Random Real Estate Thoughts

Shhhhh….Don’t tell anybody this

by John Rice

I’m going to let you in on a little secret.

The market has slowed down in much of the Bluegrass.  I don’t mean that it is dangerously slow or anything.  It is still a hot market with too few houses for sale.  It just isn’t the crazy frenzy it was earlier this year.  That is to be expected since it does slow down a little after school starts, then a little more the closer you get to Thanksgiving, then a little more the closer you get to Christmas.

How much?

In Fayette County, sales are down 6% when comparing August 2016 to August 2017.

I put two new listings on the market last week.  I try to put my listings on late Friday afternoon so we get lots of showings on Saturday.  That way everybody is off work and they can all see each other come and go from the house….it makes it feel more like an auction.

I knew it had slowed down some, so I was expecting only 4-5 showings at each house, and probably at least two offers on each.

House A did not get any showings the first day on the market and only one showing was scheduled for the second day on the market.

House B had only one showing scheduled the first day on the market.

Fortunately both sold to the first buyers who saw them, but I imagine they and their agents would be surprised to know this.

Both houses were priced right, presented well and in the most popular price range.

I sold another house this week too.  This time I was working with a buyer.  We saw a very affordable house the very first day it was on the market.  Throughout most of this year, I have shown a house and had another agent showing it before and/or after my showing.  Sometimes there has been a line, prompting me to consider a side hustle of selling snacks and drinks while I am there waiting.  I was at this house for an hour.  No agent was there before me.  No agent was waiting for me to leave.

I am noticing home inspectors have been able to get to jobs in fewer days too.

When I scroll through the pending sales every day, I am seeing fewer and fewer 1 day on the market sales.  Most are still selling in less than a couple weeks, but that is a big change from earlier this year when almost every house sold the first day.

All of this makes me think it is a great time to buy.  Probably the best time all year.

 

 

 

Why this is my favorite house in the whole world

by John Rice

I recently sold a house for an old friend.  It was her father’s house.  It was a little tough to finally sell it since she had so many memories of her dad at his home.

That got me thinking about houses I have a connection to like that.  While I have a few, the one that means the most to me is this one:

55 Manners 1

This is 55 Manners Avenue in Bangor Maine.

My great-grandfather built this house.  My grandmother was born here.  It stayed in my family until just a few years ago.

I have only been at this house twice in my life.  Once as a child and once when we scattered the ashes of my grandparents.  Both times I always got a little laugh as I heard people call that little brown building on the right “The baaaaaaahn.”  Nothing like hearing a Maine accent when you’ve been in Kentucky most of your life.

This place will always remind me of my grandmother and her life here.  Which makes me think of her and my grandfather, which makes me think of my mom and the rest of our family tree.

I remember my grandmother and other family telling me about my great-grandfather building the house.  As I look at this wall of built-in cabinets, I think about what their 1920s clothes must have looked like inside them.  I wonder if they were originally stained wood.  I wonder whose room this was and what my grandmother’s day would have been like here as a child.

55 manners 2

After my great aunt passed, my family no longer needed the home.  We had a 90+ year run with it.  I didn’t really want anybody else to have it outside of our family.  For a brief moment, I thought about buying it.  Then I realized that I couldn’t really keep it just for the sake of memories.  I do have this though:

55 manners 3

This is an original wood shake from either the roof or the siding of the house.  At some point, somebody in my family painted this picture of the house on it, before “The baaaaaahn” was built.  It looked a lot different when it was a new house, long before all the changes the house has encountered.  It blows my mind to think that my great-grandfather, who passed away long before I was born, has touched this wood shake.

I am glad I have this to remind me of my family and our history at this home.  I hope my friend has something from her Dad’s home that will always remind her of him and their time at his house.

What neighborhood is the winner in this market?

by John Rice

Masterson.  Formally know by it’s full name, Masterson Station.  While the whole neighborhood has seen values really go up, I think the true winners are the single story homes in the 1000-1350 square foot range.

Many many years ago, half of Masterson was in foreclosure.  That happened to a lot of the newer neighborhoods where the first owners bought at the top of the previous hot market with sketchy no money down loans.

I remember I would often spend ALL day with first time buyers just in Masterson when the market collapsed.  I would schedule 8-10 houses, all just blocks apart.  It would get confusing after a few.  I would find myself saying stuff like “This is the Roxbury plan by Schneider Homes.  It is the same floor plan as the 2nd, 3rd and 6th house we saw earlier, only this one has blue vinyl in the kitchen instead of tan, and it has a deck instead of a patio…..oh, and this one has a fenced back yard too.”  Then my client would say something like “I thought the 2nd and 6th house were the two story houses?”  Then I was like “No, it was the 4th house that was the two story.  It was a Ball Home plan.  The Fairfax is the name I think…..yes, that is it.  The Fairfax is the one I told you about that sometimes has an open loft instead of the 3rd bedroom, and realtors often call that a 3rd bedroom because they know nobody will come see it if they said it was REALLY a 2 bedroom house.”  Then my client would ask “What was the 5th house?  I don’t even remember it!”  I’d reply “The 5th house was the only occupied house we saw today.  The water was on and we both used the restroom.”  Client be like “Oh, I remember now. How do you keep all this straight?”  And I’d be like “It is taking every bit of concentration I have.”

Back then, $125k was like $155k is today.

Then the market improved.  I was amazed these houses were selling around $130k.

Then it got better.  I started seeing a lot of $140k houses a year ago.

Now a decent one is $150k, some are even higher!

That is a huge turn around from half the neighborhood being vacant houses that took 6 months to sell.

 

What was I thinking in 2011?

by John Rice

Every once in a while, I like to look through old blog post drafts that never got published.  Well, today was one of those days.  I wrote what is below on 12/29/2011.  The day after my anniversary.  Now, I have no specific recollection of either day in 2011, but I have been married long enough to know that it makes your wife feel good when you can reference your anniversary date…..so that was for you babe!

A lot has changed in nearly 6 years.  All of today’s first time buyers would be amazed that they could have picked from 50-100 houses in their price range back then.  Today, they may have 4 listings on their preferred side of Lexington in their price range.  I remember spending many full days where I never left Masterson Station because there were soooo many houses for sale.  Buyer’s would get confused.  They couldn’t remember one house from another.  I would say stuff like “This is the same floor plan as the 2nd, 5th and 9th house we saw earlier, only this plan is reversed and the vinyl floor in the kitchen is blue instead of brown.”

I had to laugh when I read the draft below because now I have people looking for deals and there just really aren’t any these days.  Also, today the challenge is finding ANY house for a buyer whereas back then it was about helping people pick the needle in the haystack.  Selling listings today is like shooting fish in a barrel.  In 2011, getting a call from a potential seller made your palms sweat because you weren’t sure it would sell.

Here is what I was thinking about late December in 2011:

 

When I was a kid, that Kenny Roger’s song was popular.  You know, the one that said “You gotta know when to hold ’em.  Know when to fold ’em.  Know when to walk away.  Know when to run.”  It was about gambling, but it could just as well be about being a realtor.

Each deal is different.  The people are different.  The house prices are different.  To get the best deal for a client, you have to be able to analyze a bunch of different factors and figure out how something is likely to go down, then take action.

Several months ago, I wrote an offer for a bank owned property.  It was rather unique. They countered our offer, but it was still way too far outside of anything remotely realistic.  We politely said no thanks.  My investor client and I both thought that the time of year, the market, and the ability of other investors to borrow money meant that there really wasn’t much of a market for this property other than him.  We also suspected that the bank would soon want it off their books.  We knew when to “Hold ’em” basically.

Not too long ago, the bank came back and agreed to our original terms.  We’re still working out details, but I’m pretty pumped that my buyer is about to practically steal this property.  Think I’ll buy that song on iTunes and listen to it on the way to the closing…….or that Tom Petty one that says “The waiting is the hardest part.”

LEXpert flashback: When I was a volleyball star

by John Rice

DSC_1307

 

I listed this little cabin in the woods last week.  I normally don’t go this far out of Lexington, but it was for a past client.

Then I got to thinking that this client, who has used me before, came from another past client, who came from another past client, who was referred from my cousin….so THANK YOU Ashton!  This cabin will be the 11th sale from one referral.

I love it when people refer their friends and family to me.  See, I was never good at sports or anything.  I was always the last or second to last person picked in gym class.  It was either me or a guy named Brian who had an equal amount of sports aptitude…..unless the game was volleyball.

Everybody wanted me on their team for volleyball.  Not that I had any talent in spiking the ball, or even hitting it really.  My special talent was serving.  I could serve the ball and every time I did, we scored a point.

I was always scared to death that they would realize my secret.  I would have all these anxious soundtracks playing in my head like Kevin from “Wonder Years.”

“Will they realize my secret?”

“What will happen if they do?”

“I don’t want to be picked last again!”

Since I probably won’t be playing volleyball competitively again, would you like to know my secret?

I’m left handed.

About the only place in school being a Leftie paid off was playing volleyball.  All those right handed people would serve and the ball would go to the same place.  The opposing teams just got use to the ball being served there.  When I served, it would not go diagonally, but straight, and usually to the back row where the players were least prepared.  I am just glad I was with a bunch of middle school kids who were too preoccupied with pimples, staring at Tonya Jones, or perfecting their moon walk…..because nobody ever figured out that my serve went somewhere differently.  Not once did anybody realize this for all 3 years.

It sure was nice to be the top pick every once in a while back then.  It is even nicer to be the top pick for returning clients and for those who have been referred to me.