Sellers Are More Willing To Negotiate After Inspections

Over the last few weeks, our buyers have had a lot of success getting sellers to resolve issues with a home or give a credit, especially with single-family homes in towns between 128 and I-495. Adam Welling, Redfin’s rock-star agent who covers this area, says:

Right now, sellers are concerned about losing a buyer and having their home sit until the spring. They’re much more receptive to post-inspection requests than they were a few months ago.

Tips for Buyers

Here are some tips from Adam for how to approach post-inspection negotiations:

• Be realistic: Don’t expect a seller to renovate the whole home.
• Remember, safety first: Ask the seller to fix anything related to the safety of the home, deal with cosmetic issues second.
• Know your deal breakers: Before you ask for repairs, figure out what must be fixed and be prepared to walk if they aren’t.

Are you seeing the same thing?

Case-Shiller: Effects of Tax Credit Appear to be Waning

It’s time for our monthly check-in of the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices (HPI). Keep in mind that all of the charts in this series of posts are based on the seasonally-adjusted data provided by S&P. For the full source data behind this post, plus non-seasonally adjusted data, hit the S&P/Case-Shiller website (requires free registration). For an explanation of how the Case-Shiller data is calculated, check out their methodology pdf. Also remember that the data released on the last Tuesday of a given month is for the period two months prior (i.e. – September data is released in November).

Here are the basic Case-Shiller stats for the Boston area* as of September:

Eleven of the twenty metro areas tracked by Case-Shiller saw an increase in their respective seasonally-adjusted HPIs between August and September (down from sixteen in August). New York, Boston, Charlotte, Seattle, Dallas, Portland, Tampa, Las Vegas, and Cleveland all marked seasonally-adjusted drops month-to-month.

Here’s a look at Boston’s latest tiered data, back through 2000:

As the effects of the tax credit and low rates appears to begin to wear off, it’s no surprise to see the high and middle tiers turn back down first, since those types of stimulus are likely to have little effect on the most expensive homes.

Here’s a chart of Case-Shiller HPIs for all the markets that Redfin serves:

Here’s our peak decline chart, in which we line up the peak Case-Shiller HPI value for each of Redfin’s markets, so we can see how long each market has been declining, and how much it has dropped from the peak.

Here’s the flip side of the peak decline chart—a graph of just this year, indexed to January = 100%:

With the tax credit having been extended until the spring, and pretty much all the benefit having been squeezed from low rates and tax giveaways, it seems likely that we will see some price deterioration in the next few months as we head through winter. Beyond that is anybody’s guess.

*[Case-Shiller defines Boston as the entire Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all or part of the following counties: Essex MA, Middlesex MA, Norfolk MA, Plymouth MA, Suffolk MA, Rockingham NH, and Strafford NH.]

The October Market Wrap Up

Let’s take at look at the October numbers for single-family homes and condominiums and see how they compare to a year ago.

Middlesex County

• 1,161 homes sold, up from 1,028 in October 2008
• The median sales price was $339,000, down from $345,250 in October 2008
• Homes that sold were on the market an average of 102 days, down from 125 days in October 2008.

Suffolk County

• 429 homes sold, up from 409 in October 2008
• The median sales price was $305,000, up slightly from $300,000 in October 2008
• Homes that sold were on the market an average of 98 days, down from 111 days in October 2008.

Norfolk County

• 562 homes sold, up from 487 in October 2008
• The median sales price was $331,500, down from $339,900 in October 2008
• Homes that sold were on the market an average of 126 days, up from 111 days in October 2008.

Plymouth County

• 464 homes sold, up from 422 in October 2008
• The median sales price was $265,000, down from $289,451 in October 2008
• Homes that sold were on the market an average of 129 days, down from 156 days in October 2008.

Bristol County

• 360 homes sold, up from 289 in October 2008
• The median sales price was $230,000, down from $240,000 in October 2008
• Homes that sold were on the market an average of 134 days, down from 167 days in October 2008.

Essex County

• 629 homes sold, up from 568 in October 2008
• The median sales price was $280,000, down from $274,500 in October 2008
• Homes that sold were on the market an average of 127 days, down from 142 days in October 2008.

Worcester County

• 737 homes sold, up from 552 in October 2008
• The median sales price was $212,500, up slightly from $211,200 in October 2008
• Homes that sold were on the market an average of 135 days, down from 150 days in October 2008.

We pulled these numbers from MLSPIN.

Dig Deeper Into the Trends

To see what’s happening in your neighborhood, check out our stats & trends pages.

Redfin Has Three of the Top Four Buyers’ Agents In Massachusetts

October was another fantastic month for our Boston-area agents! All three of our agents rank in the top four out of the 3,600+ buyers’ agents who closed at least one deal in October:

When you work with Redfin, you work with some of the best agents in Massachusetts. Hannah, Adam and Sean know what’s going on in the market right now because they spend all of their time serving clients: touring homes, writing offers and closing deals.

We pulled these numbers from MLSPIN, the database for real estate transactions and listings for Massachusetts, and ranked agents who represented home-buyers of single-family homes, condominiums and multi-family buildings in October based first on number of deals, then by total dollar amount.

Our Clients Love Our Service

We survey every client and track every transaction in a central customer database. For the surveys we received in October from our clients in eastern Massachusetts:

• 23 clients responded to our customer-satisfaction survey and posted a review online, down from 25 in September.
• 23 of those clients, or 100%, would recommend Redfin to a friend, up from 92% in September.

In these surveys, Redfin asks customers to rate the likelihood that they would recommend Redfin to a friend on a 0-to-10 scale. Customers who rated 6 or higher count as people who would recommend Redfin to a friend.

The $8,000 Home-Buyer Tax Credit Has Been Extended & Expanded

Earlier today, President Obama signed new legislation extending the deadline for the home buyer tax credit into 2010 and expanding it to include current home owners who are looking to buy a primary residence.

The Basic Requirements

You qualify for the tax credit if the:

• Home you’re buying will be your primary residence
• Purchase price isn’t more than $800,000

This credit is not a loan; it’s yours, but keep in mind you have to live in your new home for three years. If you sell the home in less than three years, you’ll have to pay back the money.

What’s Changed?

With the new legislation, buyers have more time to find a home and more buyers are eligible for the tax credit:

• New deadline: To qualify, you need to be in contract with a seller by April 30th & close on the home by June 30th (The previous deadline was November 30, 2009).
• Not just for first-time buyers anymore: Home buyers who’ve owned and occupied a home for at least five consecutive years during the past eight years are eligible for a credit up to $6,500.
• Increased income limits: Individuals making less than $125,000 and couples making less than $225,000 are eligible (The limits used to be $75K & $150K).

First-time buyers are eligible for a credit up to $8,000 on homes purchased between January 1, 2009 and June 30, 2010. Qualified homeowners can a credit up to $6,500 on homes purchased between November 7, 2009 and June 30, 2010.

Bonus Link

You can check out the full text of the bill. Scroll about halfway down to sections 11 & 12:

• Sec. 11. Extension and Modification of First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit.
• Sec. 12. Provisions to Enhance the Administration of the First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit.

Market Wrap Up for September

Let’s take at look at the September numbers for single-family homes and condominiums and see how they compare to a year ago.

Middlesex County

• 1,193 homes sold, up from 1,088 in September 2008
• The median sales price was $349,200, up from $339,000 in September 2008
• Homes that sold were on the market an average of 101 days, down from 114 days in September 2008.

Suffolk County

• 446 homes sold, up slightly from 445 in September 2008
• The median sales price was $331,750, up from $330,000 in September 2008
• Homes that sold were on the market an average of 102 days, down from 107 days in September 2008.

Norfolk County

• 555 homes sold, up from 501 in September 2008
• The median sales price was $335,000, down from $337,000 in September 2008
• Homes that sold were on the market an average of 106 days, down from 122 days in September 2008.

Plymouth County

• 395 homes sold, up from 373 in September 2008
• The median sales price was $272,400, down from $285,000 in September 2008
• Homes that sold were on the market an average of 128 days, down from 168 days in September 2008.

Bristol County

• 304 homes sold, up slightly from 302 in September 2008
• The median sales price was $225,000, down from $249,063 in September 2008
• Homes that sold were on the market an average of 146 days, down from 162 days in September 2008.

Essex County

• 554 homes sold, up from 503 in September 2008
• The median sales price was $281,000, up slightly from $280,000 in September 2008
• Homes that sold were on the market an average of 128 days, down from 150 days in September 2008.

Worcester County

• 631 homes sold, up from 559 in September 2008
• The median sales price was $207,050, down from $215,000 in September 2008
• Homes that sold were on the market an average of 138 days, down from 158 days in September 2008.

We pulled these numbers from MLSPIN.

Dig Deeper Into the Trends

To see what’s happening in your neighborhood, check out our stats & trends pages.