October 2009 Ann Arbor Home Sales Report

October 2009 comparative analysis shows an average sales price drop of 7.4% over October 2008. The Year to date average sales price drop improved over the past 60 days by +2.3%. (From -17.8% in August to -15.5% in October). Also notable in October is an 11.2% increase in unit sales over October 2008. This is primarily attributed to the First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit. Here are the latest statistics from the Ann Arbor Board of Realtors. These numbers are for Single Family Homes (SFH) Residential, and do not include condominiums:

SFH Listings in October 2008: 655
SFH Listings in October 2009: 502
Decrease: 23.4%

SFH Sales October 2008: 249
SFH Sales October 2009: 277
Increase: 11.2%

SFH Sales Year to Date 2008: 2,648
SFH Sales Year to Date 2009: 2,524
Decrease: 4.7%

SFH Avg. Sales Price October 2008: $186,324
SFH Avg. Sales Price October 2009: $172,698
Decrease: 7.4%

SFH Avg. Sales Price Y.T.D. 2008: $216,833
SFH Avg. Sales Price Y.T.D. 2009: $183,426
Decrease: 15.5%

Top 5 Home Improvement Projects Based on Cost & ROI

HomeGain.com, one of the first websites to offer Web-based free instant home values, announced that it has released the results of its nationwide home improvement and home staging Home Sale Maximizer survey.

HomeGain’s recent survey shows the top do-it-yourself home improvements that Realtors recommend to home sellers. HomeGain received responses from nearly 1,000 Realtors nationwide and configured a list of the top 12 do-it-yourself (DIY) home improvements that cost under $5,000 and benefit sellers most when they sell their homes.

According to the HomeGain survey, the top five home improvements that Realtors recommend to home sellers based on cost and return on investment (from highest to lowest ROI) are:

1. Cleaning and de-cluttering ($200 cost / $1,700 price increase / 872% ROI)
2. Home staging ($300 cost / $1,780 price increase / 586% ROI)
3. Lightening and brightening ($230 cost / $1,300 price increase / 572% ROI)
4. Landscaping ($320 cost / $1,500 price increase / 473% ROI)
5. Repairing plumbing ($385 cost / $1,250 price increase / 327% ROI)

Cleaning and de-cluttering continues to rank as the top suggested home improvement (since the survey was originally conducted in 2000), recommended by 98% of Realtors, costing less than $200 and returning a value of nearly $1,700 to the home’s sale price, or an 872% return on investment.

“Many Realtors agree, especially in a buyer’s market, that sellers who make these recommended home improvements often get their homes sold faster and at higher prices,” stated Louis Cammarosano, General Manager at HomeGain. “We have customized our Home Sale Maximizer online home improvement tool to help identify and prioritize the projects that can increase the salability and selling price of a home.”

Rounding out the top 12, the list of low cost, do-it-yourself home improvements includes: updating electrical, replacing or shampooing carpets, painting interior walls, repairing damaged floors, updating kitchen, painting outside of home, and updating bathroom/s.

The home improvement projects with the highest price increases to a home’s resale value are updating the kitchen ($1,200 cost / $2,850 price increase), followed by painting the outside of the home ($900 cost / $1,815 price increase) and home staging ($300 cost / $1,780 price increase).

For more information, visit www.homegain.com.

10 Cities Where Home Prices Are Improving

Ten cities with improving home sales market conditions from Forbes.com, sourcing the Schiller/ Case Price Index:

1) Minneapolis
2) San Francisco
3) Detroit
4) Chicago
5) Phoenix
6) San Diego
7) Los Angeles
8) Washington DC
9) Denver
10) Seattle

CLICK HERE for the full atricle.

Ypsilanti City Wide Open House is Almost Here!

The City of Ypsilanti, MI, in partnership with Eastern Michigan University, Michigan State University Extension, SPARK East, local businesses and local Realtors are taking the traditional Open House concept to a new level, hosting the first City Wide Open House this Saturday, Oct. 31, 2009.

I'm excited to be a part of this. The event was organized by P.J. Moffett, one of my associates here at Real Estate One. This has been her brainchild for a couple of years, and she along with her team, have put in a lot of long hours to make this event a success. P.J. calls it: "A true demonstration of partnership. We will display Ypsilanti's finest in education, homes and community spirit."

Event goals are to raise awareness of what Ypsilanti has to offer new visitors, prospective university students, as well as prospective area home owners. The event is also designed to raise the city's visibility. Events scheduled throughout the 10AM to 2PM time period include:

• Explore EMU: Eastern Michigan University's open house attracts potential high school and transfer students to visit EMU and meet with academic and admissions advisors, take a campus tour, and apply. Then, they can hop on a free shuttle to visit Downtown and Depot Town. Visit: http://emich.edu/explore for more info.
• Open Houses: Stop by SPARK East, located at 215 W. Michigan Av to meet representatives from schools and neighborhoods, learn about incentives for house hunters, pick up maps of homes for sale. Visit: http://openhouse.ypsi.com for full details.
• Depot Town and Downtown: Discounts will be available to participants at the EMU Student Center and at the SPARK East location for restaurants, retail and other services in Downtown and Depot Town. Shuttle services will be available between the Student Center, SPARK East and Depot Town.
• Video Competition: Enter the pre-event video contest and tell why you love Ypsi. Videos will be posted on a You Tube site for voting. Visit: http://www.emyouthemagazine.com for more information.

You're invited to check out this great town. If you're in the area, stop by. I'm hosting one of the Open Houses at 1208 N. Congress.

September 2009 Ann Arbor Home Sales Report

September2009 comparative analysis shows an average sales price drop of just 2.9% over September 2008. This is an average sales price improvement of +7.5% over the prior month (August - August) comparison. The Year to date average sales price drop improved from -17.8% in August to -16.1% in September. Also notable in September is an 8.1% increase in unit sales over September 2008. Here are the latest statistics from the Ann Arbor Board of Realtors. These numbers are for Single Family Homes (SFH) Residential, and do not include condominiums:

SFH Listings in September 2008: 633
SFH Listings in September 2009: 533
Decrease: 15.8%

SFH Sales September 2008: 244
SFH Sales September 2009: 264
Increase: 8.1%

SFH Sales Year to Date 2008: 2,398
SFH Sales Year to Date 2009: 2,245
Decrease: 6.4%

SFH Avg. Sales Price September 2008: $188,774
SFH Avg. Sales Price September 2009: $183,344
Decrease: 2.9%

SFH Avg. Sales Price Y.T.D. 2008: $220.089
SFH Avg. Sales Price Y.T.D. 2009: $184,829
Decrease: 16.1%

Ann Arbor Homes For Sale Hotsheet: Week of 10/02 - 10/09/2009

31 homes have come on the market in the immediate Ann Arbor area in the past week. On the high end is a 4 bedroom, 3 1/2 bath newly renovated 3475 foot Energy Star home in the Angell School district listed at $875K, or almost $252 per square foot. On the other end of the spectrum is a 3 bedroom 1 1/2 bath, 975 square foot ranch, listed at Short Sale at $89K, or $92.20/ sq. ft..

There are a total of 637 active listings in Ann Arbor, which is up 3.7% over the same time last year. There are a total of 31 homes on the market at $1 million or above. The high is a 15,000 square foot home listed at $2,990,000. The average listing is a 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 2368 square foot home, which is on the market at $412,982, or $164.17/ sq. ft. This is up by 1% over the October 2008 Average List Price of $408,891.

Our Real Estate One First to Know program can make you an area Real Estate Insider. By signing up with our program, you can be emailed detailed information on new homes that meet your search criteria, the minute they hit the market. Real Estate One has all listings throughout the state of Michigan, not only in Ann Arbor. If you would like more information on First To Know, please visit www.RealEstateOne.com, or contact me for more details.

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