Our Code of Ethics...

“It is not the oath that makes us believe the man, but the man that makes us believe the oath.”  (Aeschylus) from the Jack’s Winning Words blog.

Wow, Aeschylus must have known a Realtor!  The same can certainly be said about our Realtor Code of Ethics. Having the NAR Code of Ethics is oft pointed to as an indication that being a Realtor is a profession and not just a job. I suppose there is some truth to that, but probably there is more truth in Aeschylus’ words (slightly modified to fit here) that - It is not the Code of Ethics that makes us believe the Realtor, but the Realtor that makes us believe the Code of Ethics.

The Code of Ethics in and of itself is a wonderful document; however, if the people involved in the day-to-day practice of real estate see them as something to be bent or ignored altogether, they are just words. That’s why it is the responsibility of every Realtor to not only live by the Code, but to report those who aren’t. There is no room to look the other way when you see a Code violation, because doing so demeans the profession and all who practice it.

The reason that the Code exists in such detail is that too many people in real estate are not ready to live by simple, golden rules, such as “do unto other as you would have them do unto you.” Somehow their value systems have become so distorted that they stop after “Do unto others.”

There are still lots of things in the normal day-to-day life of a Realtor that are not covered by the Code, such as those who feel they need to bully their way through a deal or that they only win if the other side loses in negotiations.  Even a well written Code of Ethics can’t help there - it's not a Code of Acceptable Human Behavior.  You still have to put up with boors in real estate as in life; but at least it’s a start.

So don’t be taken in by the admonitions of “Don’t be such a hard-ass” or “Everybody does it”; if you are involved with a Realtor who is obviously breaking the Code, report it to your local board.  It’s not being hard-ass, it’s being honest and that is one of the bedrocks of the Code to begin with. We are all better off because we have the Code of Ethics, so we also need to be diligent about making sure that it is followed by all.

The Realtor Code of Ethics is celebrating it's 100th year in existence this year. You can read about that and read the Code itself at - http://www.realtor.org/topics/code-of-ethics-centennial

In movies and real estate you must suspend disbelief...

There is a saying or phrase associated with movies which alludes to the fact that in order to enjoy a movie one has to be ready to suspend disbelief – to be ready to allow the story on the screen to unfold and to take it all in as if it could actually be happening.  Some movies are easier than others in which to accomplish this state of suspended disbelief.  Many movies purport to be based upon real happenings – events that were in the news or at least about which one may have heard. Other movies are pure fantasy, such as Star Wars; however, one can temporarily suspend disbelief and imaging that somewhere in a galaxy far, far away…

Suspending disbelief in real estate has more to do with actually dealing with “I can’t believe that that just happened” scenarios than it does with imaginary situations. In real estate one must get used to dealing with things that no rationale human being might imagine would happen, but they do. Most of this has to do with the strange goings on behind the various curtains that veil the real estate process from the prying eyes of the public and the buyers and sellers.

There are many places within the flow of a real estate deal where logic and common sense often require temporary suspension.  There are the sometimes totally absurd requests/requirements of the mysterious underwriters.  There are the sometimes incredible demands of the buyers or the sellers over some minor point – a point that usually equates to less than 1% of the total deal, but for which the parties are willing to sink the entire deal. There are the pesky inputs and demands of the minor character players in the deal – the requirement for some minor thing from the insurance company, in order to write the home owners policy; the reluctance of the title company to provide a title policy without objections on almost anything but a new-build house; and the other mortgage player that shall forever remain behind the curtain – the PMI company – for whatever reason that they are holding things up.

  The parallel between the movies and a real estate deal also cover the emotional roller-coaster that I’ve written about many times before. Every day, from the time the offer is accepted until the closing is over, can seem like the players are living in a daytime soap opera with the need to create a little daily drama. There are emotional ups and downs on a daily basis. An issue is raised and elevate to the level of a panic …and then solved – and then it happens again the next day. Day after day there is an emergency…a panic... and a solution (OR NOT).  Each deal might easily provide the fodder for a television reality show season.

So why do we – the Realtors involved – do this? What can possible justify having to deal with such an emotional cauldron day after day? I could be cynical and say “because we love it.” We don’t love it. No one can claim to love the gut-wrenching roller coaster ride that real estate deals may take you on. I think we love the fact that we are good at dealing with it;  of handling not only our own emotions, but those of the clients involved. Perhaps “love” is the wrong word there. We may feel good about the fact that we are “able” to deal with it.

One of my very perceptive clients recently made the comment ( in the midst of an especially difficult and very emotionally charged deal) that I seldom displayed emotions during the things that had been going on. I told him that many of the things that had happened had evoked emotional responses from me, but that someone had to maintain the only cool voice of reason during the whole ordeal and I had chosen to take that role. When all of the other parties are screaming and crying and letting emotions run rampant, someone has to step out of the maelstrom and provide unemotional guidance and counsel. I had chosen that role, as I often do.

I’ve had clients accuse me of taking the other side - of not representing their interests, but rather that of the other side – in the heat of the emotions of difficult deals. Most have realized later what was happening and have come back to thank me for not joining them in their emotion-driven efforts to sink the deals.

Real estate deals can often be (and are too often today) very emotional.  Things can happen that require that you suspend disbelief and just go with the flow. If you can’t do that, maybe you shouldn’t be in real estate.  It’s a great show, if you just let it happen.

Don't be dissapointed...

“There are two disappointments in life.  One is not getting what you want.  The other is getting it.”  (Oscar Wilde) from my favorite source, the Jack’s Winning Words blog.

I was drawn to this quote that Jack used recently by the amazingly simple complexity of it. We are as human beings always striving for something. At the most basic and primitive level that is the struggle to survive; however, few of us are at that level or even give that much thought. Most of us have aspirations – things that we want or want to achieve in life. The things on that list constantly change or evolve, depending somewhat on our stage in life and whether or not we have learned anything from the journey to that stage.  I think that the way that one can avoid being disappointed by getting what you want is to want the right things.   

One of the things that my personal life journey has taught me is that the material things on my list have proven to be for the most part disappointing or less fulfilling once achieved than I had at one time imagined.  Things or possessions have less and less meaning to me as I enter the autumn of my life. Make no mistake, there are things that I have that make life much easier – a home, cars , clothing, etc. But I note that having the biggest and best McMansion or the flashiest car or many other things that I once considered worthwhile to strive for now mean much less to me than having friends and family close by and being able to do things with and for others.

Relationships are seldom mentioned on people’s “bucket list”, but perhaps they should be at the top of the list. Having lots of things without anyone to share them with makes them meaningless. Holding great wealth tightly against one’s breast is not as satisfying as hugging a grandchild who just got his first hit in Little League baseball.

So, I’ve finally realized and started focusing upon the things in life that have real meaning – the people around me – family and friends. If you make what you want to be meaningful and loving relationships with loved ones, I can’t see how you can be disappointed by getting what you want. You’ll end feeling like the richest person in the room.

So take a look at your list of things that you want. If you got everything on the list today, do you think you’d be happy or disappointed? Maybe it’s time to re-write your list.

 

Test your local real estate market knowledge

At mid-year we are still in a Sellers’ Market in most markets and prices have dramatically increased in some markets (but not all). Distressed sales are down and the appraisers have been able to keep up with the price rises fairly well; so, sales at those higher prices are closing. I track real estate sales in 9 local markets on a weekly basis and publish the stats on those sales every week. Below is a little test to see how knowledgeable you are about those local markets.

The average price per square foot for homes has been on the rise and is once again above $100/Sq Ft in many markets.  See if you can match the markets below to their respective average sold-price-per-square-foot home prices in the markets that I track.

A. Milford                     1. $98

B. Highland                   2. $111

C. Commerce                3. $110

D. White Lake              4. $114

E. West Bloomfield      5. $106

F. South Lyon               6. $92

G. Brighton                   7. $105

H. Green Oak                8. $97

I. Hartland                     9. $103

You can find out by going to www.movetomilford.com and looking under the choice "What have homes in this area sold for?" Scroll down until you find the choices for the Y-T-D data for each market. If you don't want take the time to do that click here.

There are many other interesting statistics available there for each market and the sales in each market are documented month by month. One stat that many people haven't undated their thinking about is the SEV and what that means in the current market. There probably never was a time when it was actually accurate to just double the SEV to find the market value of the house. That is really true right now when sales are averaging better than 2.4 times SEV in most markets. See where your market is in terms of SEV vs. sold prices.

You can also find the latest sales at the Move to Milford web site, updated through the last Sunday. One thing to note in particular is that distressed sales in most markets is down close to or at zero percent of total sales. The days of finding lots of foreclosed houses or short sales is past. There will also be a few, but with the improving economy, and rapidly improving home prices; more and more owners now find themselves above water on their homes or at least better able to service their mortgages.

So visit the movetomilford.com web site and get up to date on the latest real estate stats for the area in and around Milford, Michigan.

Granny's Attic Sale coming up soon!

The much anticipated annual Granny’s Attic Sale is coming up July 12 & 13, which just happens to coincide with the Summer Palooza Sale in Downtown Milford. The Milford Historical Society’s annual sale on the lawn and front porch of the Milord Historical Museum is open both days from 9 am until 4 pm. There will be furniture from estate sales and lots of unique items, some antiques, for sale both days.


The annual sale is supplied with items from various estate sales during the year that Duane Frietag conducts, as well as items donated my Historical Society members and others. If you have items that you’ve been meaning to donate somewhere, bring them to the Museum and leave them on the porch before the sale dates.

If you’ve been looking for that rare piece of glassware or china; that funky piece of vintage furniture or that unique items to set off a room or nook in your home, come out and check out this sale.

At least do no wrong to anyone...

From the blog, Jack’s Winning Words comes this little gem - “Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none.” (Shakespeare) This quote is from “All’s Well That Ends Well,” and is advice that a mother gives her departing son.

Her son must have been going away to become a Realtor, because that is great advice for the profession. You have to love dealing with people to be in this profession and there are likely more than a few that you can trust (but not all) and you certainly should try not to do wrong to any. I note that it says do wrong to none and not the words used in the Hippocratic Oath to “Do no harm”.  I guess that’s why there is E&O insurance.

So, Shakespeare’s advice might be something to post above the door and take a quick look at each day as we set about doing real estate. Some days it will be harder than others to love all and many days it’s tough to trust very many but every day we can at least try to do wrong to none.

Get real...it won't hurt

“When you are real, you don’t mind that it hurts.”  (The old Skin Horse) from the blog Jack’s Winning Words. Jack went on to say -  In the book, How Toys Become Real, a stuffed rabbit asks an older toy how to become real.  He’s told that you become real through magic and through the love of a little boy.  “When you are loved for a long, long time, not just to play with, you become real.”  The rabbit wonders, “Does it hurt?”  Today’s quote is the answer.  It’s like that in real life, too.    ;-)  Jack

It’s the little stuffed rabbit’s question that illuminates one of the biggest the problems in life – the fear that it will hurt. Fears of getting hurt, both real and imagined, often become so great that they prevent any action at all. The answer in this little story also serves as the answer in life. When you are real, when you are honest and genuine with yourself and others, you don’t mind that it occasionally hurts. You have to accept and expect a few little hurts along the way. I’ve found that no matter how big the fear of getting hurt and even no matter how big the hurt turns out to be, tomorrow always comes and I’m there to see a new day.

The story in today’s blog by Jack talks of toys becoming real through the love of the little boy who owns them.  I think you become real through the love of others, but also through the love of yourself. You have to become comfortable and at peace with who you are and love who you are to be real. It’s hard, perhaps impossible, to truly love others, if you cannot first love yourself. So get real with yourself and love who you are and then love others, so they can love you in return. Will it hurt sometimes? Yes, but you won’t mind.

Get in the parade!

The Independence Day Parade is next week - this year it's actually on the 4th of July. Get your group signed up by downloading the parade application at -

http://www.milfordhistory.org/2013_Parade_Application.pdf


There's nothing more American than marching in the 4th of July parade, so get your group or organizaiton signed up and get into the parade! Come celebrate the birth of this great nation in small town America. If you can't or don't want to march, come watch. The parade steps off at 11:00 am at the corner of Commerce Rd and Union St.

I'll see you there!

We don’t make this stuff up – crazy underwriter demands…

Being in the real estate business sometimes means having to try to explain some totally insane things that go on when someone is trying to buy a house. The process of evaluating the credit worthiness of would-be borrowers and assessing the risks involved in making the loan to them falls to a largely invisible group of jokesters called underwriters. You know that these people are hired for the weird sense of humor when you read about some of the totally idiotic things they ask of the would-be borrowers.

A recent article in the Chicago Tribune documents quite a few absolutely absurd requests from underwriters. I often advise buyers not to spend any big money or make any unusual credit purchases between the time that they apply for the mortgage and the closing. The underwrite will see that and it may throw off the debt to earnings ratio upon which an initial approval was based. I’ve seen people fall out of the range that they needed to get their mortgage because they went out and bought some furniture for the new home. That actually makes sense and is the reason that I advise them to wait until after closing to buy anything big, like furniture or appliances. The instances in the Chicago Tribune article just don’t make sense. They are examples of a really broken system that is letting a few people from behind the scenes run amok.

Asking someone to explain in a letter why they changed their name when they got married is insane. Asking someone who makes $40-50,000 a year to explain a $6 deposit to their account is crazy. And asking a widow to explain why her monthly Social Security payments went down after she has supplied a death certificate for her late husband is just pathetic. Yet these and many more are documented in the Tribune article. I just wish they had been able to name the companies and the bozo underwriters who thought that these were necessary things to require of the borrowers.

There is enough complexity and stress in the home buying process for most buyers already, without being subjected to ridiculous requests such as those documented in the Tribune article. This is really an indication of a system gone haywire; of big mortgage companies without the ability to manage their employees or the process. Were it not for the fact that most borrowers don’t have the time to start over with another company, I’d certainly recommend that the borrowers switch companies, rather than deal with the incompetence that these examples demonstrate. You can rest assured that this is just an indicator that you’re dealing with a bad company.

Now, I’m reasonably sure that most underwriters are good, hard-working and honest people who are just trying to do their jobs (as they see it). The issue is; why these people can’t apply a little common sense before making ridiculous demands? Are they under some Machiavellian orders from headquarters to create chaos? Are they judged and maybe even awarded bonuses on how hard they can make the process? Do they work for companies that really don’t want to be in the mortgage business? There must be some explanation other than, “I thought it was the right thing to do”, because that just doesn’t’ make any sense. Then again, let’s revisit the theory that these are truly sick people who enjoy causing havoc in people’s lives. Naw! That can’t be. Can it? Maybe they are all Zombies and this is a way to get into our brains.

It's an emotional roller coaster...relax and enjoy the ride

“Never regret. If it’s good, it’s wonderful. If it’s bad, it’s experience.” (Victoria Holt) from the Jack’s Winning Words blog.

Jack went on to say that Victoria Holt was an English Romance Novelist, but she could have come u with the same advice if she was a Realtor®. My experience has been that every deal seems to be full of both good and bad, so every deal is a learning experience.

I often tell newbie agents to be prepared for an emotional roller-coaster ride in every sale, no matter which side you are on. That seems to be especially true when one is engaged in short-sales. I’ve done a number of them this year and every day is like a suspense thriller, with a cliff-hanger ending. It’s not until you walk out of the closing that one can exhale.

This emotional ride used to bother me a lot more than it does now. It hasn’t gotten any better; but, I’ve gotten better at dealing with it. One needs to start by putting these “emergencies” into perspective and go from there. Real estate issues are seldom really at the life or death level. They just seem that way to some.

Sure real estate sales involve big, important decisions and they can’t be taken lightly; but, that don’t have the gravity of real life and death situations. Once you can say to yourself, “You know what, I’ll still be alive tomorrow, if this deal doesn’t work”, you can go on to using whatever problem solving skills you have to attack the issue, instead of wasting time in anxious worry about it. And, you’ll be banking more experience to help you in the future; plus you’ll be freer to enjoy the good parts.

Looking at the local real estate market...

Our local Multi-List Service (MLS) - RealComp II - released it's stats report for May this morning and reported a record month. Sales were up 1.2% year-over-year to 6,399 units sold during May 2013. That includes all 15 of the markets that RealComp services, which is pretty much the whole metro Detroit and environs area. Not surprisingly the number of listings coming onto the market during May was down 19.5% in the overall area. Oakland County was down 16.7% and Livingston County down 18.5%.

Median sale prices in the MLS entire area where up 35.8% year-over-year.  Oakland County saw an increase of 19.7% to $165,000 and Livingston County seeing a 21.4% increase to $181,450 in May 2013 as compared to last year. The Average Days-On-Market (DOM) for the whole are was 69, with Oakland clocking in at 61 and Livingston at 85 days.

Of all of the sales in May, 7.9% were short sales and 42% were identified as cash sales. Foreclosures in May dropped to 1,784 ( or 28% of all sales) which was a drop of 27.7% from last year, when 2,468 foreclosures were reported. Click here to see the summary report for May from RealComp II.

What does this mean to you? It depends upon whether you are trying to buy or sell. If you have been waiting to sell, now is the time to act. Low inventory levels are driving the current price run-up, but that is not expected to last as more and more people are now back above water on their mortgages. If you continue to wait, you might miss this "sellers' market." Call me today for a free market analysis of your home to see if now is the right time for you to sell.

If you're a buyer it means frustration. There's less to look at and things are selling so fast that you may not even get a chance to bid, unless you are ready when you see the place. Be ready to act. Have your mortgage  pre-approval all done and don't even think about making a low-ball. Sellers are in no mood to play that game and will just ignore your offer and move on to look at serious offers. Let me take some of the frustration out of the search for you by signing you up for our "First to Know" alert program that will send you and email just as soon as a new listing hits the market. You'll be "in the know."

Current needs vs. future value - aging and real estate

I got a call recently from a friend who wanted some advice so that he could better advise some aging relatives. As is more and more often the case these days, the relatives in question are fairly elderly and in failing health. Their ability to deal with the demands or constraints of their own home, which they do not wish to leave, is also fading. They have received some advice about making changes to the house to better accommodate their current needs. This often happens and making some of the changes that might be required can have significant impact on the future sale value of the property.

 

Some things might be fairly minor and unobtrusive, such as putting grab bars beside the toilet and in the bathtub. These could still detract somewhat from the potential future value of the house with some buyers. Other things might involve making major changes to the house, such as taking out a standard tub/shower combination to put in a handicapped-accessible Shower or one of those walk-in tubs that you see advertised. These are great solutions for current issues that the elderly might be encountering; however, they are also likely to be major detractors to selling the house later.

 

Another issue that I get questions about involves whether to take away some space from something – a bedroom, a pantry or a closet – in order to move the laundry up from the basement, where it was located in almost all homes built before the 1980’s. This, too, seems to be a great solution to the failing ability to deal with stairs just to get to the laundry. This project also involves doing some major work, since water supplies and a drain (and a pan under the washer) will be required, as well as electrical work and perhaps a gas line will be needed, as will be venting for the dryer. This is not a small project and the result could well result in greatly diminishing the resale value of the home, especially if an entire room (maybe a bedroom) must be sacrificed to accommodate the first floor laundry re-location.

Quite often as the elderly lose mobility things like ramps to the front door are built or accommodations for walkers or wheelchairs must be made to the inside of the house – for instance widening doorways is often done. Many of these things could have negative impact on future value. Some homes just don't have the layout or space to accommodate things like ramps without them detracting greatly from the curb appeal of the house.

So, what are caring and concerned relatives or friends to do to help? What advice can they

give; and, how can a Realtor help? I certainly don’t try to give council to the elderly or their relatives about what they should or should not do to make their lives easier and more fulfilling; however, I can provide some insight into the impact on the real estate market value of the house, if the changes that might be proposed to their homes to accommodate their current needs are made.  

There is a train of reasoning that goes – the heck with future value; it’s their home let them do what they want to and must do in order to live as comfortably as they can and stay in it for as long as they can. As the owners of the house, it’s up to them to make decisions that might detract from future value in order to give them comfort and a better lifestyle right now. As I get older myself that argument has strong emotional appeal.

An alternate path (one might call it the path of logic) says that they should be advised to take the value that they can get of the place out of it and find a more accommodating place to live out their remaining years, perhaps in an assisted living community. That argument makes perfect sense and normally elicits the perfect storm of protest from the elderly homeowner. There are certainly lots of reinforcing arguments that go along with the logical path – the upkeep of the yard, the general maintenance and upkeep of the house itself and the inevitable point at which it will all become a moot. The logical thinker side of me finds that argument to be strong, too.

So, don’t ask me what to do. I haven’t figured that out for myself yet. You can ask me what the impact on the market value of the house might be if the various age-related projects are done and I will try to answer that question. With an aging Baby Boomer population about to enter this phase of life, it will be interesting to see if the person who has already made the changes to the home to accommodate the safety, mobility and health needs of the elderly might have stumbled upon a positive selling feature instead of a negative. Only time will tell. Stay tuned.

Market Overview for Southeastern Michigan

Ed. - The report below is from our broker - Dan Elsea - who sees things from a different vantage point that I do or than any individual agent would.

In the last two months we have seen the first sign that the market may be moving towards normal. Even though sales continue at a fast pace, new listings entering the market in May were higher than last May, the first year-over-year increase in nearly two years. Although most all indicators show a market heating up (the Months’ Supply of Inventory (MSI) hit a record low of 1.8 months in Southeast Michigan and three year low of 6.5 in Northwest Michigan), underneath those numbers are some signs that Sellers, who have been waiting for years to sell, have noticed the price jumps and are testing the waters.

 

If this trend continues it will lead to a smoother market with more listings and appreciation rates in sustainable single digits. Increasing interest rates will cool some buyer demand as well. Even with a more normal market it will still lean towards a Sellers’ Market, with Buyers outnumbering Sellers because of the buildup of Gen X and Y’s entering the housing market.

 

Home values are continuing to rise in Southeast Michigan at double-digit levels and high single-digits in Northwest Michigan. All markets are improving quickly but some are moving faster than others. By price segment, the under $500,000 market is rising the fastest at over 12%, while the over $500,000 market is moving at around 7%. Within specific submarkets the numbers are even higher.

 

Most all MSI’s are at their low points, ranging from a low of 36 days (Redford) to a high of 3.8 months (Ann Arbor), with most markets under 60 days. In the last two months the most active markets in Southeast Michigan have been Plymouth, Troy, Northville, Redford and Southfield. In the most active segment (under 90 days listing category) for each of those markets, the Months’ Supply of Inventory has actually been zero (i.e. at the current sales pace all listings under 90 days will sell). Washtenaw County is the only market where the MSI is higher compared to last year as a result of both a slowing sales pace and an increased pace of new listings. However, Washtenaw was the first market to move into hyper activity, so it is not surprising it might be the first to settle back to a more normal pace as more Sellers react to the improving market.

Ed. – This report is good for buyers who might now be starting to see more homes to choose from in the market. For seller’s it’s not really bad news; however, it does portend a shift back to more normal sales scenarios and away from the wild, multiple-offer situation that we’ve recently experienced in the market. Sellers also need to refocus back on the basics of keeping the house ready to show and not getting too greedy with buyers.

When you need/want to know...

Which Township that I track started off June without any home sales in the first week of June? Which Townships that I track currently are above $100/Sq Ft in average home sale values and which are lagging behind? Were there more home sales in Brighton Township or Green Oak Township during the first week in June? How does Brighton Township compare to Milford in terms of cost per square foot on sold homes? What SEV multiplier makes sense to use to get a ballpark on the possible sale price for your home in the areas that I track? How is the market doing through May in my area that you track?

The answers to these questions and more are at www.movetomilford.com under the choice - "What have homes in this area sold for?" Visit today to get up-to-date information about your market, if you live in one of the nine areas that I track each week - Milford, Highland, Commerce, White Lake, Lyon, West Bloomfield, Green Oak, Brighton and Hartland.

Of course you can also keep up to date there about what's going on in the Huron Valley area and get information or links to all of the important information sites in the area.

Up, up and away, my beautiful home price…

Report after report continues to show home prices climbing at double digit rates so far this year – 10% a month ago, 12 % this month and projected at 13% next month. IS this cause for concern that another value bubble is forming in the housing market? Not really. This run-up in prices is driven by a single factor – the huge shortfall in inventory, when compared to the demand. It is also being tempered by conservative appraisals that are lagging a bit behind the market prices. Also, even though lenders are back to offering products like the old 10-10-80 mortgages (10% down, a 10% equity loan and an 80% mortgage) they are certainly not offering no-doc loans or lending to people with marginal credit scores.

So we aren’t really seeing another bubble, which was the result of the combination of bad lending practices and an over exuberant market; rather we are seeing a classic example of the supply-demand curve in action. Once the market reaches a point of recovery in values that will allow more people to put their homes on the market, we’ll likely also see a re-balancing of the market back to one where neither the sellers nor the buyers have the advantage.

Like any system that is springing back and forth between too much and too little, this market will eventually find that equilibrium point. In the meantime, hold on and enjoy the ride!

Play it out on your one string...

 “The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude.” (Chuck Swindoll) Swindoll went on to say, “Life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.” Today’s saying from my favorite local blog – Jack’s Winning Words.

I used to spend an inordinate amount of time worrying about things that I just couldn’t change anyway. I still have occasional fits of anxiety-driven worry; however, I’ve tried to adopt the attitude that I’ll just let the scenario play itself out instead of worrying about all possible outcomes, especially the bad one that one’s imagination can conjure up.

Do you spend time worrying about what might be, instead of going on about the business of actually doing what will be? I saved another saying that appeared in one of Jack’s blogs that seems appropriate to that situation - “Prediction is very difficult, especially if it’s about the future.” (Niels Bohr)

Remember that “What will be will be” eventually turns into “It is what it is” and you really have little control over any of it, except how you act and react to the situation. So, don’t worry, be happy and play on the one string that you have.

Great causes supported by great citizens...

The warmer months in Michigan gets people outdoors and many of them are out soliciting funds for their favorite causes. Some literally stand in the street with buckets collecting for this cause or that. Many host fund raising events, with golf outings being a big favorite at this time of the year. I’m signed up to play golf in the Huron Valley Chamber of Commerce

Golf Outing this month. At the end of last month my wife and I attended the prelude event for the AMP project, which is being sponsored by the Milford Rotary Club, the Huron Valley Chamber of Commerce and the Milford DDA, to build an amphitheater in Milford’s Central Park.

 

My wife and I also regularly give food and clothing items to the Community Sharing group in the Huron Valley, as well as to Purple Heart and the Salvation Army. Community Sharing runs a wonderful service for people in need of temporary help with food for themselves and for their pets, as well as offering other services to those same people. Community Sharing has a golf outing coming up, too, on June 28. Click here to read the Community Sharing Golf Outing flyer.  You can get the details about many of the upcoming charity events at my web site www.movetomilford.com.

 

One event that I wanted to highlight is the upcoming kick-off fund-raiser for the Village Fine Arts Association (VFAA), which will be held from 6 – 8 pm on June 15 at 210 Main St. The VFAA is raising money to fund the creation of a center for artists to use which they call the SHAC. That acronym stands for the Susan Haskew Art Center. You can read about what this art center is envisioned to be by clicking here. If you want to know more about the event itself, click here. Appreciation of, and support for, the arts is a hallmark of a vibrant community. Certainly the AMP and SHAC projects show that the commitment to the arts is strong in the Huron Valley.

 

Much of what used to be funded by grants or direct funding by governmental organizations now depends upon volunteer organizations. Milford and the surrounding Huron Valley area are blessed to have so many volunteer groups doing so much good work to make this area a better place to live. So, check out the various upcoming fund-raising events on my web site and decide upon which you can support this year. I’ll probably see you at a few of them.

 “Sometimes you’ve got to jump off cliffs and grow wings on the way down.” (Ray Bradbury)

Life is full of opportunities to use Bradbury’s saying. We all face things that we’ve never done before or challenges that we have no idea how to overcome. The timid just back away from such things, while the adventuresome take Bradbury’s advice to heart and jump off the cliff of uncertainty and figure things out (grow their wings) on the way down.

I’ve always tended to initially be cautious, perhaps overly so; however, I’ve also found that whenever I do just jump off the cliff the results have been exciting and fun. 

 

Are you the adventuresome type or do you steer clear of taking chances on unknown things? You’ll never grow your wings if you don’t try to fly.

Stifle yourself...

 “Never miss a good chance to shut up.” (Unknown) from the Jack’s Winning Words Blog. I also recall one of Archie Bunker’s favorite lines to his wife Edith – “Stifle yourself, Edith.”

 

Do you know someone to whom you would love to just say – stifle yourself? Most people who are inveterate talkers just don’t realize how truly annoying it can be to those around them. I’ve caught myself cringing at the first words of such talkers, knowing that those are only the first of too many to come.

 

Most good books on sales or even on relationship building advise listening more than talking, but there are those who seem sure that the world is just awaiting their opinion on whatever topic is at hand.  There are also people who feel obligated to stop whatever conversation was happening to “make sure that you understand” whatever was just said – like you were to dense to have possibly caught the point that was just made. That’s annoying, too.

 

An then, I suppose, there are those who feel compelled to write about this topic instead of stifling that urge; so ……….

The view from inside - the 2013 Memorial Day Parade in Milford, Michigan

There is always news coverage of one of more Memorial Day parades in any town or city across America. This is a video that I shot from within the parade as I marched on Memorial Day in Milford Michigan.

As it states in the opening, this was not how it was when I came home from the war in Viet Nam. It is hard to describe the great feelings that one has while marching in this parade, especially since the war that we were in was so hated at the time. The man who you will see waving a flag ahead of me in this video had it made for this parade. In part it read - "Our cause was just"; so Viet Nam Vets are still defending ourselves and the war that we fought those many years ago; however, the heartfelt shouts of "Thanks You" along the way goa long way to healing those old wounds.

Enjoy a moment that was special to those who marched...

http://youtu.be/hyH8EMgrX0I

Today I march...

The annual Memorial Day parade in Milford Michigan happens today, starting at around 11 AM. The first ½ hour of the parade is devoted to things like bands and military vehicles and boy scout troops and other crowd pleasing stuff, and then we get to walk by – the active duty troops and veterans of various wars. We are usually lined up 2-abreast and with 700-800 marchers, it takes a while for everyone to pass by. The crowds lining the streets stand and applaud the whole time, many shouting out “Thank You”. Along the route there are children handing out flowers that are supplied by the local florist.

 

Whether you are a marcher in the parade or a spectator it can be quite an emotional moment and is certainly a lot different than when I returned from my tour in Viet Nam. We had to sneak back into the towns and villages that we can from back then, hoping no one would recognize us as soldiers in that very unpopular war.

 

When they line us up for the parade they put the ranks in order of the eras of the wars that one might have been in at the time. So, the WW II and Korean War vets go before the Viet Nam vets. Both their ranks and our group are fast thinning, as we age. I suspect that out group will be at the head of the parade before too long. At the head of each marching group a banner proclaims the era and the number of Americas who died in that war or conflict. Some marchers are not vets themselves but march carrying pictures of family members or loved ones lost in the various wars.

 

So, today I march. Today, unlike those many years ago, I get to hold my head high and accept the applause that was missing back then for a service that I accepted and rendered for my country. I’m thankful for all of the people who come out to line the streets and I’m thankful for all of those who gave so much more than I to defend our country and our liberties so that we can have days like today. I’ll see you there.

Market Update from Dan Elsea

Our fearless leader and broker - Dan Elsea - has started doing a video market update and I thought I'd share that with all of my readers. It basically adds some nice graphics and some explanation from a different source to what I've been sharing with you all along. Enjoy...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUiIL1BKDUI

If the link doesn't work (Blogger isn't very good with video apparently) just copy it into your browser.

Looking back and looking forward - the local Real Estate Market

As of the end of April, the local MLS reported these stats –

Highlights:

· The median sale price for All MLS sales increased to $97,165 – up by 35%

· All MLS sales were up by 6.8% for April compared to April 2012. Even with a 21.7% decrease in Inventory!

· Of the 5,799 sales closed in April 8% (472) were identified as short sales.

· Of the 5,799 sales closed in April 44% (2,522) were identified as CASH sales

Synopsis of Inventory:

· Average Days On-Market decreased by 14 days, from 87 to 73.

· The on-market inventory declined by 22%, from 26,896 to 21,054.

· Approx. 14% of the on-market inventory is comprised of short sales.

· Approx. 13% of the on-market inventory is comprised of foreclosures.

Analysis:

 

What does that mean for you? Well, if you’ve been waiting to see if the market would recover before listing your house, you’ve waited long enough; the market has recovered and taken off, due mainly to the low inventory. You can take advantage of that situation to sell quicker and for more than you would if we were in a more balanced market with normal inventory. Call me today to get an updated Market Analysis for your home to see if you can (and should) sell now.

If you’re a buyer – DARN, you missed the bottom and now will have to pay a bit more. Buyers may also be a bit frustrated by the lack of homes to choose from; however, the ones on the market today are generally in better condition than those at the same price points a year or so ago. The thing you need to be aware of is the need to be ready to act, and act decisively, should you find a home that you like. You will not have days or weeks to make up your mind. Multiple-offer situations and bidding wars are the order of the day now.

 

Buyers have to be ready to jump and you’ll have to bid at or maybe even above asking price to get a really good home. That also means you need to be all pre-approved for a mortgage, if you are going to use one. There’s no time to say you like a house and then go try to get pre-approved – that house will be gone by the time you get through the pre-approval process. It is also better in the current market to use a Conventional mortgage rather than an FHA or VA mortgage, if you can swing it. The rates are generally running lower on conventional mortgages right now and the sellers don’t have to worry about the FHA/VA appraisal/inspection.

Buyers should also note that foreclosures and short sales have shrunk as a percentage of listings and sales, so you may need a plan “B” if that’s what you were looking to buy. There are still some out there and the fixer-uppers are still around, but while they used to be more than 50% of the market, they are now less than 20% in most area Townships.

 

Go to my Web site – www.movetomilford.com to see all of the sold homes statistics for this area for April and year-to-date, along with historical data going back 4-5 years. I’ve already posted the sold homes data there for  first 2 weeks of May, too.

Milford Historical Museum Open House - May 18

 

 

If you haven’t been to the Historical Museum lately (or maybe ever), you’re in luck.  Our museum opened for the season on May 1st and will be open on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. 

In honor of our opening, the Historical Society will be hosting an Open House on Saturday, May 18th from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.   This family friendly event will allow guests to visit our museum and see displays depicting Milford over the years.  Demonstrations will be on going thru out the day.  On our front lawn, you will be able to see candle dipping, woodworking, yarn spinner, and basket weaving demonstrations throughout the day.  Kids of all ages will be able to participate in games from long ago.

We will also have a special guest in the Parlor.  Wife of the 16th President, Mary Todd Lincoln will greet guest and give a glimpse of live in the White House.   Also on hand will be the Huron Valley Numismatic Club that will be able to answer questions from coin collector enthusiastic. Hands on demonstration will take place in our log cabin display where kids will be able to make a cornhusk doll and in the kitchen see how butter was made.

It will be a day full of fun activities for the whole family! Admission to the museum is free and open to all; you do not need to be a member to attend.

Ignorant is OK if you know it

 “Everybody is ignorant, only on different subjects.” (Will Rogers) from my favorite source for pithy quotes the Jack’s Winning Words Blog.

Will Rogers certainly hit the nail on the heads when it comes to explaining why there is value in working with a Realtor® on your real estate transactions. I get quite a few customers who can’t wait to tell me that they’ve bought and sold numerous houses, so they understand the real estate process. That’s somewhat true. They’ve been through a process that was similar to today’s process; however, if they haven’t bought and sold several houses in the last 12 months, they probably don’t understand the process as it works today.

The fact is that the process is constantly changing and evolving, due to influences like the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and the many other wonderful laws and regulations that have been passed or promulgated in the last few years. Add to that the recent financial crisis and the extremely volatile local real estate market conditions and you have a very dynamic environment that even we Realtors have a tough time keeping up with. The dynamics are constantly changing. One month we may be in a buyers’ market and next have flipped over to a sellers’ market. For a while the banks weren’t lending to any but the absolute best credit risks and then they relaxed the rules. Sometimes there are zero down programs and sometimes not. Down payment assistance programs come and go or get funded and then run out of funds.

It can all be very confusing for someone whose job doesn’t involve keeping up with all of this stuff. Even the most seasoned veteran of many real estate transactions doesn’t normally have the time or inclination to keep up with all of the changes that are going on in real estate. Then there are court cases being decided all the time that impact how the whole system works. Realtors get legal updates on a regular basis to help them keep up with real estate laws.

So, I guess it’s OK to admit that real estate is one subject about which much of the general public might be ignorant. There’s nothing wrong with that. That’s what you have us Realtors for. It is part of our job to keep up with all of that stuff and to keep you from making mistakes based upon your own ignorance about the process as it exists today. We are your fiduciaries . The Legal Dictionary has this to say about fiduciaries –

An individual in whom another has placed the utmost trust and confidence to manage and protect property or money. The relationship wherein one person has an obligation to act for another's benefit.

A fiduciary relationship encompasses the idea of faith and confidence and is generally established only when the confidence given by one person is actually accepted by the other person. Mere respect for another individual's judgment or general trust in his or her character is ordinarily insufficient for the creation of a fiduciary relationship. The duties of a fiduciary include loyalty and reasonable care of the assets within custody. All of the fiduciary's actions are performed for the advantage of the beneficiary.

The relationship between a Realtor and his clients – sellers or buyers – is a fiduciary relationship. The clients put their trust in us to understand the real estate system - its rules and regulations and laws – and to not only keep them out of trouble with those rules and laws, but to also always represent their best interests as we negotiate on their behalf during a transaction; and that’s what we do. It’s OK to be a little ignorant about real estate, so long as you have a good agent acting on your behalf who isn’t ignorant about it. It’s also OK for a good agent to not know everything (that’s impossible), but to be honest with themselves and with you about what they don’t know and knowledgeable about how to find out what he/she doesn’t know. So, don’t panic if your agent says to you “I don’t know” in answer to a question or issue, so long as they follow up with “But, I know how to find out.” A saying by Georage Bernard Shaw probably covers that best - Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.

Adding Pinterest into the mix

 I'll be the first to admit that I don't yet get it -  the interest in Pinterest. I read that it is the fastest growing new social media site these days. I also read that it is loved by women over men something ridiculous like 97% to 3 %. So maybe the fact that I don't get it, nor do the majority of men points to something that is attributable to the Women are from Venus and men are from Mars theory put forth in the book by the same name.

Pinterest is visual. I get that. But that’s all it is. It has a little bit of verbiage to label the board that one is looking at and labels for each picture (if they were entered by the board creator). In many cases the pictures that make up a board (kind of like a page in Pinterest) have little in common; although the better boards do have a theme that ties all of the pictures together. It is as close to a totally non-verbal visual experience as one can find.

So, I’ve made up boards of the pictures that I take of my listings and posted them on Pinterest. You can see them at www.pinterest.com/normwerner  . If you go there you’ll see some other things that I’ve created boards for in Pinterest. I’m still learning how to get pictures onto Pinterest boards and manipulate them, so they are a little disjointed. Pinterest doesn’t make it easy to load pictures to boards or to manipulate the pictures on the boards, or at least I haven’t found it to be easy, yet. Maybe that’s a man from Mars thing, too.

Anyway, enjoy what I have been able to load up to boards on Pinterest. Now that I know I’ll be doing that, I’ll probably take a lot more pictures of new listings. The other thing that I’ve decided to do is to take a lot of pictures of the interesting little details in each house – a special sink or faucet here or an interesting light fixture there. I have a feeling that this is what Pinterest is all about or at least what 97% of Pinterest users will find interesting.

Monthly Market Report for Southeastern Michigan

Michigan Monthly Market Report – April 2013
For the first quarter of 2013, Michigan is still a leader in the housing recovery but a number of states have caught up, extending the housing recovery across the nation. Throughout the state we are seeing inventory shortages and rising values. Southeast Michigan remains the most active with the lowest inventory and strongest buyer demand. A new term is being used in the industry: the Shadow Demand. Like the Shadow Inventory which represented the potential bank-owned homes that could go on the market, the Shadow Demand represents the pent-up Buyers who have been holding back for the past 5 years. While the release of the shadow bank inventory has been slow and steady, the Shadow Demand seems to be jumping in all at once.

We expect a shortage of homes for sale throughout 2013 and 2014 with inventories rising and demand slowing down a bit in 2015 as interest rates increase and the Shadow Demand is dissipated. How quickly home inventories will raise depends on two factors: the pace of appreciation, and more importantly, how quickly Sellers realize that home values are improving. For many Sellers, values have risen enough that it makes sense to sell now, particularly if you are also buying.

For anyone who has purchased a home in the past four years, particularly investors, it is a great time to test the market. You should be pleasantly surprised on the potential return on your investment. The same holds for those who leased their homes, waiting for the values to rise.
Historically, with low For Sale inventories, home builders fill the gap. So far, local home builders, which traditionally make up the majority of new construction, have had difficulty obtaining financing so they have not been able to supply any inventory relief.

Following the market trends over the past three years, you can see values have been moving off the bottom since the spring of 2011 and gaining speed these last three quarters.

Charts: Average Cost per Square Feet
The next two charts show both the decline in the number of new home listings entering the market as well as the increase in the number of homes being placed under contract. It is interesting to note the declining bank-owned share of the market.


Charts: Home Listings Entering the Market & Home Listings Placed Under Contract
The result is a big increase in Sales Absorption, which is the percent of the available homes being sold each quarter. Considering that about a third of homes for sale are not really saleable because of condition, motivation or price, a 44% rate this past quarter represents a true absorption of closer to 70%, which is the driving force behind the double digit appreciation rates.

Chart: Sales Absorption
As a company we continue to gain a bigger piece of the pie, and most importantly, we are gaining market share in the number of new listings taken. We are working hard to reach out to you, our clients, and show you the opportunities in this market.

It is important to note in this improving market that a decline in the number of sales reflects the shortage of inventory, not a market slowdown.

If you would like more information on the market, like to list your property, or want information on any property with any broker, you may call or email at anytime.
Thank You,


Norm Werner
Put my team to work for you
P: 248-763-2497
normwerner@comcast.net
www.themilfordteam.com
www.movetomilford.com