows show the month-over-month change in the index.

We know many would-be sellers hold off during the holidays. They often plan to take advantage of our prime-time winter market, when we typically expect both more inventory (supply) and more buyers (demand).

We're preaching to the choir here, but the takeaway is that last line in the Cromford Daily Observation:

There is nothing whatsoever in our data to support a theory that prices might come down any time soon. Supply is currently getting scarcer every week.

Monday, November 29, 2021

Here comes the cooling, right on schedule...as predicted.

 On November 11, the average closed price per square foot across all areas & types slipped below 100% of the average list price per square foot for the first time since March 18. We waited a while to report in order to ensure this was not a blip. The percentage on November 11 was 99.99% and it has now dropped to 99.92%. Not a blip.


This signals that the market is cooling slightly. However, the long-term average is 97.25% and prices still tend to rise when the percentage is above 97%. So this should not be taken as a sign that sales prices may reverse direction any time soon. If it were to drop below the long-term average then we would have good reason to become more pessimistic about prices.
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'The market is cooling slightly' based on the 'new' list-to-sales-price trend that sellers, on average, are taking a slight discount, which equals fewer bidding wars.
This graph clearly shows the trend since Q2, using Scottsdale as our example:
100 = full price on the horizontal access / List Price / Sold Price Ratio
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Takeaway: 
Sellers are still getting the better part of their appreciated prices.
Buyers should be finding more choices.
All good.

Friday, November 19, 2021

Market Update

Although prices have risen dramatically over the last year, the situation is very different from 2005. Let us examine the number of active listings across all areas and types in the ARMLS database, using the monthly active listings chart:

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We have selected 2005, 2020 and 2021 and in 2005 we can see that March and April counts were extremely low that year. However, the rapid increases in price and massive building programs for new homes turned the situation around in just 6 months. Demand dropped because of the high pricing and supply increased because builders opened new subdivisions as if there were no limit to the market, causing supply to jump. The market stalled as supply trebled in just 9 months.

This was the popping of the bubble, which was clearly audible even before Michael Burry figured it out. Unfortunately few people took any notice because they had somehow come to believe that house prices never go down. House prices are a trailing indicator and it was mid-2006 before they started to go down across Greater Phoenix. The first signs of this cropped up in the City of Maricopa which saw prices weaken during the fourth quarter of 2005. The San Tan Valley area was also an early downward mover.

In 2021, supply has increased during the last 7 months, but not by very much, and has even declined since October. It remains lower than it was in 2020. Prices are very unlikely to go down while supply remains this low.

The idea that supply will increase dramatically because of people coming out of forbearance is unsound. The volume of borrowers in such difficulties is too low to make much of a difference to the market as a whole.

So how could the situation change?

Well, a lot of the current demand is coming from large-scale investors buying both new and re-sale homes to rent to tenants. If this demand were to suddenly evaporate, then we could see demand drop by between 500 and 1,000 homes per month. This would cause supply to grow and it could even double after 12 months. However, there is almost no sign of these investors losing steam right now. If anything they are getting more motivated. But one day they will ease up and when they do, this will cause a significant softening of demand. What could cause them to ease up? Finding it hard to lease their homes to tenants is a likely cause. At the moment, there is no shortage of tenants, but if they keep adding to the pool of rented single-family homes, they will one day run short of prospective tenants. They will start to lower rents in an attempt to attract tenants from other properties.

In this scenario, the first sign of a problem for home price appreciation would be a fall in rental prices. My advice would be to keep an eye on the rental price chart.

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1. There's never been more than one crash in a generation (not that it can't happen. but just a historical fact).
2. The crash was based in no small part on easy money/ no equity. Today the liar loans are gone - it's an equity market where buyers must have skin in the game.
3. During the crash there weren't a lot of new homes being built creating a housing shortage today, which would be more acute were it not for an economy where the next generation of new buyers (Millennials) have been slow to come to market. That has now changed. The American Dream of homeownership is still alive and well, albeit buying patterns are changing (a whole other subject). It could take a decade for new builds to meet demand. Recent reports tell us the inventory situation for builders is being exasperated by labor and supply chain issues being seen worldwide. 
4. Boomerang buyers (buyers who lost their homes during the crash) have been returning to the market. An NAR survey found 7 out of 10 people who lost their home and are now renting want to buy as soon as they can re-qualify.
5. People are moving to Arizona from other States in record numbers - a long-term trend that has accelerated since 2019's pandemic. Az is in the top 3 inbound moving locations nationally.


The caveat we could add today is the dramatic situation evolving geopolitically. Case in point, so far, the consequences of the pandemic have actually made Arizona more attractive. The Arizona residential industry has benefited mightily.

That being said, related global events, like the supply chain problems, sudden, rapid inflation and general supply shortages on the increase, together with global instability e.g. the potential collapse of Evergrande, remind us of how a chain-reaction in bank and financial issue insolvencies can quickly change the landscape.

Talking Point: These are uncharted waters, though the Arizona lifestyle may continue to have its safe haven attractor-factor, as evidenced in triple the units and nearly triple the volume in the uber luxury sector looking back year-over-year!

This is rather stunning: 45 sales $3M plus 2019 - 2020 (November 2019 to November 2020)...

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...vs. 126 sales $3M plus 2020 - 2021 (November 2020  to current)

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Money is moving here with all the respective trickle-down benefits to the local economy. 
May the trend continue...

Friday, November 5, 2021

Market Update and Forecast

 Looking at short and long term local market predictions...

  • What you're looking at below is the most current Cromford Market Index.
    • Looking at the dials, a balanced market is a score of 100. Supply is 'short' at 35 and demand is 'strong' at 121.9. The algorithm that blends the 2 gives us a continued strong sellers market at a CMI score of 348.7.
  • What's noteworthy is that the index is as high as it's been for this time of year in the last 15 years - see Market Index Trend below.
  • What it suggests, as a proven short term market indicator, is continued appreciation for at least the next few months.
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  • What you're looking at below is the 5-year Forecast for the Phoenix Metro.
  • What's noteworthy is that the upward trend continues for at least the next 2 years.
  • What it suggests is continued appreciation.
    • Keep in mind you can use your Collateral Analytics account to run your specific zip code of interest.
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  • With inventory hovering near historic lows coupled with continued strong demand, price appreciation will continue...at least for the short term.
  • When we couple the above with our 'bank grade' Collateral Analytics 5-year Forecast trend, these dynamics don't change for the next couple of years, assuming no major change in overall market dynamics e.g. geopolitical events that have been uniquely favorable to Arizona and the Arizona lifestyle.

Thursday, November 4, 2021

November 1st Update

 The Census Bureau has provided the single-family permit counts for September and they are showing a new downward trend. Only 2,325 permits were issued in Maricopa and Pinal counties during September, which is the lowest monthly total since May 2020.

It is also down 25% from September last year.

It would appear that the home builders are unable to meet demand because of shortages of component products and labor. This partly explains why they have been so reluctant to take orders. If they take orders for homes they are unable to build they are in danger of setting prices far too low as well as disappointing their customers.

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Cue the violins Zillow has announced that it has terminated its Zillow Offers iBuying business.

It turns out that buying houses at a high price and selling them for less money is not such a great business model.

Above sourced from the Cromford Daily Observation.

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Supply chain issues are hitting everyone and every industry. We see the consequences in higher prices at the grocery store and more broadly, the availability of everything from new cars to home building and home improvement components. And no relief on sight. As an affirmative aside, my eldest son works for a company that manages major ports around the world, including Long Beach. His team is in the middle of it trying to figure out ways to improve the tangle of logistical bottlenecks. He says it is going to get much worse before it gets better. He would know. 

There's a buy now message!

Ironically, once again, the consequences of pandemic and geopolitical events have graced our local resale housing industry. 

Talking points: 

Supply: We've reported it was going to take a decade for new home construction to pick up the residential home supply gap. That was earlier this year. 

Now the implications of the above suggest a continued squeeze on the supply side.

Demand: Arizona will likely continue to see population gains, as a prime relocation option, with the attractor-factor of the sunny Arizona lifestyle and more horizontal than vertical growth e.g. more space in golf-centric communities.

Here is the 'bank grade' 5-year Forecast from my personal Collateral Analytics account, where you can generate projections down to the zip code:

Samples from select cities: Note the vertical red line is 'today'. To the right of the vertical red line along the horizontal axis are the projections for the next 5-years. It's not a crystal ball, but you do have the bragging rights to 'bank grade' information:

Phoenix:

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Paradise Valley:
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Scottsdale:
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Gilbert: 
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Glendale:

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Tucson:

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Sedona: (note - sorry, no data available for Prescott)
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Flagstaff:
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See a pattern here? 

Main takeaway - more of the same in most markets for at least the next 2 years.  Up north the less population-dense markets project astronomical growth out for at least the next 5 years!

To explain the genesis of this information - 

When we say 'bank grade' it's because Collateral Analytics is a preferred tool Wall Street banks use for risk management - specifically, to assess the viability of Real Estate portfolios being sold in the secondary mortgage market. 

Collateral Analytics is considered 'top-of-class', hence 'bank grade', as compared to say a 'consumer grade' tool like the Zillow Zestimate! 

My response to the Zestimate 'congratulations on doing your homework. You're using a consumer grade tool, with a lot of disqualifiers when you read the small print. We have a bank grade valuation tool to assist in our analysis I'm happy to share with you.'

Boom!

To explain the term CBSA (you see in the title of each report) and the rationale for the forecast:

The Core Based Statistical Area (CBSA) and Zip Code Forecast chart shows the historical and forecast median single family prices for the user selected zip code and surrounding metro. The price forecasts are based on models developed by Collateral Analytics and are driven primarily by employment growth and home price affordability which are the two most important factors in housing markets.


Monday, October 11, 2021

Forbearance Update

 For Buyers:

The housing supply shortage is still in full swing, and there is online speculation that the end of forbearance may be the source of relief as some homeowners may need to sell.  According to Black Knight, the national number of mortgages in forbearance has declined 67% from a peak of 4.76M in May of last year to 1.6M as of September 28th, 2021. Surveys from the Mortgage Bankers Association indicate that at least 80% of homeowners have stayed in their homes after forbearance. That means roughly 600,000 properties have already been added to the national supply of homes for sale over the past year without causing home values to decline. If we can expect 20% of the 1.6M remaining homeowners in forbearance to leave their home; that’s roughly 6,400 properties per state on average. Since Greater Phoenix alone records roughly 11,000-14,000 closings per month, the number of properties exiting forbearance may be enough to ease the lack of supply for a short while, but probably not enough to cause prices to decline in Greater Phoenix.

  • For Sellers:
    The Greater Phoenix housing market is cooling, but it is far from cold.  To put the last 6 months in perspective, from April 1st to October 1st, supply rose 92% from 3,591 to 6,883* active listings in the Arizona Regional MLS. In the same time frame, listings under contract dropped 9% from 11,939 to 10,878*.  While a rise in supply combined with a decline in contracts in escrow indicates a cooling of the market, it’s important to put it in perspective from a seasonal and a non-seasonal point of view. Seasonally, it’s normal for listings in escrow to drop between April and October.  However, despite the most recent drop to 10,878 is still higher than previous counts on October 1st from 2014-2019, which ranged between 8,100 and 9,800. This places demand notably higher than even the pre-pandemic seller markets. It is not seasonal for supply to rise between April and October, so a 93% increase is a notable shift.  However, a count of 6,883 active listings is extremely low. In the last balanced market of 2014, the count on October 1st was 21,796.  During the seller markets from 2015-2019, October 1st counts declined from 18,000 to just over 12,000 listings. So despite the 93% increase in supply, it’s still 45% lower than the pre-pandemic 2019 seller market and 68% below the last balanced market of 2014.
    The effects of this 6-month weakening are mild.  Here are a few:
    · The Median Days on Market prior to contract has increased from 5 days to 11 days
    · The Sale Price to List Price ratio has decreased from 101.8% (1.8% over list price) to 0.3%
    · Sales over Asking Price have decreased from 60% of sales to 47% of sales
    · The Median Amount over List has decreased from $20,000 to $11,000.

Wednesday, September 29, 2021

Look at that appreciation!!

 September 28 - The latest S&P / Case-Shiller® Home Price Index® numbers were published today. They cover home sales during the period May 2020 to July 2021. As such they reflect the extremely high rates of appreciation that we experienced during the second quarter of 2021. However July 2021 onward has seen a marked slowdown in pricing movement which is not yet reflected in the Case-Shiller HPI.

Comparing with the previous month's series we see the following changes:

  1. Phoenix +3.32%
  2. Tampa +2.94%
  3. Las Vegas +2.77%
  4. Dallas +2.35%
  5. Atlanta +2.21%
  6. Miami +2.17%
  7. Charlotte +2.17%
  8. Denver +1.78%
  9. San Diego +1.62%
  10. Portland +1.53%
  11. Los Angeles +1.43%
  12. Chicago +1.24%
  13. Minneapolis +1.24%
  14. Detroit +1.17%
  15. San Francisco +1.16%
  16. Boston +1.15%
  17. Cleveland +1.12%
  18. New York +1.08%
  19. Seattle +0.89%
  20. Washington +0.81%

The National index gained 1.62%, quite a bit lower than last month. Phoenix once again rose by more than twice the national percentage and retained its position at the top of this table.

The year over year comparisons look like this:

  1. Phoenix +32.4%
  2. San Diego +27.8%
  3. Seattle +25.5%
  4. Tampa +24.4%
  5. Dallas +23.7%
  6. Las Vegas +22.4%
  7. Miami +22.2%
  8. San Francisco +22.0%
  9. Denver +21.3%
  10. Charlotte +20.9%
  11. Portland +19.5%
  12. Los Angeles +19.1%
  13. Boston +18.7%
  14. Atlanta +18.5%
  15. New York +17.8%
  16. Cleveland +16.2%
  17. Detroit +16.1%
  18. Washington +15.8%
  19. Minneapolis +14.5%
  20. Chicago +13.3%

The National Index gained 19.7%, half way up this table. Phoenix has remained at the top of the table for 26 consecutive months, a new all-time record.

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MikeB Commentary ~

Talking point: 26 consecutive months at the top of the appreciation table makes it easy enough to see why Phoenix, and by extension all of Arizona, is on the investor radar - translating to continued competition for first time home buyers and more broadly, a hot market across all price points.

Taking a snapshot of select cities Statewide we see the following:

Phoenix ~ Q3 Sales outperforming both 2020 and 2019, albeit some moderation in the pace of Sold Prices...

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Note: Where we have data for Pending and Under Contract numbers in the Valley (best finger on the pulse), those numbers are tracking just under record breaking 2020:
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Looking at the trend for Average Sold Price and Number of Sales in Southern and Northern Arizona:

Tucson ~ Similarly, Q3 sales this year in Tucson outpaced 2020 and 2019, with some moderation in Average Sold Price...
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Sedona ~ Again, Q3 2021 has outperformed both 2020 and 2019 with some moderation in Average Sold Price...
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Flagstaff ~ And again, we see the same thing - Q3 2021 has outperformed both 2020 and 2019 with some moderation in Average Sold Price...

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FYI ~ The above Average Sold Price and Number of Sales were sourced from your Collateral Analytics Account / Trends (non-beta version).

Tuesday, September 28, 2021

Why average price is deceiving...

Looking at the average price and median price charts over the last few months, you might get the impression that house prices are flat. This seems odd given that so many homes are going for more than the asking price. The secret to solving this riddle is to look at the average square foot chart:

AV sq ft mo sales.gif

Here we see the average size of a closed home dropping from 2,046 to 1,952 between mid-May and late September. Not only is this going to cause a 5% headwind to average prices, it also signifies a change in the mix away from high-end and towards the low and mid-range. This will push the average and median for closed homes downwards.

We do not expect the drop in average home size to be maintained. After all, homes are not shrinking in size. Average and median prices are likely to bounce back once the high end buyers return, when temperatures drop below 100 degrees.

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Today's Daily Observation mirrors the same point we've made recently - that the appearance of flat home prices simply masks the higher price per square foot. 

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As we welcome cooler mornings, the Daily Observations prediction of a 'bounce back' in average home size will be easy enough to track in the not so distant future!

Monday, September 27, 2021

5 year predictions : )

 At a time when the market is cooling some, potentially giving some buyers pause - thinking prices might soften, a good 'objective' resource for your/their reference are our proprietary 'bank grade' 5-year Forecasts. 


Of course, there's no crystal ball here, but they do have the credibility of being reportedly what wall street (secondary mortgage market - hence 'bank grade') uses to evaluate real estate portfolios. 

There are no restrictions on your use of this data eg. re-publish on your website or social media.

Also, since you have your own personal CA account, you can generate these at your leisure, as well as drill down into zip codes and to the extent the data's available, even subdivisions.

Select cities going north to south:
Flagstaff
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Sedona
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Prescott (data not available at this time)

Phoenix
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Paradise Valley
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Scottsdale
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Gilbert
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Peoria
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Tucson
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Tubac
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May you get some mileage out of these!

Wednesday, September 8, 2021

Investors Still Driving The Market

Here are the basics - the ARMLS numbers for September 1, 2021 compared with September 1, 2020 for all areas & types:

  • Active Listings (excluding UCB & CCBS): 6,873 versus 8,028 last year - down 14.4% - and down 3.3% from 7,105 last month
  • Active Listings (including UCB & CCBS): 10,988 versus 13,178 last year - down 16.6% - but up 0.7% compared with 10,913 last month
  • Pending Listings: 7,917 versus 7,892 last year - up 0.3% - and up 9.4% from 7,236 last month
  • Under Contract Listings (including Pending, CCBS & UCB): 12,032 versus 13,042 last year - down 7.7% - but up 8.9% from 11,044 last month
  • Monthly Sales: 9,051 versus 9,213 last year - down 1.8% - and down 1.0% from 9,146 last month
  • Monthly Average Sales Price per Sq. Ft.: $249.31 versus $194.97 last year - up 27.9% - but down 0.5% from $250.66 last month
  • Monthly Median Sales Price: $401,000 versus $325,000 last year - up 23.4% - and up 0.3% from $400,000 last month

Many surprising changes have occurred in the market over the past month.

First we see fewer active listings (excluding UCB and CCBS) at the start of September than we had at the start of August. After a rise of almost 25% during July, this is quite a turn up for the books. The effect is exaggerated by the fact that Sep 1 falls on a Wednesday and Aug on a Sunday. Wednesdays are usually the lowest day of the week for active listings while Sundays are just shy of the peak on Saturdays.

This unexpected fall is mainly caused by two factors:

  • the rate of arrival of new listings has started to fall, especially over the last 2 weeks
  • the demand from iBuyers and investors has intensified, taking listings under contract more quickly than usual

Another surprise is the strength of the pending and under contract counts, also confirmation of the second bullet above.

Ordinary home buyers are losing some of their motivation, thanks to prices that are vastly higher than last year. Despite low interest rates, affordability has slipped below the normal range for Greater Phoenix.

Sales counts (closed listings) are still lower than last month and last year, but by much smaller margins than in July.

The monthly average $/SF dropped for the second straight month, but the fall was just 0.5% each month and we do not think this will be repeated in September based on the contracts that have been signed during August. However, it is clear that the runaway appreciation we saw in Jan through May has been halted.

Other interesting indicators show mixed signals:

  • The Contract Ratio jumped from 155.4 to 175.1, indicating that the market has heated up over the last month.
  • The average closed $/SF was 0.68% higher than the list price, down from 1.47% last month - indicating that the market has cooled over the last month.

If it were not for the activity of investors and iBuyers, and particularly the latter, the market would have cooled during August. This would have been following the trend established since April. However iBuyers have purchased so many homes over the last month that they are significantly distorting the market dynamics. These homes are mostly going to be re-marketed shortly. so they will almost certainly increase supply over the coming weeks. To achieve these huge increases in purchase volumes, iBuyers have made offers well in excess of the pricing that we saw from them prior to 3Q 2021. Since appreciation has been much weaker during this same period, it remains to be seen how they will be priced for resale. It is possible that either gross margins will have to fall or time on market will have to rise. Normal buyers no longer have the appetite that we experienced during 1Q and early 2Q, so they are going to be more sensitive to pricing. Achieving sale prices well over cost could prove quite tricky.

Investors intending to rent out their properties are a different matter, and the rapid rise in rents over the past year has justified them splashing out. Indeed far more homes are going from iBuyers straight to the rental operators than we saw prior to July 2021. This takes homes off the resale market for a long time and reduces supply. Large scale investors with deep pockets are crowding out smaller investors.

We have seen larger buying sprees from investors before, notably between 2011 and 2013. However we have never seen iBuyers so determined to increase their top line. To put the situation into context, the iBuyers have purchased about 2,850 homes over the last 3 months. That represents almost 9% of resale purchases. Recorded iBuyer sales during the same time total less than 1,000, about 3% of re-sales. We can see that the iBuyers (particularly Opendoor and Zillow) have increased their inventory massively. If iBuyers had not done this, we estimate that supply would already be higher by some 1,800 listings, which would have caused the Cromford® Market Index to drop to a much lower value than today. We conclude that pricing would also be weaker without their intervention. This begs the question: what happens if they stop buying on this massive scale?

Investors, too, can decide to stop their buying spree at a moment's notice. The market is therefore more precarious than if demand were primarily growing through owner-occupiers.

Whoever wishes that we live in interesting times is getting their wish granted.'

________________

Here are the graphs corresponding with the highlighted Pending and Under Contract bullet points above only updated from September 1st to today (the 8th):

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Talking Point: Affordability is a keyword in all of this when it comes to the low-to-mid-level markets. To the extent the market stabilizes accordingly, it will be more sustainable moving forward.

Monday, August 30, 2021

Corporate Investors Taking Over

There has been a very significant increase in the number of listings under contract between $400K and $500K.

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The red line is 2021, the green is 2020 and yellow is 2019. The date is in DD/MM/YYYY format because I captured it from my screen in the UK and Tableau automatically adjusts dates for the user's location.

This situation is similar for $500K to $800K but not quite so striking.

Outside the price range $300K to $800K there is no increase and the red line is far below the green one.

I believe the primary cause is the buying spree that the iBuyers are indulging in, but they are not the only buyers competing for homes in this price range, which now dominates the market.

__________________

You've probably seen the press around BlackRock and other institutional bulk home purchases. For example, this excerpt from a recent article:
'In the first quarter of 2021, 15% of U.S. homes sold were purchased by corporate investors — not families looking to achieve their American dream. While they’re competing with middle-class Americans for the homes, the average American has virtually no chance of winning a home over an investment firm, which may pay 20% to 50% over asking price, in cash, sometimes scooping up entire neighborhoods at once so they can turn them into rentals.'
Reminds us of the Orwellian great reset - 'you will own nothing and you will be happy.' Doesn't sound like the 'great reset' will be good for our industry! 
And we should probably stop there.

Looking at the price ranges above the $400-500K range we still see the same trend, namely, Listings Under Contract in 2021 YTD significantly outperforming 2020 and 2019.
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Same is true over $1M:
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And over $2M:
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While there is the legitimate question of institution buyers squeezing out first time buyers and the subsequent consequence of appreciation in terms of affordability, the local housing market continues to be very robust across the board, albeit the $400-500K takes the prize in this monsoon moment.

Monday, August 9, 2021

And the decline (slowly) continues...

The appreciation rate is tumbling quickly now that inventory is growing. The appreciation can be measured in many different ways, but based on the monthly average $/SF, the appreciation rate for all areas & types within the ARMLS database is now below 30%, having peaked at over 39% at the end of May. Obviously, the rate based on the annual average $/SF is slower to react and is now leveling off near its peak at 24.4%.

Both measures of appreciation are likely to fall further over the rest of 2021, though they are unlikely to get back down to what we could consider normal during the next 4 months. Normal would be something less than 5%. We last saw that in 2016.

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The Cromford Snapshots make for a good summary visual across time and multiple parameters:

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The month-over-month red arrow down indicates the trend favors buyers. 
Conversely the green arrow up favors sellers.

For additional perspective, here's what long term Annual Appreciation looks like in the Valley:

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Annual Appreciation by Price Range is yet another perspective that points to how it's a mistake to broad brush or generalize Appreciation metrics. 
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All gets a bit confusing doesn't it?

 As REALTORS® we love to share stats - cut and paste - a relatively easy way to share content; stay top of mind. 
However, explaining what they mean...not so easy. 

This is why I like our bank-grade, proprietary Collateral Analytics Intelligence Reports. 
They allow you to drill down to the market segment - city, zip code, even subdivision level with a concise year-over-year snapshot across the most meaningful criteria.

KISS: If we want to keep it simple AND accurate to the market segment of interest for my buyer(s) or seller(s), the Collateral Analytics Intelligence Reports are your ticket, with no restrictions in whatever medium you choose to distribute. 
Again, easy to generate; bank grade; proprietary!

Here's a sample for Flagstaff / Forest Highlands:
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Another sample for Oro Valley / 85737:
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A final sample for Arcadia (85018):
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